Off-Season Preview: Cleveland

Minnesota Vikings Off-Season "To-Do" List

Ah, the Cleveland Browns...  The best about the 2010 season for Browns' fans?  It's over.  This is a team that saw all three of their divisions foes make the playoffs.  So, Mike Holmgren (who is Cleveland's Vice President/General Manager/Football Czar) knows he has tough task ahead of him this off-season.

Cleveland is a young team that has been built through recent drafts.  There were definitely bright spots. Last April, the Browns drafted Phil Taylor with their first pick.  He has delivered so far.  He's a physical mammoth defensive tackle, who has excelled as a one-technique defensive tackle.  They also selected DE Jabaal Sheard and WR Greg Little in early rounds.  Little showed flashes of possibly becoming a number one receiver.  His health was a problem through much of the early going.  Sheard registered eight and a half sacks over the course of the season.

Like every team in the league, Cleveland had it's fair share of injuries mounted.  They lost quarterback, Colt McCoy, for the last three games of the season.  Also, running back health was a huge problem.  Montario Hardesty almost never got it going, while Peyton Hillis dealt with a hamstring injury for much of the season.  

The good news is Peyton Hillis may be the only key free agent Cleveland loses this offseason.  They look to re-sign Joe Thomas and D'Qwell Jackson.  They also have two first round picks (via the Julio Jones trade with Atlanta) in the upcoming draft.  The bad news?  Cincinnati's young team also seem to be rising and perennial powers, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, are going to be in the thick of things next year as well.  What can the Browns do to be contenders in the AFC North division?  Let's see their list:

Get a Definitive Signal Caller: I'm a huge believer in the saying; "If you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks."  I could see a situation where Cleveland would try to hedge their bets by bringing in another quarterback to compete with Colt McCoy.  Bad Idea.  If the organization has any questions whether or not McCoy is the long term answer, they need to end the experiment now.  They have the fourth overall draft pick.  Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck are thought to be a franchise quarterbacks.   In order to assure themselves of landing one of the two, they may need to trade up two spots to avoid being jumped by another team looking to draft a QB.  Also, Matt Flynn is available if they'd prefer a veteran.  With his stock soaring after his near 500-yard, six touchdown performance against Detroit, he may be a bit pricey.

Get More Pieces for the 4-3: Cleveland has transitioned from the 3-4 to the 4-3 defense last season.  The aforementioned rookies,  Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard, proved to be excellent additions along the front.  They could use another defensive end and traditional outside linebackers.  I expect Cleveland to address their defensive front with one of their first round selections this April.

Running Back Depth: With Peyton Hillis all but gone, the Browns will need fill his place.  They looked to free agency (Oakland's Michael Bush) or draft one.  Trent Richardson could be a thought at number four.  Also, trading down could be likely.  Either Virginia Tech's David Wilson or Miami's Lamar Miller could be available at the top of round two.

Final Thoughts

Cleveland has a talented, youthful team.  Their main problem will be competing in such a tough division.  Getting a premier quarterback through the draft might be a good idea.  Making sure the receiving corps is deep and talented enough for you QB to succeed is a better one.  Establishing the personnel to run your base (4-3) defense is the best idea.  Cleveland fans wanting to be a playoff team may have to be patient.