When looking at the Cleveland Browns' offseason, it was a productive one. 

Cleveland addressed its wide receiver question, trading for Jerry Jeudy. Additionally re-signed defensive end Za'Darius Smith after a season when he recorded only 5.5 sacks but, according to advanced metrics, still disrupted the quarterback, as his 21% pass rush win rate ranked 12th among all qualifiers.

Despite those net-positive moves, ESPN's Seth Walder gave Cleveland a B+ grade. Walder's biggest net negative for the Browns was not finding a quarterback option not named Deshaun Watson.

"My biggest critique of the Browns this offseason is what they didn't do at quarterback. They added Jameis Winston (and Tyler Huntley) as their backups over Joe Flacco, which was fine given Flacco's age and lack of recent success prior to 2023," Walder writes. "But they could have aimed higher. While the Browns are heavily invested in Deshaun Watson, he has played poorly enough in Cleveland that the team ought to look at alternatives rather than run out the clock on a talented roster."

Watson has yet to live up to his record-breaking five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. It can be argued that the Browns found success despite Watson – not because of him. 

That, inherently, is the most pressing concern for Cleveland in 2024 – will Watson live up to his name? 

If the Browns had chosen this offseason to address the quarterback question, Cleveland could have traded for Justin Fields, a move the Pittsburgh Steelers made. 

The clock is running out of the Watson experiment. Everyone sees it. The question remains: When will the Browns finally realize he will never be the front-line name he was during his stint in Houston? 

That may not come until it is far too late. 

Browns running back position ranked among league’s best in latest position rankings

A group defined by Nick Chubb is, not surprisingly, among the best in the NFL.