Browns trade Donovan Peoples-Jones to Lions

    The speculation on the activity at the trade deadline for the Cleveland Browns and Andrew Berry ranged from returning Jacoby Brissett from Washington to be the insurance policy for DeShaun Watson to adding a running back to add depth and perhaps even a wide receiver to add one more weapon for a passing game that could use one even with a healthy DeShaun Watson.

BUT on my weekly appearance to talk Browns with Ramon Malpica, (have I mentioned that yet?) last night, I stated that the Browns could stand pat because Andrew Berry's track record shows he usually loves the roster he has built and is willing to let the chips fall where they may.

Well, Andrew Berry did almost just that as the Browns didn't add a player at the deadline but they did move one as Cleveland traded wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones to the Detroit Lions for a sixth-round pick in the 2025 draft.

Yes, you read that correctly, in the supposed "All-In" season, a team that seemed a receiver short, traded one away for a low-round pick two years away.

Peoples-Jones caught eight passes for ninety-seven yards this season and was averaging six and a half yards on thirteen punt returns this season.

Now, before you think I'm being too harsh, I see the thinking on this from both sides.

Cleveland managed to receive three years and another half-year of use from Peoples-Jones, got back what they spent to draft him in 2020, a sixth-round pick, and Peoples-Jones was likely going to leave via free agency at the end of the season, so as little as the return was, it was still something.

On the other side, Peoples-Jones had played the highest percentage of snaps among the Browns wideouts this season, at eighty-two percent even more than Amari Cooper, and if Peoples-Jones's value is that low, why was he playing so often?

Peoples-Jones has taken thirteen of the Browns' nineteen punt returns this year and while he isn't an elite return man, he had served in that role several times in his Cleveland tenure.

I am interested to see who profits from the trade with increased playing time and I'd think it would be third-round draftee Cedric Tillman, who has caught one pass for five yards and has been inactive since the week four loss to Baltimore when he suffered a hip injury in garbage time.

Tillman has been a healthy inactive for the last two weeks, so it will be interesting to see what he does with the added snaps.

David Bell and Marquise Goodwin could also see a bump in their playing time as well.

I'd say I'm sorta "meh" on the deal.

Peoples-Jones may have been seeing lots of playing time but he wasn't doing much with it, although some of the blame should go to the chaos at the quarterback position as well.

The draft pick is something for a player who was likely to leave and while that is a tangible asset it's still not much to get excited for.

It will be interesting to see how Cedric Tillman and David Bell react with their increased role but if either was impressing the coaches in practice, shouldn't they have earned time over Peoples-Jones already since DPJ was expendable?

Of more interest to me than trading Peoples-Jones is the lack of interest by the Browns in doing anything to help a failing offense during a supposed "All-In" season.

Andrew Berry has traditionally been an executive that has been reluctant to make deals involving players that he drafted or acquired and he is staking the season on DeShaun Watson not only returning to the lineup but returning to his past level of play.

If Watson cannot do the former, Berry could be staking his job and that of Kevin Stefanski on either Dorian Thompson-Robinson or P.J. Walker guiding the Browns to success.

If Watson returns but doesn't perform well, Berry has a different problem because the Browns have no other option to replace him due to the cost of acquiring him and what seems now to be an incredibly bad decision to fully guarantee Watson's contract at sixty-three million dollars for each of the next three seasons.

Andrew Berry loves his roster and thinks it's good enough to make a long run without adding anyone to shore up the roster for the stretch run.

For his sake, I hope he made the right decision. 

Browns take down Texans 27-14

 The long-anticipated Cleveland Browns debut of DeShaun Watson was supposed to cure some offensive ills but it was two defensive touchdowns by Denzel Ward and Tony Fields combined with a Donovan Peoples-Jones punt return for a score that accounted for Cleveland's end zone visits in a 27-14 win over the hapless Houston Texans in Houston.

Watson would finish with only twelve completions from twenty-two throws for 131 yards and threw an interception into the Houston red one to end a scoring threat.

Nick Chubb rushed for eighty yards on seventeen carries and Kareem Hunt added fifty-six yards on nine carries to lead the offense.

