As the 2023 regular season starts to come to a close in the NFL the Cleveland Browns are not done yet as they prepare for the playoffs after the finale with the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon.
There have been some real highs and plenty of lows for Cleveland this year but in the end, clinching a playoff birth and the ride to get there has been fun.
One of the most consistent things about the Browns season was how often they needed to use the phrase next man up. It shows just how deep and well put together this roster has been under general manager Andrew Berry that put together a contender.
Cleveland will likely rest some of their starters this week against the Bengals as they can’t gain anything or lose anything based on the game’s result. With that, it’s time to start to look back on a fun season and hand out some awards for the 2023 regular season.
Rookie of the Year: OT Dawand Jones
Despite his season ending early due to injury it was a great year for the fourth-round rookie out of Ohio State. Dawand Jones fell to day three in the draft and came into a situation where he was going to be able to learn and grow as a player behind Jack Conklin. That all changed in the first half of the season opener against the Bengals when Conklin went down and Jones didn’t miss a beat.
Anytime you can get anything out of a day three pick you feel great but Jones was really good as a pass protector from the day he stepped on the field. He played a total of 419 pass-blocking snaps while also playing through injuries and only allowed three sacks and a total of 21 quarterback pressures. Cleveland has found their right tackle for the foreseeable future as a steal in the fourth round this year.
Player who took the next step: CB Martin Emerson Jr.
Martin Emerson Jr. has been a good player from the moment he stepped on the field last year as a rookie. This cornerback room has a lot of talent and both Greg Newsome II and Denzel Ward have a history of missing time due to injury making Emerson’s presence even more important. He took a massive step forward this year and showed he isn’t afraid of any wide receiver he gets matched up against.
He is physical, athletic, and an overall high football IQ player who finds a way to make big plays when they are needed nearly every week. Entering the final week of the season Emerson has allowed zero touchdown receptions and has the lowest passer rating when targeted (47.8) in the NFL.
Most Improved Player: Alex Wright, DE
Coming out of UAB, Alex Wright was a young player with all the physical tools to develop into a great player but needing development. He didn’t come from a big college and he added so much size in college he was a ball of clay that was going to need time. Due to injury as a rookie, he was forced to play a lot more than the team likely wanted and it wasn’t pretty.
Enter Jim Schwartz and another offseason in an NFL training camp and Wright has had a nice year as a rotational piece playing both inside and outside. Schwartz has maximized his insane length and explosion off the line of scrimmage as a pass rusher as well as cementing himself as one of the Browns’ best run defenders at defensive end. If Wright continues to grow as a player he will be a major problem for offensive lines in the future.
Unsung Hero: QB Joe Flacco
Who saw this coming when the Browns signed Joe Flacco off his couch in November? The team has had bad quarterback play for most of the season and then Flacco walks into town and is playing as good as any quarterback the past five weeks of the season.
The offense is completely different with the veteran at the helm who has set a franchise record throwing for over 300 yards in four consecutive games. Flacco has fans around the team believing they can make a run at the Super Bowl and you couldn’t say that six weeks ago before he took over.
Offensive Player of the Year: WR Amari Cooper
No matter who the quarterback has been this year Amari Cooper continues to be mister consistent for the Browns offense. Even though there were games the team struggled to move the ball through the air Cooper was still able to set a career-high in receiving yards in 15 games.
Cooper has done this over his career he is always where he is supposed to be when he is supposed to be there. You know if you are playing at quarterback and you throw his way you almost always have a chance to complete it. The game against Houston when he set the single-game receiving yardage record for the Browns was something special to watch.
Defensive Player of the Year and Team MVP: Myles Garrett, DE
Plain and simple Myles Garrett is the best player on the NFL’s best defense and what a year he has had for the Browns. The sacks haven’t come as often as you’d like but when you turn on the tape you see Garrett wrecking offensive game plans week after week after week.
Despite playing through a shoulder injury at times Garrett has already registered a career high in pressures with a ridiculous 86 on the year. This is despite never getting any holding calls and being double and sometimes triple-teamed. The attention he garners each week has allowed the rest of the defense to get favorable matchups and helped the defense be the league’s best.
Garrett has earned a legit shot at the Defensive Player of the Year award because when you watch this defense you will not see a player opposing offenses give more attention to than him and even then it isn’t stopping him.
