New Browns OC crafting offense to help QB Deshaun Watson thrive

This spring, Cleveland Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand explained how new Cleveland offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was tasked with building an offense meant to "comfort" starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.

NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated expanded on that topic for a piece published on Wednesday.

Per Breer, Dorsey and head coach Kevin Stefanski "have worked to meld some of the shotgun-oriented concepts that give a little more freedom to receivers with regimented under-center and run game elements." The hope is such an approach "yields positive results for Deshaun Watson, who’s been most effective as a dropback passer from the shotgun and excels in off-schedule situations."

What Watson is and isn't as an NFL QB1 at this point of his career is largely a mystery due mostly to the fact that he hasn't played a lot of meaningful football over the past three years. He sat out the entire 2021 season while waiting to be traded by the Houston Texans and then missed the first 11 games of his first Cleveland campaign because of a suspension related to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions.

Watson began the 2023 season in Cleveland's lineup but then made just six starts before he was sidelined with a serious shoulder injury.

Last month, Cleveland sports columnist Jason Lloyd of The Athletic ripped the Browns for replacing Alex Van Pelt with Dorsey after veteran signal-caller Joe Flacco became a fan-favorite en route to guiding the club to the playoffs as Watson recovered from the shoulder-related setback. It's been made clear throughout the bulk of the 2024 offseason that the Browns are now fully Watson's team, for better or for worse.

"Watson, for his part, has picked up—and invested in—the changes quickly," Breer added about the quarterback's working relationship with Dorsey. "Dorsey’s done a lot to add to the shotgun dropback, tempo and (run-pass option) pieces of the offense, and Watson’s learning curve has been shortened in how he has some background in a Patriots-style offense, having played for Bill O’Brien for four years (with Houston)."

It's possible the Browns could soon explore ways to move on from the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract they gave Watson in March 2022 if he either fails to reclaim his Pro Bowl form under Dorsey or goes down with another worrisome injury. Comments Watson made in late July suggest he's feeling the pressure associated with entering what could become a make-or-break season with the organization.