While most would agree the Cleveland Browns offense was terrible in 2024, it’s more challenging to pinpoint the biggest contributor to the malaise.
Deshaun Watson was terrible, the offensive line couldn’t pass protect to save their life, and the running game was nonexistent. Any team will struggle 100% of the time those three things are obvious.
The biggest issue was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was brought in to line Watson up in shotgun and push the ball down the field. The issue with that plan is Watson was the only player with that skillset on the roster, and Watson missed a big chunk of the year with injury.
The biggest struggle last season was the offensive line. After finally getting rid of Jedrick Wills, who may be a top-five draft bust, and moving back to a wide zone running scheme, I do expect them to be much better.
The interior offensive line for the Browns is built on athleticism, not sitting back in pass protection and buying time for a quarterback. While it will be imperative to get more and more of a run game going, just moving Flacco around in the pocket and getting the ball out much faster will help all of these guys not only grow confidence but build their skillset.
Last year we saw Wills continue his struggle, injuries to Dawand Jones, and poor play from both Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio at times, which led to a quarterback that never even had a chance to read the defense on most snaps.
With a focus on the run game in a scheme that this line is built for, I think you’ll see far more success on the ground, which will only open up the passing game and not allow defensive ends to pin their ears back and rush the passer.
This will never be an offense that is meant to come back from a large deficit, but hopefully becomes a unit that can milk that clock when needed the most in the fourth quarter, like they did all too often in 2023.
