There is always a ton of upheaval in the NFL postseason from one season to the next. Since the playoffs expanded to seven teams per conference, there have been at least six new playoff teams in each of the three years. When coming up with five teams that didn't make the playoffs last year that will this year, the PFF' NFL Show host Sam Monson picked the Cleveland Browns as one of his team.
Both Monson and Steve Palazzolo, the hosts of this show have been complementary of the offseason they've had. The same show gave the Browns an A for their offseason the day before.
Beyond praising the work they've done building their team, particularly along the defensive line, they also pointed to Deshaun Watson. Based on their grading, Monson said that even if Watson can just get to 75, the Browns should be good enough to make the postseason because of the improvements they've made everywhere else.
This is interesting because according to their grading, Jacoby Brissett graded out with a 76.3 overall grade. So if Watson can simply play as well as Brissett did last year, they should have enough to make the postseason per Monson. Therefore, if Watson can get back to the level he showed in 2020, even if it takes deep into the season to materialize, the Browns could be a dangerous team at the end of the season and potentially into the playoffs.
Per their model, PFF is projecting the Browns to win 10 games this year. That's the minimum number that would make a team feel safe to qualify for the postseason based on recent history.
It's not surprising they feel the first month of the season is the most difficult for the Browns. That's largely been the consensus since that was released. However, it's interesting they have the Browns schedule as being pretty soft this year relative to the rest of the league.
The Browns do play half a dozen teams where they should have a substantial talent advantage by virtue of facing off against the AFC South and NFC West this year. They need to take advantage to reduce the amount they need to win both within a loaded division in addition to the other top level opponents they face this year.
Monson also projected the Baltimore Ravens would miss the playoffs.
More must-reads: