Cleveland Browns Week 4 Stock Report
The Cleveland Browns dropped to 1-2 on the season after falling to the Oakland Raiders 27-20 in Week 3. As the Browns prepare for a trip west against the San Diego Chargers, some players are handling their responsibilities better than others.
Here are the Browns players whose stocks are rising or falling heading into Week 4.
Stock Up: TE Gary Barnidge
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The expectation with Josh McCown returning under center for the Browns in Week 3 is that his favored target, receiver Brian Hartline, would have had a big game against the Oakland Raiders. And while Hartline was a factor, McCown apparently found a new favored target: tight end Gary Barnidge.
Barnidge was the Browns' receiving leader against Oakland, totaling six catches on nine targets for 105 yards and a touchdown. The performance makes him the Browns' second-leading receiver through three weeks, with 10 catches on 15 targets for 160 yards and a score.
Though the Browns signed Rob Housler in the offseason to be the receiving tight end, Barnidge has been the one to take on that mantle. He'll be invaluable to McCown (or even Johnny Manziel, should it come to that) all season long.
Stock Down: S Donte Whitner
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In 2014, the Browns boasted one of the top secondaries in the NFL. But perhaps all that success has gotten to their heads. Nearly every cornerback and safety who has taken the field this year has struggled, but none as much as safety Donte Whitner.
Out of 80 safeties ranked this season by Pro Football Focus, Whitner ranks 79th. Though he has 23 combined tackles, a half-sack and two passes defensed, he's also given up eight receptions on 13 targets for 147 total yards, 82 yards after the catch and a touchdown. He's also accounted for seven of the Browns' total 28 missed tackles on defense this year.
With the Browns struggling to stop the run and pressure opposing quarterbacks, they need their secondary to be just as good, if not better, than it was a year ago. Instead, it has regressed, and Whitner's play is a big reason why.
Stock Up: Tramon Williams
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Not every member of the Browns secondary is having a bad season. Newly minted starter and veteran cornerback Tramon Williams is handling his business better than anyone else in coverage.
Williams allowed only three receptions on seven targets against the Raiders in Week 3, for just 26 yards and 11 yards after the catch. And on the season, he's allowed only nine receptions on 17 targets for 82 yards and 20 yards after the catch while giving up zero touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus.
He cannot carry the secondary single-handedly, but it is good to know that one of the Browns' free-agent acquisitions from the spring has panned out. Williams is a consummate professional who rarely makes mistakes.
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Stock Down: The Run Defense
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It seemed impossible for the Browns run defense to have a lower stock than it did a week ago, but yet here we are. And it's because nothing has gotten better from Weeks 1 and 2 to Week 3.
In Week 1 against the New York Jets, the Browns allowed 154 rushing yards. In the following week against the Tennessee Titans, it was 166 yards. And against the Raiders, it was 155 rushing yards, with Oakland back Latavius Murray leading the way with 139 yards and a score on 26 carries.
Who is to blame? Everyone. And that's not hyperbole. No Browns defender has a run grade higher than a plus-1.9 based on Pro Football Focus' metrics this year. This is an issue that has carried over, not just from 2014, but from the last decade-plus. The solution to the problem has yet to be found.
Stock Up: P Andy Lee
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The Browns made the correct move to trade for former San Francisco 49ers punter Andy Lee—he's been one of the most consistently good players on the roster this year. And that's not sarcasm or a bad thing: Special teams and field position can create an advantage before an offense or defense ever steps foot on the field.
Right now, Lee is second only to Atlanta's Matt Bosher in yards per punt with 54.3 yards and leads the league with 47.6 net yards per punt. He's had only one touchback and two fair-catch punts, and he has kicked four within opponents' 20-yard line.
Even better, nine of his 12 punts this year have been returned for a combined 60 yards, which speaks to his impressive hang time, which allows the Browns' coverage team to get down the field quickly and prevent lengthy returns.
It's up to the Browns to do something with the field position Lee gives them, but he's holding up his end of the bargain quite nicely thus far.
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