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Whether it is age, free agency, coaching turnover or just the physicality of the game, the NFL sees rapid turnover. Year after year, a team that was last in their division the previous season goes on to win the division the next year.
For Cleveland Browns fans, that is sometimes hard to realize as the team has struggled to get out of the cellar for most of the last three decades. A playoff appearance and victory in 2020 provided a glimpse of hope but the next two seasons saw last-place finishes (tied in 2021).
GM Andrew Berry has been active in NFL free agency to upgrade the veteran talent on the roster while the NFL draft brought seven new players to Berea. Based on NFL plus/minus metric, Berry’s offseason has the Browns as the seventh most improved roster in the league:
Updated the @Unexpected_Pts Offseason Improvement Index with snap share and efficiency projections for the actual 2023 rookie selections (and Aaron Rodgers)
— Kevin Cole (@KevinCole___) May 8, 2023
Jets lead the indexhttps://t.co/EmccIDDNfB pic.twitter.com/mrLsxqblAC
The big additions were Dalvin Tomlinson, Juan Thornhill and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. Cleveland didn’t have many losses in free agency while adding double-digit players that could make the team’s 53-man roster.
With some limit to their cap space and no first or second-round draft picks, the improvement for the Browns is impressive. Whether it is enough won’t be decided until the games start in September. Until then, we are left with these types of charts.
Are you surprised by Cleveland’s ranking?
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