3 Browns Players Who Need A Better Week 2

The Cleveland Browns are 1-0.

This is a great start, but NFL teams in the span of time between Week 1 and 2 can overreact to the Week 1 result and make the wrong adjustments.

Overreacting is not necessary at this point, but there will need to be better individual performances by some Browns players as the competition heightens throughout the season.

Here are three Browns players who need a better outing in Week 2.

1. Jacoby Brissett

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett could have been better.

However, he delivered the win, and he was in good company among NFL starting quarterbacks who could have played better in Week 1.

QBs with a lower passer rating than Jacoby Brissett Week 1:
Derek Carr
Aaron Rodgers
Matthew Stafford
Joe Burrow
Dak Prescott#Browns

— David Hrusovsky Sports (@davehrus) September 12, 2022

Because the Browns had Deshaun Watson taking a lot of first-team snaps up until just a couple of weeks ago when his suspension was finalized, Brissett was not as prepared and a little more nervous than anyone expected.

Working out the kinks of the offense with Brissett as the signal caller should be the utmost priority this week.

https://twitter.com/SteveMGolf/status/1569347587165278208

The Browns had the lead for the majority of the game, and Brissett managed the game well enough to win, but after yesterday’s performance, it is natural to be concerned about how Brissett and the offense will respond if they fall behind early in a game.

2. Demetric Felton (Or Whoever Is The Returns Specialist)

Though Jakeem Grant never got into a Browns regular season game before suffering his season-ending injury, it is safe to say that he is still missed.

The Browns are once again doing kick and punt returns by committee, or at least it appears that way.

Demetric Felton was the designated return man against Carolina, and it was rocky at times.

#Browns

Can’t wait to hold my breath every time the Browns have a kick or punt return. https://t.co/gkuNEOrOYc

— Watson Garrett Stefanski Era 🐶 (@MylesOffTheEdge) September 8, 2022

Is it possible to get a more defined game plan in motion this week for kick and punt returns?

It feels somewhat haphazard and inconsistent.

The Demetric Felton punt return experiment has not been great early for #Browns. Every return has been an adventure.

— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) September 11, 2022

Establish a player (or players) for kick and punt returns and make sure they get a lot of practice this week.

3. David Njoku

Fans are going to say that tight end David Njoku did an excellent job blocking.

While that may be true, the Browns paid him big money on the contract extension to get the ball in his hands.

He was only targeted 1 time and ended the game with 1 catch for 7 yards.

This Week 1 performance is likely not all on Njoku, it also involves the playcalling of Coach Kevin Stefanski.

Njoku needs to be utilized as a playmaker so the Browns’ offense must get the ball in his hands, or we will begin to believe that his fate as Browns TE1 could be similar to that of his predecessor Austin Hooper.

Conclusion

The Browns host the New York Jets on Sunday, September 18.

The possibility of going 2-0 for the first time since 1993 is a viable one.

With these tweaks and the continued dominance of Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Cade York, this team could leap out to a fast start in a competitive AFC North division.