The Cleveland Browns are one of four franchises to never play in a Super Bowl along with Houston, Jacksonville and Detroit. The Browns probably aren’t ending that drought in the 2023 season unless Deshaun Watson blows up. Let’s break down the Cleveland Browns for this coming 2023 NFL season.

A Closer Look at the Cleveland Browns 2023 NFL Season

• NFL Week 1: vs Cincinnati Bengals — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 2: at Pittsburgh Steelers — 8:15 p.m. ET (ABC)
• NFL Week 3: vs. Tennessee Titans — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 4: vs. Baltimore Ravens — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 5: BYE
• NFL Week 6: vs. San Francisco 49ers — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 7: at Indianapolis Colts — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 8: at Seattle Seahawks — 4:05 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 9: vs. Arizona Cardinals — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 10: at Baltimore Ravens — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 11: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 12: at Denver Broncos — 4:05 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 13: at Los Angeles Rams — 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 14: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 15: vs. Chicago Bears — TBD (TBD)
• NFL Week 16: at Houston Texans — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 17: vs. New York Jets — 8:15 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
• NFL Week 18: vs. Cleveland Browns — TBD (TBD)

What happened last season?

Cleveland finished 11-5 in Coach Kevin Stefanski’s first season but has regressed each year since and was 7-10 last year, meaning Stefanski is on a very hot seat entering this year. To be fair to him, Stefanski took a team led by a backup quarterback to a respectable 2022 season. When Deshaun Watson did return to the lineup from a long suspension, he had not played in almost two full years. It was going to take time to get him back up to speed. But it looks like Watson was close to returning to form by the end of the year.

Before last season, the Browns traded three first-round draft picks (2022, 2023, 2024), a 2023 third-rounder, and a 2024 fourth-rounder to the Houston Texans for Watson and then signed him to a record-setting extension. Watson frankly wasn’t very good in his six games (3-3 record), earning a 55.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade, marginally worse than Desmond Ridder and Sam Ehlinger‘s scores. In his last full season with Houston (2020), he earned a 92.5 PFF grade and was one of the best quarterbacks in the game.

Watson may have thrown seven touchdowns to five interceptions but recorded just three big-time throws to nine turnover-worthy plays. Too often, Watson bolted from the pocket early. He didn’t trust his blocking. He seemed confused at times. They are shifting the offense this year toward the strengths of their quarterback, giving him back some pre-snap command.

Latest Roster Add-Ons

Cleveland got Watson a new target in trading for ex-Jets wideout Elijah Moore this offseason. A second-round pick in 2021, Moore has appeared in 27 games with 15 starts and recorded 50 receptions for 984 yards and six touchdowns. He was one of the top rookie receivers at one point during 2021, totaling 34 catches for 459 yards and five touchdowns in his last six games of the year before a quad injury ended his season in Week 13. However, Moore seemed to fall out of favor with New York during his sophomore season last year and even got to a point where he requested a trade.

The trade marked the second consecutive offseason the Browns have swapped draft picks with a team to land a key playmaker at receiver as they landed Amari Cooper from Dallas. Cleveland has one of the NFL’s best running backs in Nick Chubb. He has generated +1,312 rushing yards over expected since 2018, the most by a running back over the last five seasons. Chubb is the only running back to gain over 250 RYOE in each of the last four seasons, including an RB-leading +284 RYOE in 2022.

Chubb said he’ll be “playing for” Jim Brown this season in wake of the legendary Cleveland running back’s death recently. Brown died on May 18 at the age of 87. He played nine seasons for the Browns and led the league in rushing in eight of those years. Chubb has since gone on to become the most prolific Browns running back since Brown. The two now own the eight best rushing seasons in Cleveland history. Chubb’s excellent former backup, Kareem Hunt, is gone now.

Up front, Cleveland might have the best guard tandem in the NFL with the Pro Bowl duo of Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller. Bitonio is coming off his second consecutive First Team All-Pro selection, allowing one sack and 19 pressures in 2022 (4.0% pressure rate).

Cleveland didn’t have first or second-round picks in this year’s draft and took Mississippi State cornerback Martin Emerson with its first pick at No. 68 overall after trading out of Round 2. At first glance, it’s difficult to see where Emerson fits in. The Browns gave fellow corner Denzel Ward a massive extension and spent a first-round pick last year on Greg Newsome II. They also have Greedy Williams and Troy Hill in the cornerback rotation. In the QB-loaded AFC, you can never have enough corners, however. In free agency, the Browns paid a lot for a run-stuffer in DT Dalvin Tomlinson, and they’re counting on younger vets like end Obo Okoronkwo and safety Juan Thornhill to reach new heights in new scenery.

How is the Browns schedule in 2023?

Cleveland’s 2023 schedule ranks as the seventh-easiest in the NFL with its opponents combining for a .460 winning percentage last year. The Browns are 2.5-point home underdogs for Week 1 vs. Cincinnati after splitting with the Bengals last year, each winning easily at home. It’s Cleveland’s first season opener at home since 2019. With three divisional matchups in the first four games, the Browns will have a big opportunity to establish an early lead in the AFC North. With a Week 5 bye, the Browns will be one of the first teams in the league to hit their mid-season break.

“It’s certainly a unique way to start the season, but I think it’s really cool,” Stefanski said. “I think we have the best division in football — a bunch of great players and great coaches. We know each other so well and we’ve played each other so many times. It lends itself to a great rivalry, so to see the Bengals in Week 1, Steelers in Week 2 and Ravens in Week 4 means there’s no easing into this one.”

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READ MORE: Cleveland Browns 2023 NFL Season Betting Guide