Are the Cleveland Browns the NFL Betting Underdog in 2016?

Being an underdog doesn’t always necessarily mean that you are a bad team, but looking at Cleveland Browns and the outlook of their 2016 NFL season, you can’t help but feel that they will probably be as bad as their NFL odds suggest.

Why Are the Cleveland Browns the NFL Betting Underdog in 2016?

For starters, quarterback Johnny Manziel, who was supposed to be savior of the Cleveland City, has turned out to be a moron with a death-wish for his footballing career. It is one thing to party every other weekend and enjoy your youth; it is an entirely different when you do that at the expense of your efficiency in the field while hurting nearly every person who gives a damn about you. And with the Johnny Football ship already sailed, the Browns now have to focus on getting someone else to signal-call the team. Mind you, this a squad that was already in disarray even without the Manziel sagas, featuring one of the weakest O-lines in the NFL and a defense that can’t be trusted in big games. A latest compilation of the draft names the Browns have been tracking in the offseason highlights the team’s dire needs. These names (based on their draft position) include:

QB Connor Cook, QB Kevin Hogan, RB Tyler Ervin, WR Jay Lee, TE Adam Fuehne, TE David Grinnage, OT Jack Conklin, OL Darrell Greene, OL Anthony Latina, OL John Carroll, OL Adam Redmond, DT David Moala, ILB Steven Daniels, ILB Nick Vigil, ILB Deon King, OLB Nick Kwiatkoski, S Sean Davis, S Miles Killebrew, S Kent London, K Ben Deighton.

Of course, there is a bit of some hope in the fact that the Browns have 12 picks this year and their recent trade-down deal with the Philadelphia Eagles will benefit hugely the team over the next couple of years. But with so many holes to fill and possibly a rookie QB or Robert Griffin leading the team, it’s hard to see Cleveland getting much success in the NFL odds this year.

The Oddsmakers, seemingly aware of the impending doom for Cleveland, have the Browns pegged as a dead-last longshot to win Super Bowl 51, fetching at a price of +18000. To understand just how bad the Browns are expected to be, the San Diego Chargers have the second-worst odds to win the 2017 Super Bowl and their price is +9000, which is half the amount given to Cleveland. As if that is not bad enough, the Browns are not favored in any game in the 2016-17 season, and the team is placed as an underdog of 7-or- more points in 9 of its 16 games in the upcoming season.

With such details considered, it would be a big surprise to see Cleveland compiling a big season. Sure, RG3—banged up as he is—is capable of winning a couple of games and the 2016 NFL draft will give Cleveland some new lease of strength, but that is no guarantee that all will be right on the field come this fall or even the next.