For a front office that spent years taking heat over the NFL Draft, Sunday in Cleveland felt like a loud, clear answer.
The Browns’ 21-18 win over the Carolina Panthers was more than another comeback. It was a showcase for Andrew Berry’s last two draft classes, with the young talent on the roster doing the heavy lifting all over the field. Every yard gained by a Browns player other than Deshaun Watson, whether on the ground or through the air, came from someone in either his first or second year in the league.
Quinshon Judkins led the way with 70 rushing yards and added nine receiving yards. Raheim Sanders chipped in 51 yards from scrimmage, including 17 rushing yards.
KC Concepcion caught two passes for nine yards, and Denzel Boston added two receptions for 41 yards. Harold Fannin Jr. was the biggest weapon of the group, finishing with seven catches for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
And that was only part of the picture. Isaiah Bond still hasn’t made much of an impact this season, Carsen Ryan has mostly been used sparingly as a blocker, Dylan Sampson is injured, and rookie Joe Royer remains away from the team while dealing with an undisclosed personal matter.
The young core extends beyond the skill spots, too. Berry found two starting offensive linemen in this year’s draft in Austin Barber and Spencer Fano, both of whom look like the real deal. There’s also still a chance Parker Brailsford gets on the field at some point.
Defensively, the Browns have more recent draft capital making an impact. Reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger is in the mix, Mason Graham is a clear breakout candidate, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is described as raw but exciting. Even the kicking game has a young piece in Andre Szmyt, who is in his second season.
That doesn’t mean Berry is done. The biggest task still sitting in front of him is finding the quarterback of the future, even with Watson showing signs of life. After that, he’ll need to keep adding veteran pieces to fill out the roster around a cheap, young core.
Berry took his share of criticism early in his Browns run, and some of it was deserved. But with back-to-back strong drafts now starting to reshape the roster, Sunday looked like another step in his redemption.
In Other News...
Browns Passing Game Just Caught A Break Before Steelers Week 4
The Browns passing game got a late-week boost before a division-size matchup with Pittsburgh, and it comes from an opponents roster shuffle rather than anything Cleveland did on its own. Joey Porter Jr. was already ruled out of the upcoming game because of a back injury, but the Steelers then sent the cornerback to Dallas in a deal for a second-round pick and a conditional sixth-rounder, removing one of their more familiar cover men from the AFC North picture altogether.
For Cleveland, the timing matters because Porter would have been a name the Browns would have had to account for twice a year if he had stayed put. Instead, Pittsburghs secondary depth now looks thinner, with Jamel Dean and Asante Samuel Jr. as the primary corners, and that changes the challenge for a Browns passing attack trying to find any edge it can get in Week 4. [Read more 🡒]
Quinshon Judkins Has A Browns Problem Bigger Than The Blocking
Quinshon Judkins has run into a problem in Cleveland that goes beyond what the offensive line is giving him. Through three games, the Browns back is averaging just 3.0 yards per carry with no touchdowns, a steep drop from the efficiency he showed as a rookie. Even with fewer stacked boxes in front of him, his runs have been among the leagues least effective, with Next Gen Stats putting him sixth from the bottom among NFL backs.
The Browns run-block win rate has not helped, but the film and the numbers point to a back who has been too tentative and has left too much yardage on the field. Now comes a tough test against Pittsburgh, one of the leagues top-graded run defenses, which makes this as much about Judkins finding decisiveness as it is about Cleveland creating better lanes. If the ground game is going to become a real threat, the Browns need more than cleaner blocking - they need Judkins to turn the openings he does get into something more. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Face A Bigger Thursday Test Than Their Record Suggests
A short week has a way of stripping away the polish, and that is exactly what the Browns are walking into as they head into a Thursday matchup in Pittsburgh. Both teams are 2-1, which gives this meeting a little more weight than a typical early-season divisional game, especially with Cleveland trying to show it can travel well and handle a Steelers team that has been steadier than its record might suggest.
The numbers point to a tight game, with quarterback play and the ground attack both likely to matter in a big way. Jaylen Warren has been part of Pittsburghs offensive conversation, while Cleveland has gotten attention from Harold Fannin Jr. as the Browns continue to sort out what kind of weekly identity they want on offense, and the betting markets have even framed Cleveland as an underdog worth a look. [Read more 🡒]