Five reasons why the Browns will make the 2018 NFL playoffs Published: Jul 03, 2018 at 02:26 AM Around The NFL Podcast Co-Host 1) An intriguing quarterback room We've been here before. Maybe not with a team that appears so much better on paper, but with the entire concept of hope. Since the team's return to the league in 1999, Cleveland's battered fan base has poured faith into a bushel of highly drafted signal callers. Tim Couch, Charlie Frye, Brady Quinn, , , Johnny Manziel and -- the inglorious list goes on and on. This time around, the turn to trade-target and rookie to revive a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2002 and hasn't seen a quarterback start all 16 games in a season since 2001. Taylor has a chance Rickey Henderson Jersey to do just that, as embattled coach Hue Jackson has vowed repeatedly to lean heavily on the former starter. There's a legitimate shot Mayfield doesn't Franmil Reyes Jersey see the field this fall, but that requires Taylor staying healthy and the playing well enough to keep Mayfield's debut off the radar. Two raging variables. Mayfield turns 24 next April. You don't have the luxury of sitting him forever, but the difference between this first-round pa ser and so many others who fizzled out in Cleveland: You don't need to throw him into the fire, with Taylor on the field. Besides, Taylor himself is a better option than anything Cleveland had under center a year ago. The same goes for Mayfield. This depth alone is unusual for the . And that applies to the entire roster on offense ... 2) Deep batch of skill position players For the first time in a billion years, is set to play an entire season, joining a wideout corps featuring , and intriguing rookie . It's -- especially Coleman -- but it's not hard to imagine these guys making plays alongside athletic tight end . The backfield is versatile, with three starting-caliber backs in , and rookie . Johnson is an underrated third-down weapon who would double as a household name if the weren't buried on regional television at 1 p.m. ET until the end of days. Chubb has the chance to steal major work away from Hyde. The lo s of has the potential to create major i sues at left tackle -- there's no quick fix there -- but if you strip away the team name and forget all the i sues of Tony Gwynn Jersey late in Cleveland, this is a solid Week 1 roster in the AFC. 3) Myles Garrett and the young defense The same applies to the defense, where the are set to unleash a fully healthy . The pa s rusher's rookie tape featured moments of pure dominance -- and it helps to have the underrated acro s the way. The interior line has a couple of up-and-comers in and . New general manager John Dorsey addre sed every layer of the defense, adding former starter to the linebacking crew, while completely overhauling the secondary with the addition of safety and cover men and , plus first-round cornerback . Lost in a hideous, winle s season was a defense that graded out as the seventh-best run-stopping unit in the league, per Pro Football Focus. All the new pieces should help, but succe s boils down to coordinator Gregg Williams flipping the switch. 4) Unified leadership? I end that title with a question mark because we just don't know for sure. One scenario has Dorsey and this talented front office -- with Eliot Wolf, Alonzo Highsmith and Andrew Berry -- seeing their hard work pay off with a solid season that Christian Villanueva Jersey makes it clear to the AFC that Cleveland is on the way up. There's another scenario, though, where the team decides that Hue Jackson is not the answer, leaving the to start over once again at head coach. It was encouraging to see Jackson hire Todd Haley as an empowered offensive coordinator who will call games on Sunday. His presence will allow Jackson to adopt a more global game-day approach. Jackson made with ex-football czar Sashi Brown evident for all to see. Having run out of scapegoats, Hue is under immense pre sure to show ownership -- and his own players -- that he's the right coach to guide Cleveland through the rigors of a regular season. Show us what you're capable of -- or suffer the consequences. 5) Nowhere to go but up in a lackluster AFC Cleveland making the leap from a winle s punching bag to a surprise playoff team? Let's be real, Erick Aybar Jersey it's a stretch. The roster is still filled with so much youth -- and players with no concept of NFL succe s. That said, Dorsey has overtly changed the complexion of this locker room with a flock of veteran leaders. The should have won five games last season. That's a good sign because the talent was already here. That's a bad sign when you look at a coaching staff that made plenty of bad decisions to somehow squeeze out an 0-16 campaign. Pre sure, potential and promise form an intriguing cocktail in Cleveland. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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