Elijah Moore trade sets up Browns 2023 starting personnel

NFL free agency and the trade for Elijah Moore finalized the Browns starting offense

On Wednesday afternoon, the Cleveland Browns and General Manager Andrew Berry traded for New York Jets’ wide receiver Elijah Moore. Moore, who turns 23 on March 27th, was a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. So far this off-season, the Browns have added Moore via trade, signed tight end Jordan Akins and re-signed center Ethan Pocic.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson will begin his first full-season campaign with the Browns with a new starting offensive personnel set around him for 2023.

The offensive line is presumably going to be the same as last season with Jedrick Wills, Joel Bitonio, Ethan Pocic, Wyatt Teller and Jack Conklin. According to Pro Football Focus, the Browns offensive line was sixth in their 2022 OL rankings.

We know that Nick Chubb, who rushed for over 1,500 yards and averaged five yards per carry in 2022, will start in the backfield for the Browns. Second-year player Jerome Ford will be able to step into the role as the versatile back left by current free agent Kareem Hunt.

David Njoku will be the main focus at tight end, but with the addition of Akins, the Browns now have two solid targets at the tight end position for Watson. In three seasons in Houston together, Akins and Watson connected for 85 receptions, 992 yards and three touchdowns. It remains to be seen how Harrison Bryant will be a part of the mix in the fall.

Kevin Stefanski has quite a few options now for various personnel groupings with the addition of Moore but Stefanski will likely use 11 personnel the most: One running back, one tight end and three wide receivers. There are now a few different combinations of that grouping that can give defenses a different look. But the starting 11 personnel will look like this:

QB: Watson
RB: Chubb
WR: Cooper, Peoples-Jones, Moore
TE: Njoku
LT: Wills
LG: Bitonio
C: Pocic
RG: Teller
RT: Conklin

Some players that can be interchanged in this personnel grouping can be Akins, WR David Bell, WR/KR Jakeem Grant (who will be returning from injury), Ford, Bryant and, potentially, WR Anthony Schwartz.

While the kickoff for 2023 is still about six months away, there is a lot to be excited about with the offensive personnel that will take the field and hopefully secure a spot in the playoffs.