When you've been living in the basement for a decade and finally hit rock bottom's rock bottom there's no place to go but up.
The Cleveland Browns find themselves at that lowest point after an 0-16 campaign.
The new brass spent the offseason overhauling every position, from quarterback to running back, from linebacker to defensive back. Outside of punter and kicker seemingly the entire roster was renovated.
Browns coach Hue Jackson, who survived the winless season, believes the talent has increased immensely.
"If you look across the locker room, every position group has been upgraded with more talent. It's everywhere," Jackson told Albert Breer of The MMQB. "That in itself, when you look from one guy to the next, they can see it, there's been more talent brought on to this football team. ... I've been in this for a while, so there are things you can tell. I'm not ever going to say our team is not good enough, or we're not this or not that. We'll know when we get to training camp. But I do know there's talent on this football team. And I think that's obvious. If you look around the roster, there's been some players who've been really good players on other teams."
Gone are quarterbacks DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan. Imported are Tyrod Taylor, No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield and Drew Stanton. The trade for Jarvis Landry provides those new QBs with an intriguing receiver trio. Landry, Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman represent an ideal balance, who on paper could be one of the most dynamic groups in the NFL. Adding running backs Carlos Hyde and Nick Chubb brings dynamic competition to the backfield. Perhaps the biggest hole on the roster remains replacing retired left tackle Joe Thomas.
On defense, general manager John Dorsey revamped the defensive backfield, jettisoning Jason McCourty and Jamar Taylor, adding first-round pick Denzel Ward, E.J. Gaines and T.J. Carrie at corner and trading for safety Damarious Randall. Recently signed veteran Mychal Kendricks underscored the upgrades. No longer are the Browns a shallow mishmash of talent -- they finally have some depth to lean on.
"I really like my football team," Jackson said. "I like all the acquisitions we've made to our team. I like the young players we've had, because they've improved, some of them are into Year 3, some are into Year 4. I think it's a great blend of young talent and veteran talent. ... A lot of these guys come from organizations where they won a lot of games, some have been to the playoffs, some didn't do it as well. It's a good blend, a good mix. But I think in the locker room, these guys know what we're trying to do, what we're trying accomplish. We're trying to do something special."
On paper, the Browns look like the most improved team in the NFL. Unless those upgrades translate to wins, however, Jackson could be looking for a new job by Thanksgiving.
