The Cleveland Browns had needs on special teams when the offseason began. Both parts of the kicking game struggled in 2021 and the return game was limited at best. The team also had discipline issues in covering kicks at times.
Needless to say, Mike Priefer’s unit has gotten some attention this offseason. Jakeem Grant was added early in free agency to provide a boost to the team’s return game. Monday, the team added punter Corey Bojorquez who graded out well last year and boomed an 82-yard punt.
As discussed in the Bojorquez piece, the kicking game still needed to find someone to make field goals and extra points. The options in free agency this late in the offseason were quite limited while the NFL draft seemed to have some options if the team was willing to use an asset there.
For now, the Browns answer to their kicker problem is to bring back the kicker that struggled last year, Chase McLaughlin. Interestingly, their subheadline for his return article highlighted his struggles last year:
McLaughlin converted 71.4 percent of his field goals last season
Only one kicker with 10 or more attempts in 2021 had a lower conversion rate than McLaughlin, Matt Ammendola of the New York Jets converted just 68.4% of his kicks.
McLaughlin did only miss one extra point, going 36 of 37 for a quality 97.3% rate.
It is likely that Cleveland is not done addressing their kicking need but will have to wait until the draft or undrafted free agency following it to create competition with McLaughlin. Last year, head coach Kevin Stefanski seemed to lose confidence in his kicker leading to many fourth-down conversion failures for the offense.
The Browns have another kicker on their roster, to go along with Chris Blewitt, but not one that will evoke confidence.