The hype isn't as loud and there is yet another new coach and front office that say all the right things about changing the culture etc, but the Browns will have to prove that anything has changed from any other team during the Jimmy Haslem reign of error in Cleveland.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski brought Alex Van Pelt in from Cincinnati to be the offensive coordinator, but it will be Stefanski calling the plays.
Stefanski called plays for the first time last year for the Vikings in his initial season as an offensive coordinator and I do have a concern with Stefanski's limited experience as a coordinator and first season as a head coach taking on the added work of playcalling.
I'm not concerned to the point of worrying, but it is something to keep an eye on.
I don't think that this season is a make or break campaign for Baker Mayfield, but he'll definitely need to show more than he did in an awful 2019.
Mayfield seems to have the right skills to play well in the Kevin Stefanski offense and wouldn't be the first quarterback to struggle after a good rookie season.
However, I wasn't sold on Mayfield after John Dorsey drafted him, and last year raised questions.
Still, the Browns will have to make the decision after the season on Mayfield's option for year five and even though it is almost a certainty that the option will be picked up, progress will need to be shown.
Veteran Case Keenum was signed from Washington to backup Mayfield.
Keenum's best season was under Stefanski in Minnesota in 2017, so he makes sense as the backup to teach the offense to Mayfield and as a solid alternative in the case of an injury to Mayfield.
Garrett Gilbert was signed to the enlarged practice squad as the third-stringer.
The Browns running game will rank with the rest of the league with the double-barreled attack of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
Chubb finished with 1,494 yards last season, second to Tennessee's Derrick Henry, and looks to be ready to repeat those numbers.
Kareem Hunt signed an extension as Chubb's 1A and after missing the first half of the season, was rounding into form by season's end.
Hunt could see time at receiver in special formations as the Browns try to find different ways to use Chubb and Hunt on the field at the same time.
Andy Janovich was acquired by Denver to block for Chubb and Hunt as the fullback in Stefanski's offense.
The fullback is used far more often in the new system than in the past in Cleveland, so Janovich will be key in opening holes and catching the occasional pass.
D'Ernest Johnson won the final running back spot over Dontrell Hilliard due to his work with special teams with Hilliard being signed to the practice squad.
Odell Beckham's 2019 was disappointing, but Beckham still finished with over 1,000 yards receiving, and having the extra work with Baker Mayfield should help Beckham break out.
Beckham's ability to run after the catch should fit better with the new offensive system and not require Mayfield to throw deep as often, which he struggled with last year.
Jarvis Landry is still recovering from off-season surgery and he didn't participate in every practice at camp.
Landry should see plenty of passes and allow plenty of room to be created for others in the short to middle range.
Landry finished with more yards than Beckham did last season, which probably shouldn't happen for the best of the team considering the routes that the two run, but Landry may have a big year yet again.
The third receiver is veteran Rashard Higgins, who battled his way back on the roster after problems with former head coach Freddie Kitchens.
The rest of the crew will be special team ace KhaDarel Hodge, sixth-round draft pick Donovan Peoples-Jones, and return specialist JoJo Natson.
The tight end position has been heralded as the favored son of the Kevin Stefanski-led offense and when Stefanski was with the Vikings, they did throw to the tight ends often.
The commitment to the position was shown quickly and with several moves.
The Browns signed the top tight end at the position to a big contract when signing away Austin Hooper from Atlanta for forty-four million dollars over four years.
Hooper grabbed seventy-five passes in thirteen games last season and should have an excellent chance of matching those numbers.
Cleveland then picked up the fifth-year option (for 2021) for David Njkou to the surprise of many.
Njoku then demanded a trade with the Browns brushing that aside until Njkou changed his mind.
The talented, but enigmatic former Miami Hurricane is only third on the depth chart though, behind fourth-round draftee Harrison Bryant of Florida Atlantic.
The 6'5 Bryant won the John Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end with the Owls and won the Browns most impressive player at camp award, so Bryant could be a surprise factor for Cleveland.
The Browns originally kept five tight ends with Stephen Carlson, who made some nice catches in spot action late last season and blocking tight end Pharoah Brown both making the team.
Brown was cut on Sunday when the Browns claimed two defensive linemen and didn't clear waivers as he was claimed by
I'm OK with that as Carlson shows potential as a receiver and would have surely been claimed by someone in the league.
Brown is a strong blocker, but it's far easier to find a blocking tight end than a talented pass catching one.
The offensive line looks improved, but there are questions remaining.
Cleveland grabbed the top tackle in free agency when the team signed Jack Conklin away from Tennessee with a three-year contract worth forty-two million to install at right tackle and used their first round draft pick on Alabama's Jedrick Wills to play left tackle,
Wills will make the switch to the left side after playing right tackle with the Crimson Tide and there will be growing pains as young offensive linemen inevitably do.
It'll be interesting to see how Wills fares compared to the other tackles selected in the first round in a draft that saw several taken with Wills the second of the group.
Kendall Lamm and Chris Hubbard each struggled last season with those problems causing the position to need two imported players to take over, but both are acceptable backups.
J.C. Tretter is back at center, but missed training camp with a knee problem and is questionable to start the season in Baltimore.
Fifth round draftee Nick Harris of Washington will backup Tretter and start until Tretter's return.
Joel Bitonio is a standout at left guard and Wyatt Teller won the competition for the right guard slot in camp.
Teller was acquired late in training camp last season, so this was really Teller's first camp with the club.
The Browns kept Evan Brown as the only other guard as a backup, although Nick Harris can play guard as well.
The offense comes down to two factors- Which Baker Mayfield shows up, the excellent passer from the 2018 stretch run, or the puzzled quarterback that threw so many passes high and wide?
The other is Jedrick Wills, can he fill a hole at left tackle, protect Mayfield and give the running backs space to wear down defenses?
While I'm not sure about Mayfield, I think Wills will take his lumps early and learn lessons well to improve as the season plays out.
The Browns have the weapons to show improvement this season, but will the quarterback cooperate?
Back later with a look at the defense, special teams, and a season prediction.
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