4th & Monday: The Cleveland Browns (wait, what?) are 2019's must-see team
Just more than a year removed from coming off an 0-16 disaster of a season, the Cleveland Browns have emerged as the must-see NFL team entering the 2019 season.
While a number of big-name free agents switched teams and boosted hopes in new locales, it was the Browns who made the biggest splash as the new league year opened last week.
That move, of course, was acquiring Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants. Will the additions of OBJ, as well as DE Olivier Vernon, DT Sheldon Richardson and RB Kareem Hunt (who must first serve an eight-game suspension) vault the Browns into a place the team hasn't been in 17 years: the playoffs?
Elsewhere, the Packers finally became a player in the free-agency market. Top-tier safeties such as Landon Collins, Tyrann Mathieu and Earl Thomas cashed in. The Jets landed Le'Veon Bell to provide young quarterback Sam Darnold some help in the backfield. The Jaguars have a new quarterback in Nick Foles, Blake Bortles was released, the Dolphins signed Ryan Fitzpatrick and traded Ryan Tannehill to the Titans.
Your Monday must-reads
- Free agency winners and losers: After a wild week in free agency, this became apparent: While the Browns are rising, the Giants are sinking.
- Ex-Cowboys DT: Coach told me to 'quit, smoke all the weed I want': After announcing he's quitting the NFL following an unceremonious end to his stint with the Cowboys, David Irving is embarking on a new path.
- Can Johnny Manziel resurrect his career in AAF? Jettisoned by the CFL's Montreal Alouettes, Manziel is getting another shot at pro football with the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football.
- Packers spent big now. Don't expect it next year: Packers GM Brian Gutekunst made the big free-agency moves he thought were necessary. Now he needs at least two of his additions to pan out, and a good draft.
- Pats owner lived eccentric life before spa scandal: Since the death of his wife, NFL owner Robert Kraft has developed an eccentric public image with his shoes, friends and parties.
- Roger Goodell made right call on Kareem Hunt suspension: The NFL commissioner is looking at each disciplinary case individually, so Hunt's eight-game suspension could make a real difference.
2019 NFL draft: Mocks, rankings and more
There are just 38 more sleeps until the 2019 NFL draft.
- Latest mock draft: Free agency had a profound impact on this updated first-round projection.
- Kyler Murray impresses at pro day: The Heisman Trophy winner made a strong case to be the No. 1 pick in next month's draft at Oklahoma's pro day.
- Updated prospect rankings: Following the NFL scouting combine, Draft Wire updated its position-by-position prospect rankings.
- NFL draft diary: Easton Stick won three titles in four years at North Dakota State, but now he's taking on a new challenge as he tries to catch on as an NFL quarterback.
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