2021-22 Cleveland Browns Report Card: Special Teams

The Cleveland Browns had a really disappointing season after coming into the season with Super Bowl aspirations. The Browns missed the playoffs and finished with an 8-9 record. The sting of the losing season is compounded by what has happened in the playoffs, in particular to the run by in-division rival Cincinnati Bengals. Many things transpired during the year that resulted in this down season.

I will begin to give out some of the season-ending grades for the team’s performance this season. Up first under the microscope is the Browns special teams unit. Here is their 2021-22 report card.

Punter

Grade: F

Grade Explanation: The Browns punter position was a mess from the start. Jamie Gillan started the season as the team’s punter, but he struggled for the second straight season. His inability to kick with precision inside the 20-yard line, along with inconsistent punt length led to him losing his job late in the season. He was placed on the Covid list, allowing the Browns to sign Dustin Colquitt to be his replacement. Colquitt would push out Gillan even when Gillan was off the Covid list. Colquitt was a tiny upgrade, but in the end, he was not good enough either. His final game of the season was bad. Cleveland had bad punter play the entire season.

Offseason Level of Improvement Needed: High

The Browns have to find a reliable punter because Gillan and Colquitt aren’t it. Cleveland must either draft one or sign a veteran free agent. The team cannot allow this position to go unchecked another year.

Kicker

Grade: C-

Grade Explanation: Chase McLaughlin started the season really well, but his performance plummeted in the second half of the year. He was 15 of 21 on field goals. He started the season 10 for 10 but ended the season on a downswing making just 5 of 11. In his 11 games where he had a field goal attempt, he was perfect in just five of those games. The inconsistency made the offense’s struggles even worse.

Offseason Level of Improvement Needed: High

The Browns cannot go another year thinking they can just patchwork the kicker position. McLaughlin fell apart in the second half of the season, creating huge question marks that he can actually be the answer. We have seen in just the AFC North how valuable a reliable kicker can be, so Cleveland needs to look hard for an upgrade. The draft and free agency should be an option in their pursuit of finding this upgrade.

Overall Special Teams Grade: D+

The Browns special teams were not good this season. The kicker and punter positions can be summed by one word: inconsistent. Neither position was able to be successful for a sustained period of time. There was not part of this special teams unit that really impressed or excelled this season. The Browns coverage units and returners were nothing to write home about either. According to Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric, the Browns special teams ranked as the eighth-worst special teams in the NFL.¹ It was a unit that did not help out the overall team as much as it needed to this season.

1. DVOA measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent. [↩]