2014 Record: 7-9
2015 Non Division Opponents: AFC West, NFC West, New York Jets, Tennessee
2014 in review: The Browns were surprisingly competitive early in 2014 behind quarterback Brian Hoyer and sat at 7-4 after 11 games. All without Josh Gordon. Gordon came back and the wheels fell off. The Browns collpased on their way to a 7-9 season. Brian Hoyer won the job in camp, and prized rookie Johnny Manziel only threw 18 passes.
2015 Offseason: All of the goodwill is gone, as well as Brian Hoyer. Josh Gordon is suspended again, this time for the full 2015 season. QB Josh McCown was brought in, as well as veteran wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline. Rob Housler is in as the TE, but he cannot fill the shoes of departed TE Jordan Cameron. They did not upgrade the Running Back position, where Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell are again expected to split the backfield duties.
2015 Draft: Cleveland had two first round picks. Their first pick was DT Danny Shelton out of Washington. This was an excellent pick at a position of need, and Shelton will be on that defensive line week one. Their second first round pick? C Cameron Erving out of Florida State. At that spot Erving is a good pick. He was the top rated C in the draft. However, one thing the Browns do have already is one of the best centers in the NFL, Alex Mack. Round one probably isn’t the spot to take a potential pick. The plan is for Erving to shift back over to thelp the offensive line, but there were better choices the Browns could have made.
Player on the hot seat: Let’s be honest, there’s only one choice. Johnny Football lives on the hot seat. This one could be tough, because it’s been announced that Manziel is not the starter, he needs to beat out Josh McCown for that role. Manziel hasn’t shown that he’s NFL ready yet, but at least Cleveland only needs him to be Josh McCown ready to land the starting gig. Sadly, the odds are 50/50 at best.
Players you want on your fantasy team: Another fantasy wasteland here. There is not a single skill player I would draft on Cleveland in the first six rounds of any fantasy draft. They are a pure Running Back by committee, and neither running back is very good. Hartline and Bowe’s best days are behind them, but they could be ok in a bench role in a PPR league. Garbage yards count just as much as regular yards in fantasy leagues.
Season Prediction: There’s no way to spin this, Browns fans. This team is bad. 3-13 is likely the high mark for them this year.