The Cleveland Browns have all the tools to make a run this season. They are hopeful Quarterback Deshaun Watson can return to form before his ACL injury/massage therapy rehab. Top tier Running Back in Nick Chubb. But with two weeks before the Week 1 kick off, the Browns have made a change at Kicker, by trading a 2025 7th round pick for K Dustin Hopkins.
Heading into preseason, Cade York was their guy expected to kick this season, but obviously Cleveland has had second thoughts about him. York who was drafted by the Browns last season hasn't had stellar numbers. He nailed a 58-yard, game-winning field goal to defeat the Carolina Panthers in his rookie debut. But York has struggled ever since, including this preseason.
Most alarming was when he was posting his first half highlights during a preseason game against the Eagles, only to miss two kicks in the second half of that game. What a fucking wild move. You never see Mahomes heading into the locker room after throwing a no look pass and being like "hold up let me repost this throw on my IG real quick". Listen, the Kicker position in the NFL isn't a position that gets the fame or the girls, unless you're Justin Tucker. You get a few moments throughout the game to get your team on the board, and sometimes you are called upon in crunch time to potentially win the game or send the game to OT. Last year, even with the Carolina game winner, York made only 24 of 32 field goal attempts (75%) for one of the worst conversion rates of any starting kicker in the league. This was not enough to have Cleveland feel comfortable and safe heading into the season.
In comes Dustin Hopkins. Hopkins, 32, has made 84.8% of his 224 field goal attempts in his career. That included making 9 of 10 over five games for the Chargers last season. He also has converted 94.4% of his 234 point-after attempts in his career. I mean at the end of the day the Browns will be the Browns, so I will be waiting for Hopkins to have a missed extra point which will end up costing them a game, or missing a game tying/winning field goal late in the season for a must win game. Because that's what happens in Celeveland.