The Cleveland Browns offense was highly successful in 2020 in year one under Kevin Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt. Despite all the success, the Browns were often lacking significant speed on the offensive side of the ball once Odell Beckham Jr. and JoJo Natson went down for the season.
In 2020, the team brought in or promoted from the practice squad a number of speed players at the wide receiver position to try to rectify the lack of that dynamic. Alexander Hollins, Ja’Marcus Bradley, Marvin Hall, and Taywan Taylor were shots in the dark at a speed threat.
None were overly successful in the role.
Now, with Beckham Jr. and Natson back from injury and Donovan Peoples-Jones coming into his second season, the Browns have also added Anthony Schwartz to the wide receiver room.
The Browns also started using David Njoku more and more down the stretch. After picking up his fifth-year option on his contract, the former Miami tight end went from 17 snaps (23%) in week one to 49 snaps (79%) in week seventeen.
With all the speed returning to health, the increased usage of Njoku (the Browns most dynamic tight end), development of Peoples-Jones, and the drafting of Schwartz, the Browns offense now has a chance to scare people with an all speed package.
At times, expect the Browns to line up in 11 personnel, three receivers, one tight end, and one running back, which can create chaos for opposing defenses. With Beckham Jr. and Peoples-Jones on the outside, Schwartz and Njoku on the inside, and either Nick Chubb or, more likely, Kareem Hunt in the backfield, defenses will have to cover every blade of grass between the line of scrimmage and the endzone.
Last year, with only Peoples-Jones a rookie and Njoku’s snap count gradually rising, the Browns rarely had more than one speed threat on the field at any time and, often, it was their running back. This allowed defenses to crowd the line and compress throwing lanes for quarterback Baker Mayfield. While Mayfield was still successful, the quarterback will be happy to see bigger windows to throw the football in 2021.
Whether it was the deep ball to Beckham against the Bengals or the one-play touchdown to Peoples-Jones against the Titans, we have seen how explosive the Mayfield-led offense can be with speed. In 2021, the Browns can run out a speed package that could create wave after wave of excitement for the team’s faithful fanbase.