If the Browns are going to make the playoffs for the third time since their reintroduction in 1999, it starts with two men.
The first is obvious. If Deshaun Watson doesn’t play markedly better than he did last year after returning from an 11-game suspension, nothing else will matter. But if Watson does bounce back, the offense should take off.
Which leaves Jim Schwartz.
After inconsistent performances over the past three seasons under former defensive coordinator Joe Woods, Cleveland made a change. It opted for Schwartz, a 57-year-old who has 13 seasons of experience as a coordinator, between the Titans and Eagles.
While it’s early, there’s optimism around camp that the scheme change will have an immediate impact.
“We’re going to cut it loose up front with our four-man fronts,” says coach Kevin Stefanski, adding that he hired Schwartz because they share a vision for the unit. “We have some versatility in the back end. We have linebackers that can cover. The bottom line is we’re going to be an attack front.”
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For Schwartz, the initial challenge will be creating more of a pass rush beyond All-Pro DE Myles Garrett. While Garrett has been a dominant force each of the past five years (racking up 67.5 sacks in that span), he’s been surrounded by underwhelming support.
In Garrett’s career, the Browns have never had three players with at least five sacks in a season. Furthermore, nobody has ever totaled 10 sacks alongside him. (Olivier Vernon and Jadeveon Clowney came the closest with nine apiece in 2020 and ’21, respectively.)
Last year, Garrett amassed 16 sacks. Taven Bryan was second for Cleveland, with three. Finding better complements was a point of emphasis this offseason, one the Browns believe they achieved.
This winter Cleveland signed edge rusher Za’Darius Smith to a one-year deal worth $10.5 million; Smith boasted double-digit sacks in three of his last four seasons, with the Vikings and Packers. And, with defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson brought in to push the pocket from the interior, Cleveland’s front offers more promise than it has in years.
“It’s get Myles help, but it’s also find guys and unlock guys who can rush the passer,” says Stefanski. “As we all know, affecting that passer is the number-one job of our defensive line, and the more guys you can throw out there, it helps everybody.”
Entering his fifth season with the Browns, linebacker Sione Takitaki also spoke on what the new personnel and change in attitude could bring. Takitaki noted the new system will “unhandcuff” the linebackers, whereas under Woods’s system, the second level had to be more patient. With Schwartz, it’s more seek and destroy.
“We brought in [Smith], [Tomlinson], we drafted some guys, some big dudes,” says Takitaki. They’re going to make our jobs a lot easier in the back seven and we’ve got good guys who can cover.”
One thing that will stay relatively the same from Woods to Schwartz? Blitzing, or lack thereof.
Under Woods, Cleveland ranked 30th, 26th and 16th in blitz percentage. While Schwartz’s scheme is definitely more aggressive in terms of attacking the line, the reality is that he also eschews bringing extra pressure. In his final three seasons as the Eagles’ coordinator 2018 to ’20), Philadelphia checked in at 32nd, 19th and 28th in the same metric.
Of course, this is a double-edged sword. The Browns will have more players in coverage to choke off passing lanes, but the front must win without the benefit of numbers.
If it does, the Browns have a secondary that could ascend to one of the league’s best. Denzel Ward has long been elite, a two-time Pro Bowler who is only 26 years old. Then there’s second-year corner Martin Emerson Jr., a rising star who burst onto the scene as a third-round rookie.
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At safety, Cleveland invested a three-year deal in Juan Thornhill, snatching the two-time Super Bowl champion from the Chiefs. He’ll now pair with Grant Delpit, who, after tearing his Achilles tendon in camp as a rookie in 2020, has continuously improved.
Emerson thinks the change in scheme will allow for quicker decisions on the back end.
“A lot of man-to-man,” Emerson says of Schwartz’s influence. “The last defense was a lot of if-then statements. So if this happens, then we would do this. As a [defensive back], you’d just rather play fast. Know your responsibility and get after it. That’s what this defense illustrates, and I’m happy to be a part of that.”
For the Browns—and everyone else in the AFC—the tests will come fast and furious for the pass defense. Cleveland will face a slew of top quarterbacks, including Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson twice apiece, along with Trevor Lawrence, Geno Smith, Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford.
If the Browns are going to make a run toward the playoffs, they need to get rolling quickly. Four of their first five games are home dates, including three AFC North tilts. Get off to a fast start, and Cleveland will be well-positioned to fight for a postseason berth, and perhaps even a division crown. A poor start, and the challenges will mount rapidly for a team without much recent history of success.
Regardless, though, the key might be steadiness, both physically and mentally, in a conference that will undoubtedly challenge everyone in it.
“My expectations are just being the same team when we’re playing well and when we go through adversity,” says Emerson. “That’s when you really get to know how good a team is. I just want us to jell together and do whatever it takes. Be the same guy every day. Come in and work your ass off. If we do that, we’ll be working towards something special.”
And to be special, everything inarguably starts with Watson, who was brutal in his return to the field last season. But should the man with the largest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history find his old form, then the onus will shift to a defense led by a new coordinator with a different scheme.
The pressure is on in Cleveland. The Browns are hoping in more ways than one.
Editors’ note, Aug. 8 at 3:45 p.m. ET: An earlier version of this story misstated how many times the Browns have made the playoffs since 1999. They have made it twice, not once.