Cleveland improved to 5-7 with the victory and will travel down I-71 to visit the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1) The big question was how DeShaun Watson would be treated in his return to Houston and while I'm sure there was some noise made and plenty of comments, they didn't really come across on the television broadcast.

This could be due to the Texans seeming to have poisoned a once-robust fan base into just ambivalence so it will be interesting to see how Watson is treated next week by the Cincinnati crowd.

2) I didn't expect DeShaun Watson to be sharp and he wasn't.

On the interception in the end zone to Jalen Pitre, he had a receiver open (Donovan Peoples-Jones) and instead attempted to squeeze it into Amari Cooper.

Those things will hopefully develop as Watson plays more often, even if the payoff doesn't arrive until next season.

3) On a few plays though, you could see what Watson could bring to the Browns as he scrambled around the pocket, tucked the ball down, and ran for a first down on an eleven-yard dash.

There are some things that Watson will need to work on but the mobility is still there intact.

4) The Browns entered this game with three interceptions in the previous eleven games but picked two passes in this win, including John Johnson's grab on the first offensive play of the game.

Johnson's interception didn't result in any points but it did set the stage for the Browns defense to make big plays throughout the game.

5) It was a big game for second-year linebacker Tony Fields, who forced a fumble that led to a touchdown, recovered a fumble, and grabbed a ball that was deflected by Chase Winovich, running sixteen yards for a touchdown.

Fields saw some action last week against Tampa Bay and could see even more playing time between his play against Houston and a second-half injury to Sione Takitaki that looked somewhat serious.

6) The other touchdown from the defense was really strange as Fields hit a sneaking Kyle Allen at the Houston two, knocking the ball loose, and seemed like no one saw the football except Denzel Ward, who strolled into the end zone untouched early in the third quarter.

7) Cleveland's other touchdown came from Donovan Peoples-Jones, who returned a punt seventy-six yards for the Browns first score late in the first half.

Peoples-Jones's return was the first punt return touchdown dating back to 2015 and Travis Benjamin.

For a team with so many great returners in their history, the Browns have had major issues filling the void since Josh Cribbs other than Travis Benjamin for a short time.

8) I was disappointed when Nick Chubb was tackled for a safety in the first half as Houston's defensive line pushed the Browns offensive line back and Chubb never came close to getting out of the end zone.

Remember that while it is only needed to break the plane of the goal line to score a touchdown, to avoid a safety the ball needs to completely reside outside of the end zone at the time of the tackle.

10) Other than that, the Browns had no problems running the ball against the Texans and Kareem Hunt looked as good as he has been all season on his carries.

11) Houston is the worst team in the league for a reason and the Browns couldn't score an offensive touchdown against them.

DeShaun Watson will need some time to really sharpen his skills and while the offense has been waiting for him as the savior, he isn't likely to be that for this season anyway.

The Browns missed David Njoku and Watson will naturally improve when his tight end is part of the weapons that he has on the field.

I'd still argue that the Browns need to upgrade those targets in the offseason to give Watson the best chance to succeed but that can wait until another time.

DeShaun Watson will face a good team in the Bengals next week and though they have their defensive issues as well, Cincinnati is much better than Houston, and the Browns have had the Bengals number in the last few seasons, so the Bengals will be much more motivated than one would suspect for a game against a 5-7 team.

We won't receive all the answers next week but we will likely get a few and they will go a long way toward the Browns playing for something in the final month of the season or playing out the string as they get a feeling for DeShaun Watson and what he does best in their offense.  

A Tale of Two Bakers- Browns Rally Past Bengals 37-34

   Baker Mayfield threw five touchdown passes in the final three quarters and hit rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones with a 24-yard pass in the end zone with eleven seconds remaining to lift the Cleveland Browns to a 37-34 victory.

Mayfield finished the afternoon with 297 yards passing with those five touchdowns to four different receivers. 

Rookie tight end Harrison Bryant caught two of those scoring passes and Rashard Higgins grabbed all six of the passes thrown to him for 110 yards.

Kareem Hunt led the Browns in rushing with 76 yards in the victory that boosted the Browns to 5-2 on the season and in playoff contention.

