Rookie Jerome Ford could be a key factor in changes to the Browns' running back room. (Getty Images)
These are the issues at every position group as Browns minicamp sets up training camp
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Kevin Stefanski’s first full offseason program in three years as Browns head coach winds down with three mandatory minicamp practices beginning Tuesday at the team’s CrossCountry Mortgage Campus.
Stefanski then will take the show on the road to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton on Wednesday and FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday.
And then it’s off for summer recess.
But the six-week break until training camp begins on July 28 (or thereabouts) shouldn’t be uneventful.
This is when the Browns are expected to learn if the NFL will discipline quarterback Deshaun Watson for possible violations of the league personal conduct policy.
Once the length of Watson’s expected league suspension is known, the Browns may have a better idea of how to resolve the Baker Mayfield stalemate – whether they seek to use Mayfield to trade for a quarterback to back up designated emergency starter Jacoby Brissett during a Watson suspension.
Mayfield and the Browns mutually agreed to excuse him from mandatory minicamp. They won’t have that option at training camp. The league collective bargaining agreement calls for automatic, irrevocable fines of $50,000 per day for players under contract missing training camp. Neither the Browns nor Mayfield want Mayfield to have to show up to training camp.
Those are the obvious major issues confronting the Browns at this time.
But other issues loom as the offseason program concludes and leads into training camp. Every position group besides quarterback is discussed below.
Offensive line
The interior positions should be solid, even with untested Nick Harris replacing veteran warrior JC Tretter at center. Harris’ mobility will be an asset in coach Bill Callahan’s zone scheme. And Ethan Pocic should be a valuable, versatile swingman. The issues are at the tackle positions. Left tackle Jedrick Wills needs to rebound from a rough second season precipitated by a severe ankle injury in Game 1, and right tackle Jack Conklin is trying to come back from a torn patellar tendon – his second major injury in two years. Top swing tackle Chris Hubbard, himself coming back from 2021 triceps surgery, has replaced Conklin in OTAs.
Running back
Rookie Jerome Ford should be a busy man in preseason. The rate of his development will decide which of the backs on the last year of his contract – Kareem Hunt or D’Ernest Johnson – might be made available in trade, if a team comes calling. Then again, if Watson is suspended long, an emphasis on the running game might inspire the Browns to keep four backs on the final roster.
Wide receiver
The Browns must give ample reps to home-grown draft picks Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz and David Bell before deciding whether another veteran receiver needs to be added to join Amari Cooper.
Tight end
Although Stefanski is expected to greatly reduce usage of 13 personnel – three tight ends on the field together – a third tight end must emerge as a backup to David Njoku and Harrison Bryant. The candidates are Miller Forristall and three hyphenated projects – Marcus Santos-Silva, Nakia Griffin-Stewart and Zaire Mitchell-Paden.
Defensive line
With left end Jadeveon Clowney in the fold, the issues are at defensive tackle. Who emerges as the starter at three-technique tackle – free agent pickup Taven Bryan or rookie fourth-round pick Perrion Winfrey? Jordan Elliott is the favorite to beat out Tommy Togiai and Sheldon Day for the other starting spot.
Linebacker
I think it boils down to this – can Jacob Phillips avoid injury, stay available and earn playing time? Otherwise, it’s the Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Anthony Walker show. Sione Takitaki entering the final year of his rookie deal is something to watch.
Cornerback
Five deep with Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome, Greedy Williams, Martin (M.J.) Emerson and A.J. Green is a strength. The issue is the complexity of tasks being assigned Newsome. He could be the outside corner on first and second down and move inside to cover the slot receiver on third down. Full-time nickelbacks concentrate solely on covering the slot. But Newsome is too good not to play outside when only two receivers are on the field, and the adjustment from down to down is not an easy one. The problem is none of the other four cornerbacks have much experience inside.
Safety
John Johnson (deep safety), Grant Delpit (box safety) and Ronnie Harrison are set. The issue is which will cover the second slot receiver in four-receiver sets. And can second-year Richard LeCounte step up and fill the fourth safety role vacated by the free agency defection of under-rated M.J. Stewart.
Specialists
Taking minicamp on the road to three venues seems tailored to giving rookie kicker Cade York reps in unfamiliar settings. If Watson’s suspension is long, York could become an even more significant figure. Stefanski may have to adjust to a field-goal and field-position game-plan to grind out wins with Brissett at the helm. York can be a rock star, a la Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson – whom York punked with a 57-yard game-winner in an instant classic LSU win over Florida in 2020.
