BEREA, Ohio—The last stop in my swing through the Great Lakes by car, and it’s been a (relatively) quiet return here from nine days in West Virginia for the Browns …
1. The Browns’ hope is that the hire of ex-Bills OC Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator will move their scheme forward in the same way their division rival Ravens’ moves from Marty Mornhinweg to Greg Roman to Todd Monken worked over the last six seasons. In other words, the idea was to add elements that could diversify the offense in a way that helps the quarterback take his next steps as a player and, ultimately, creep closer to maximizing his talents.
Dorsey brings background in the Norv Turner scheme that he coached in Carolina, and a Brian Daboll scheme that was rooted in New England. Together, he and Kevin Stefanski—who’s run a version of the Gary Kubiak offense in Cleveland but has a varied background from his years in Minnesota (including time spent with Turner himself)—have worked to meld some of the shotgun-oriented concepts that give a little more freedom to receivers with regimented under-center and run game elements from the head coach. The ideal would be that a better-fitting blend yields positive results for Deshaun Watson, who’s been most effective as a dropback passer from the shotgun and excels in off-schedule situations.
Watson, for his part, has picked up—and invested in—the changes quickly. Dorsey’s done a lot to add to the shotgun dropback, tempo and RPO pieces of the offense, and Watson’s learning curve has been shortened in how he has some background in a Patriots-style offense, having played for Bill O’Brien for four years.
2. The Browns’ depth at receiver is in a good spot, whether a Brandon Aiyuk trade happens or not (I’d guess it probably doesn’t happen for Cleveland, but the Browns are in the mix). In the case there’s no trade, Amari Cooper’s steady presence and production should help the younger guys continue to come along as they have early in camp. Elijah Moore has shown great quickness and feel in settling into the all-important slot spot in the new offense, and Jerry Jeudy has displayed a really solid football IQ (and benefited from the change in scenery). Beyond those two, Cedric Tillman has stepped up in his second year, showing he can separate and generate yards after the catch well for a bigger, longer guy. The question for him would be where the touches will come from, with the aforementioned three wideouts and tight end David Njoku in the mix.
3. The team is taking its time in getting Nick Chubb back—he’s been running full speed in a straight line for a while now, and changing direction in his workouts over the past couple of weeks. For now, though, the Browns are getting a good long look at what life without Chubb looks like, with Jerome Ford and ex-Patriot Pierre Strong Jr. at the front of the pack to step up and, in time, be the guys to spell Chubb.
4. Second-round pick Mike Hall Jr. has been a monster in camp. The Browns knew how disruptive and explosive the big defensive tackle was. The concern with him was how consistent he’d be. But to this point, he’s been a good teammate, and worked his tail off to get into the mix with guys such as Shelby Harris and Dalvin Tomlinson at defensive tackle.
5. Another name to watch would be 2023 fourth-round pick Dawand Jones, the massive tackle out of Ohio State. Jones has taken advantage of the opportunity that injuries to Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin have opened for him. It’s hard to see how the Browns will get Jones on the field if those two are healthy, especially with the team set at guard with Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller. But he’s making a case for the Browns to find a way.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Browns Training Camp Takeaways: New Offense Aims to Help Deshaun Watson Evolve.