Cleveland will host the 3-3 Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday before their bye week

Brownie Bits

1) Before I start on the win, the Browns announced on Monday that Odell Beckham tore his ACL while attempting a tackle on Baker Mayfield's first-quarter interception and will miss the rest of the season.

I know how it seems like Baker Mayfield has been chemistry with other receivers and it may be so to an extent, but I also know this- this team doesn't have a deep threat on the roster without Odell Beckham other than the still-raw Donovan Peoples-Jones and as opponents realize this, the underneath throws to Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins will be contested more and more.

2) On to Baker Mayfield, who missed on his first five passes, his first was intercepted on the play that ended the season of his star receiver, and generally looked terrible in the first quarter.

As people such as myself were going crazy with his poor play (although I did criticize him on Twitter, I didn't call for Case Keenum as many did), the Browns started their first possession in the second quarter and...

3) That Baker Mayfield left the building, replaced by this other guy that resembled the player that finished the 2018 season.

The quarterback that arrived would complete every pass that he threw for the remainder of the game with the exception of one clock spike and would throw the game-winner with seconds to play.

That Mayfield played with confidence, put the ball on a line, didn't hang his receivers out to dry, and generally looked like a quality NFL quarterback.

Kevin Stefanski didn't ask him to make long downfield throws and maybe that could be the key to success for Mayfield, but I don't think you could ask for more than what the Browns got from their quarterback in the final three quarters.

4) All of that said, it's not unfair to say we still need to see a body of work.

Baker Mayfield's career passing rating against the Cincinnati Bengals is 111 and in all other games, his rating is 83.

That doesn't' mean that it will remain that way, it just states what has been to this point.

The schedule plays to his advantage with an erratic (much like the Browns) Raiders team next before games against weak sisters Houston and Philadelphia with all three games in Cleveland followed by a visit to one win Jacksonville.

It's not out of the question the Browns could be 9-2 or at least 8-3 going into Tennessee without a true test other than maybe the Raiders and we won't know that much more about Baker Mayfield's future than we do today.

5) Rashard Higgins, the most popular player in Cleveland, steps in and finishes with over 100 yards with two of the biggest catches of the game.

Higgins digging a low pass from the grass only gained eight yards, but Higgins managing to get out of bounds was a huge play in saving time and his following catch for thirty more yards put the Browns in a spot to throw more than a Hail Mary to score.

I recently wrote that everyone loves Higgins except several coaching staffs who try to avoid using him at every turn.

Perhaps now, Higgins can have some of the respect he deserves.

6) Donovan Peoples-Jones did make an excellent catch on the game-winning touchdown, but there was a little bit of luck involved as the ball literally passed between the arms of Bengals defensive back Darius Phillips.

I'll take the luck this time, but Peoples-Jones, for now at least, is the major deep threat on the roster and he'll need to continue his development.

7) Austin Hooper missed the game after an emergency appendectomy on Friday,  but the Browns did not miss him as much as they could have with Harrison Bryant catching two touchdowns and David Njoku catching another.

I really like Bryant and the Browns might have found themselves an excellent tight end.

8) Myles Garrett continued his display of dominance with two sacks, a forced fumble on Joe Burrow, and has sacked a quarterback in six straight games, which established a team record.

9) Denzel Ward had an excellent game covering A.J. Green, but the safety position is going to kill this team (like it has done several times) if Andrew Berry doesn't step up and get someone that can play safety.

Eric Reid is a Pro Bowl level safety that is available for nothing but money and the Browns would be well served to give him a call.

10) The Browns still almost lost this game after all that- Watch the Hail Mary and after the tip drill started, the ball was going straight to A.J. Green but bounced off the chest of Sheldrick Redwine.

For all of the excitement of this game, it almost added even more.

11) The injuries are piling up on offense.

Their top running back is gone as is the only deep threat in the passing game and although the schedule will help with the next four games against one team at .500, can you rely on Baker Mayfield to outscore all of these teams without his two biggest weapons?

We shall see.

12) And can you outscore EVERYONE, even the bad teams?

Let alone the good ones?

