Winners and Losers of Cleveland Browns' Offseason so Far
With OTAs completed and mandatory minicamp the only major offseason event remaining before the Cleveland Browns commence training camp this year, every player's role is beginning to become clear.
But for every player who has seen his snaps increase this offseason, there is one who has seen his cut down. There are winners and losers in every offseason. With that said, here are the Browns who have gained and lost the most ground this offseason.
Winner: RB Duke Johnson
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The Browns had a plan in mind when they drafted running back Duke Johnson in Round 3 this year, and that was to add a level of dynamism to what is likely to be a run-heavy offense in 2015. And so far in OTAs, Johnson has delivered the dynamic style of running and receiving the Browns envisioned.
Last week, Browns running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery sang Johnson's praises, saying (via ESPN's Pat McManamon):
"[Johnson] gives you another dimension. He creates one-on-one problems. We hope he can be a little bit like the kid [Giovani] Bernard in Cincinnati. If he can do that for us, that gives us a different perspective on how we approach the field and gives us a chance to move people around and taking advantage of a mismatch.
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Montgomery added that Johnson is "going to be all over the field," and he sees a bit of Buffalo Bills' legend Thurman Thomas in Johnson's versatile game. As a runner, Johnson is fast and shifty. He ended his collegiate career at Miami as the university's all-time leading rusher. But he's also an effective pass-catcher and has been used in OTAs as a slot receiver quite often.
Johnson won't be an every-down back—his size is not ideal for blocking purposes, and Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell still have roles to play as rushers as well—but he will be an integral part of nearly every facet of Cleveland's offense this year.
Loser: RB Terrance West
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If Duke Johnson is going to be getting a significant workload, then another Browns running back will see his touches decrease. And between Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, West seems the most likely to have a reduced role this year.
Last season, West was the Browns' leading rusher, carrying the ball 171 times for 673 yards and four scores. But Crowell was more productive, totaling 607 yards on 148 carries and eight rushing touchdowns. But West also found himself in head coach Mike Pettine's doghouse at times.
Though refocused and ready to have a bounce-back year, Johnson's presence combined with Crowell's higher ceiling could mean a more limited workload for West in 2015.
Crowell and West have similar styles, but Crowell has a knack for finding the end zone. Johnson has better pass-catching abilities than West does, plus speed that West cannot match. Unless West can bounce back from his rookie-year struggles, it looks like he could take a backseat to Johnson and Crowell in 2015.
Winner: QB Josh McCown
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Josh McCown went into OTAs as the Browns' starting quarterback, as planned, and has yet to relinquish that job. But that's also by design, with head coach Mike Pettine emphatically making it known that there would be no competition between McCown and Johnny Manziel during the team's OTAs.
But it doesn't seem like Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer are in any hurry to fire up the competition between the two. In fact, Pettine and Farmer seem more than comfortable with McCown being the team's starter for Week 1 and the entire 2015 season.
Farmer said last week, via CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson that McCown is "a special special person and the right guy to have on this team."
Pettine said, "He can still spin it... we brought in a guy that can still play if we put him in the right circumstances." And even left tackle Joe Thomas likes the leadership that McCown has brought to the team.
McCown's status as a starter is not set in stone. But for now, he's had the luxury of heading up the first-team offense on his own. This gives him the edge, at least in the offseason, to emerge as the Browns' starting quarterback when the regular season begins in September.
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Loser: QB Johnny Manziel
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As noted, it was expected that quarterback Johnny Manziel would not be spending time with the first-team offense during OTAs. But that lack of work with the first-stringers puts him behind Josh McCown in terms of preparation as the offseason gives way to the preseason.
That's not to say that Manziel won't eventually get time with the starting offense once training camp begins in late July. And McCown's current status as starter doesn't mean Manziel can't take it away. Browns quarterbacks coach Kevin O'Connell, who spoke to the Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot, is optimistic about Manziel's future.
O'Connell, who worked with Manziel as his private quarterback tutor prior to the 2014 draft, said last week:
"My thoughts on Johnny have not changed. I thought very highly of him when I got a chance to work with him before the draft. ... But I can tell you from the first time I met Johnny until now, I still see the same competitive guy that comes into work every day to get better and that's all we can really ask of him right now and he's really responded to what we have asked of him.
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O'Connell's praise is a good sign that Manziel is making progress as a pro. But unless he can work with the starting offense, he'll remain Cleveland's No. 2 quarterback.
Winner: OL Cameron Erving
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Cameron Erving finished his collegiate career playing center, but that's not all he can do. Erving can also play tackle and guard, which is part of the reason the Browns chose to draft him in Round 1 this year.
And the Browns haven't been shy about testing him out at various positions on the line. So far, he's showed up at left tackle, right tackle and right guard, something that offensive line coach Andy Moeller says will continue through this summer's training camp.
Though left tackle is out of the question for Erving this year—that job firmly belongs to Joe Thomas—it's obvious he will be starting somewhere on the line as a rookie. Erving immediately stepped in and performed impressively. No other Browns rookie is having as good an offseason as he is.
Loser: OL John Greco and Mitchell Schwartz
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When Cameron Erving finally settles into a starting role on the Browns offensive line, that will mean the bench for either 2014 starting right guard John Greco or starting right tackle Mitchell Schwartz. If Erving is at right guard, Greco will either move to right tackle or to the bench. If Erving is at tackle, then either Greco will get to keep his job, or he will lose it to Schwartz.
Greco, for what it's worth, was one of the NFL's top right guards last year, and according to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just two sacks all season. Schwartz, in contrast, struggled in pass protection, allowing seven sacks and 22 quarterback hurries—the most of any Browns lineman.
Either way, one of the two will go from starter to backup in 2015. Cameron's gain will be Greco or Schwartz's loss.
Winner: CB K'Waun Williams
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Last year, the undrafted K'Waun Williams went from a long shot to make the Browns' 53-man roster to one of their top-performing defensive backs. This year, he's impressed during OTAs and made a strong case for himself to be the team's nickel cornerback.
Head coach Mike Pettine had nothing but praise for Williams this offseason. He shared his thoughts on him with the Plain Dealer's Tom Reed earlier this month:
"He's one of the guys this spring that if you kind of had to rate the guys that have taken a big leap from the previous year, K'Waun is up there. A lot of it's just a credit to him. He took that time from January to April. You could see he looks different physically. He's bigger, but he's leaner. He's moving better.
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Last year, Williams totaled 38 tackles and eight passes defensed and ultimately played just 21 fewer snaps than fellow rookie—and Round 1 draft pick—Justin Gilbert. And now that he's in even better shape and has a year of experience to his name, Williams looks like the front-runner to be a starter this year.
Loser: CB Justin Gilbert
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Because K'Waun Williams is having such a strong offseason, cornerback Justin Gilbert appears to be fourth on the Browns depth chart for now. Though Gilbert is committed to being a better player than he was in 2014, when he admitted a lack of preparation and maturity, he has a tough ladder to climb if he wants to make an on-field impact this season.
ESPN's Pat McManamon says that Gilbert has to focus on beating out Williams for the starting nickel corner job before he can think about unseating Tramon Williams, the expected starter on the outside. McManamon added, "[K'Waun] Williams gets the immediate edge based on how he played last season."
Though Gilbert can unseat either Williams this summer by proving he is a changed and improved player, starting jobs are not his to lose at this point. Those jobs belong to others right now. Gilbert is focused, but that focus will have to translate to on-field gains if he's going to climb up the depth chart this summer.
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