Rookie minicamp kicked off Friday in Berea the day after the Cleveland Browns learned of their 2023 schedule. The team will learn a lot about themselves right out the gate playing all three division rivals in the first four games. One advantage during that stretch is that they will play four of the first five games in Cleveland.
An early week five bye will also be tough to deal with as well knowing you will play 13 games in a row to finish the year. With two prime-time games and two to be decided let’s take a look at the five easiest matchups on the Browns schedule.
Week 7 vs Indianapolis Colts
This season for the Indianapolis Colts will rest on whoever is the starting quarterback for the team. They have a great rushing attack but you can’t win a lot of games when you are one-dimensional. The Browns have invested a lot into stopping the run after a putrid season against the run last year.
The Colts may have taken the quarterback with the best upside in Anthony Richardson but he still needs time to develop. If the Browns’ pass rush is as improved on the field as on paper they should be able to bottle up whoever plays QB for the Colts.
Week 9 vs Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have a bad roster that will take some time to be rebuilt into a contender again. They have a promising new head coach in Jonathan Gannon but they are likely without Kyler Murray for at least a large portion of the season. There isn’t much on the offense of the ball that scares you except DeAndre Hopkins who could be traded before the season.
Week 13 on the road vs the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are in a bit of a rebuild after injuries ravaged their 2022 season after their Super Bowl victory. The team traded away star defensive back Jalen Ramsey to help gather draft assets in the rebuild. Outside of Aaron Donald there isn’t much-proven talent along the defensive line and without Ramsey the secondary is weak as well, the Rams could be in for another long season.
Week 15 vs Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears will be a much-improved team after the trade for DJ Moore and a solid draft with all the extra picks they received for trading the number one overall pick. But overall the roster still has a lot of holes on it and unproven young players that need to make a leap. With this matchup being later in the season it could be a much tougher matchup than it appears in May.
Week 16 vs Houston Texans
The Texans were aggressive in getting their guys in the draft taking CJ Stroud and trading up for the best pass rusher in the class in Will Anderson from Alabama. The Texans will be better in 2023 after signing some solid veterans on both sides of the ball but they lack any proven stars. The pass catchers have upside but outside of Robert Woods, Stroud doesn’t have a ton of weapons that scare you.