It makes me think that although this team has improved, can they take the step forward by beating all the teams they should and do it with all offense?

13) Winding up with this- I always remember Dick Vermeil, back when he coached the Eagles, discussing the Miracle in the Meadowlands and what he was thinking before the famous Herman Edwards recovery and touchdown.

Vermeil was thinking about the game, but what he said was his thoughts were about his program.

In 1978, the Eagles were in their third year under Vermeil and his thoughts were about the foundation of the Eagles being the domination of the New York Giants and how that was slipping away before that fumble.

The Steelers and Ravens have that feeling with the Browns- they will bully them, beat them, and even when they play them close that they will find a way to win and the Browns know it.

Perhaps Kevin Stefanski has begun the foundation of his program with the domination of the Cincinnati Bengals?

Browns Draft Recap

Everyone always says how much they hate the grading of drafts immediately following the draft and how unfair it is, half will be wrong, etc.

And those same people read them all and in many cases write them, so why is that?
Because it's speculation and with the draft, speculation is fun!

I could sum this draft up quickly and without detail and simply say it's an A-.

The Browns landed arguably the best tackle in the draft in Alabama's Jedrick Wills in the first and my top-ranked safety in LSU's Grant Delpit in round two without giving anything up and adding a fifth-rounder to a draft that lacked one when the draft started.
Both Wills and Delpit almost certainly will be immediate starters.
Missouri defensive tackle Jordan Elliott is rated highly and should be a rotational player this season, and perhaps more for the 2021 season with both Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson eligible for free agency after the 2020 term.

One often hears the term "Overdrafted" when a player goes earlier than expected, but the Browns used two picks for receivers that use the seldom-used term "Underdrafted" with John Mackey Award winner Harrison Bryant of Florida Atlantic in the fourth round and Michigan wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones in the sixth frame.
Bryant should see plenty of field time in the Kevin Stefanski offense as a receiving tight end and Peoples-Jones may not break into the lineup at wide receiver as quickly but should have a chance to help with returning punts, which he did at Michigan, and perhaps kickoffs as well.

Some questioned the choice of Washington center Nick Harris due to his size, but Harris can play guard, fits the zone blocking scheme of new offensive line coach Bill Callahan, and could be the eventual replacement for J.C. Tretter, despite Tretter's contract extension that he signed last year.
LSU linebacker Jacob Phillips is an excellent tackler who has questions about his pass coverage.
At a minimum, Phillips should be able to be a two-down linebacker for Cleveland and even though I preferred Ohio State's Malik Harrison, who was taken one pick later by Baltimore, the worst thing that I can say about Phillips is that he might have been drafted a little early and it could be that new defensive coordinator Joe Woods might think that Phillips suits what he wants from his defense more than Harrison will.

Here are my kudos and concerns from the draft.
Please keep in mind that these are not projections on my mind, just some thoughts from each side of the ledger, and do not mean that I am predicting that either side is predictions on my part.

Kudos

1: When your guys fall to you- Don't get cute- take him.
The Browns did just that in the first round with Jedrick Wills and on day three with Harrison Bryant.
In the past, the Browns would get too clever, try to get something else, and wind up losing your guy.
This time they stayed put and took their player, now let's see if Wills is the best of four very good tackle prospects.

2: The draft did set up for the Browns at 41 in the second round with Grant Delpit, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Ashtyn Davis all available for the Browns to fill their need at safety.
With all three available when the Colts called to talk about moving up from 44, it made sense to take the free fifth-rounder as the Colts were unlikely to take a safety.
The Browns were then guaranteed that one of the three was going to be on the board for their pick.
That's a smart time to move down and add assets.

3: I've stated through the years that teams become playoff teams by accumulating players who can make impact plays and not by amassing multiple players that are average.
The Browns usually did this as part of the trading down process that the analytics people love so much but in this draft, Cleveland managed to grab who they rated as the best tackle, best safety, and maybe the best pass-catching tight end.
Impact players who make a difference will be the core of turning this organization around.

