The 2024 season is a year of lofty expectations for the Cleveland Browns. The Browns have a loaded roster on both sides of the football field and are looking to make waves not only in the AFC North but also in the conference and the league at large.
Highest-graded returning Browns:
đ„ Myles Garrett – 94.2
đ„ Za'Darius Smith – 85.3
đ„ Amari Cooper – 79.9
đ Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – 76.8
đ Wyatt Teller – 73.9 pic.twitter.com/MRzB33raWX— PFF CLE Browns (@PFF_Browns) August 7, 2024
Pro Football Focus (known as “PFF”) has become widely accepted as an accurate grading source for NFL players. The grades are not perfect and are certainly geared toward fan consumption. They aren’t rooted in fact, but it gives fans the perfect scale to rank their players against others in the league.
Heading into the 2024 season, these are the top-five ranked returning Browns players:
5. Wyatt Teller – 73.9
Wyatt Teller is heading into his seventh season and sixth in Cleveland. Since being traded from Buffalo, Teller has been a star for the Browns. He is a road grader upfront and has become a leader in Cleveland.
4. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – 76.8
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is one step away from superstardom. He was brought to Cleveland because his athleticism stood above the rest at the linebacker position. He can run with the fastest in the league but also has the ability to plug a gap with force. Owusu-Koramoah is looking to continue his stellar start to his career.
3. Amari Cooper – 79.9
Amari Cooper’s name has certainly been in the news this week as trade rumors swirled. That stuff doesn’t matter to Cooper, as he is all about the work. Cooper has been at his best while in Cleveland, putting together his two best career seasons. He has been one bright spot amongst a lot of chaos on the offensive side of the ball. Cooper is still one of the league’s best and will look to continue that in 2024.
2. Za’Darius Smith – 85.3
No surprise here. Za’Darius Smith has been as good as advertised since becoming a Cleveland Brown. In 2023, he was about one foot away from having double-digit sacks on the year. He has become the perfect sidekick to Myles Garrett and will be necessary for Cleveland to get where they want to go in 2024.
1. Myles Garrett – 94.2
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett. There are not a lot of superlatives left to describe Garrett the player. He is the most disruptive defensive player in football and someone that teams have to build their gameplan around every week. He carried the Browns to the playoffs in 2023 and is poised to do it again in ’24.
