Josh Dobbs, who agreed to terms with the Browns according to his agent, rounds out a taller, more mobile Browns quarterback room in 2022.
The new Browns quarterback room is taller and more mobile
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Browns news over the weekend …
Ever since the Andrew Berry-Kevin Stefanski partnership was formed by Paul DePodesta in 2020, and the right alignment so elusive yet so coveted by Jimmy Haslam was attained, one that fostered the union of traditional football scouting and modern Ivy League analytics, one football question loomed above all others.
What kind of quarterback do they really want?
The answer is in after three quarterback acquisitions in less than a month.
In a nutshell, the answer is taller, more athletic, more mobile, able to operate from the pocket and outside the pocket, and able to make plays with their feet.
Deshaun Watson: 6-2 ½, 221 pounds, 4.66 40-yard dash (from the 2017 NFL Combine).
Jacoby Brissett: 6-3 ¾, 231 pounds, 4.94 (from the 2016 NFL Combine).
Josh Dobbs: 6-3 3/8, 216 pounds, 4.64 (from the 2017 NFL Combine).
Berry and Stefanski inherited Baker Mayfield from John Dorsey. Stefanski tried to reinvent Mayfield from a shotgun, spread-formation gunslinger to an under-center, play-action passing game-manager. They rode it as far as it could go, winning a playoff game for the first time in the expansion era.
Ultimately, Mayfield grew frustrated with Stefanski’s restraints and Stefanski lost confidence in Mayfield.
Mayfield was good at executing Stefanski’s play-action game, but two things had to frustrate Stefanski. Mayfield was ineffective operating out of the pocket and he was not adept at making plays with his feet. Mayfield’s 69 sacks in two seasons under Stefanski belied the fact he was playing behind an offensive line with one of the league’s best pass protection win rate.
In Mayfield’s 30 games in two seasons under Stefanski, he averaged 150 yards on 45 runs for a 3.28-yard average. He ran for two touchdowns and 30 first downs.
In Watson’s 54 games in four seasons in Houston, he averaged 419 yards on 76 runs for a 5.5-yard average. He ran for 17 touchdowns and 111 first downs.
Brissett has two full seasons in Indianapolis as a starter. In 31 games in those seasons, he averaged 244 yards on 59 runs for a 4.13-yard average. He ran for 8 touchdowns and 35 first downs.
Dobbs’ sample size in the NFL is non-existent. He appeared in only six games with the Steelers in a mop-up duty. But in 36 starts with the University of Tennessee, Dobbs averaged 657 yards on 133 runs for a 4.92-yard average. He ran for 31 touchdowns. (First downs not available.)
It will be interesting to see how Stefanski incorporates the skillsets of his new quarterbacks into his offensive scheme. The obvious changes would be more run-pass option and zone-read plays in which his quarterback’s legs can be used to give defenses another weapon to respect.
Watson’s travails
According to a report in the Plain Dealer, the lawyers in the 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct by Watson agreed that no trials will be scheduled between August 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023.
This would seem to mean that Watson conceivably could play the entire 2022 season without interruption by an NFL suspension.
Yes, the NFL is conducting its own investigation of possible violations of the personal conduct policy and it could discipline Watson independently. But if the NFL suspended Watson as a result of its own investigation, it would influence the civil cases. I just don’t see the NFL doing that.
I still think Watson’s best course of action would be to write a check to settle the cases. That probably would result in an NFL suspension, but it would put everything behind him – not the least of which are the gory details of the lawsuits – and allow Watson to focus exclusively on embarking on his new career with the Browns.
Harrison is back
Agent Drew Rosenhaus announced on Friday that safety Ronnie Harrison agreed to a one-year deal to stay with the Browns.
This was a good turn for the Browns because it allows coordinator Joe Woods to continue to develop his three-safety “Big Dime” look with a player experienced in it.
I thought there was a good chance the Browns would replace Harrison with M.J. Stewart, who came on at the end of the 2022 season and appeared to overtake Harrison in the No. 3 safety role. But Stewart signed with the Houston Texans in free agency. Bringing back Harrison in a low-budget, one-year deal is a good rebound.
Judging from my mentions, fans are down on Harrison for being a penalty-prone hot head. That rep was acquired when Harrison was ejected in the 2021 opener in Kansas City for shoving Chiefs assistant coach Greg Lewis in an altercation in front of the Chiefs bench. But Lewis was the instigator in that brouhaha and the Chiefs were originally given a bench unsportsmanlike conduct penalty until Andy Reid huffed and puffed and had the foul overturned. I always thought Lewis should have been the one ejected.
Other than that, Harrison had the same number of penalties (three) in 2021 as Stewart.