Concerns

1: I still wonder about the third-round selection of Jacob Phillips over Malik Harrison.
The Browns have noted that they like Phillips in passing situations as a good coverage linebacker, but when you watch his video, you see that Phillips doesn't have great lateral mobility and needs work in coverage.
I'm not the professional and I'm not knocking Phillips as a player at all as he has plenty to like, but I do find that a bit odd.

2) While I really like all three of the picks on the final day, I do wish that the Browns had found a way for another linebacker to be added.
The Browns linebackers are very young with only journeyman B.J. Goodson having experience beyond second-year men or rookies, so I'd be surprised if Andrew Berry doesn't go shopping for a veteran free agent either now or in June for a bargain cap casualty.

3) While I like the pick of Jordan Elliott for both value and talent, I do wonder about a pass rusher at defensive end.
It's clear that Olivier Vernon is going to return and should Vernon be able to stay healthy, he will more than provide the needed help for Myles Garrett off the edge.
However, Vernon's health is a fair topic to question as he has missed four or more games in each of the last three seasons.
Veteran Adrian Clayborn could help in limited situations and I guess the Browns can hope for Chad Thomas to show something, but if Vernon can't stay on the field the defensive end spot is a major concern.

There's a lot to like about this draft for the Browns and there isn't a clear scream at the TV selection here as even the best drafts in the past have possessed (Chad Thomas over Sam Hubbard, anyone?).
However, the other teams in the AFC North did quite well in the draft as well and it's fair to question how much the gap between the Browns and the Ravens/Steelers has been narrowed.
How well did they do?
I'll be back soon with a look at the drafts of the other divisional rivals and how well their haul worked out for 2020.

Browns select Donovan Peoples-Jones

The Cleveland Browns completed their draft early as their sixth-round choice would be their final one of the 2020 NFL Draft after the Browns included their seventh-rounder in their second-day trade with the Saints that brought a 2021 third-rounder to the Browns from New Orleans.

And Cleveland drafted a player with that pick that I would have been pleased with had they taken him in the third or fourth round in selecting Michigan wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer had quickly answered in an interview earlier in the week that Donovan Peoples-Jones was the most underrated player in the entire draft.
While Meyer heavily recruited Peoples-Jones to Ohio State, he mentioned Peoples-Jones before any of the Ohio State receivers in the draft and that says a lot to me.

Donovan Peoples-Jones has been the one player that when Ohio State played Michigan that I would be concerned about and that's despite a career that saw him never reach 100 yards receiving in a game.
The former five-star recruit finished 2019 with 34 catches for 438 yards in eleven games with six catches ending in touchdowns.
At just under 6'2, Peoples-Jones doesn't have a rap for bad hands and he can make the leaping catch with the extra "wow" factor and DPJ tested extremely well at the NFL combine.

So, why did a player with his talent slide to the sixth round?
Michigan didn't feature a quarterback that showed any consistency and they did have problems getting the football to him.
Plus Peoples-Jones was coming out a year early, which didn't help him in a year that has arguably the deepest WR class in draft history and caused him to fade into the crowd a bit with a knock as an underachiever.
Dan Shonka of Ourlads liked Peoples-Jones more than most as he rated him as a third or fourth-round player with "number one receiver potential" while Dane Brugler of The Athletic was less bullish on him with the main knock on his speed taking time to reach its top-level.
Brugler described Peoples-Jones as "needing a runway" to get started and could have trouble on the short routes with the cuts and agility with his problems at getting to full speed off the ball.

Peoples-Jones doesn't have a bad attitude and hasn't been in trouble, so his slide wasn't due to off the field issues and his goal after football is to be an orthopedic surgeon like his father.
It appears to me that the issues with the quarterbacking and the offense at Michigan combined with the deep class at his position caused the drop beyond his talent, so his decision to leave a year early doesn't look like a good one at this time.

Donovan Peoples-Jones was described as high-risk high reward entering the draft but in the sixth round?
Well, I'd refer to him as low-risk high reward after the sixth round and while he might make his biggest impact in his rookie season as a kick returner, I'm very comfortable with a player of his talent without character issues with the Browns final pick.

I'll likely be back next time with a look at the entire draft and maybe how it ranks against the other AFC North opponents.