Austin Hooper to Browns is making Twitter go crazy
By Sean Sears
The Cleveland Browns have made a massive splash in free agency, signing the top tight end on the market.
The Cleveland Browns made their big move this offseason, landing tight end Auston Hooper on a four-year deal during the NFL tampering period for free agency.
Despite finishing a disappointing third place in the AFC North last year, Cleveland has weapons. Those should be in better hands this time around with the hiring fo head coach Kevin Stefanski — previously an offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings — to replace Freddie Kitchens.
After the signing was made public by NFL Network and ESPN, the reactions started pouring in across social media from experts and fans alike.
Austin Hooper to the Cleveland Browns... as the new highest-paid TE.
— FanSided (@FanSided) March 16, 2020
(h/t @RapSheet, @TomPelissero, @MikeSilver) pic.twitter.com/z8oB4NBbI8
And while the signing of Hooper doesn’t necessarily address a major team need for the Browns, it does make their offense more explosive.
Skill players for new Browns coach Kevin Stefanski to work with:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 16, 2020
* QB: Baker Mayfield
* RB: Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt
* WR: Odell Beckham, Jr., Jarvis Landry
* TE: Austin Hooper, David Njoku
OL is a major question mark, but that's the starting point on O.
On TE Austin Hooper to the #Browns...
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) March 16, 2020
• Scheme fit for Stefanski/CLE system
• Play-action — seams/crossers
• Flood concepts + boot
• Middle of the field routes vs. zone
• Red zone targets @NFLMatchup pic.twitter.com/Zun2iB2UhY
Of course, some fans aren’t sold on the move.
https://twitter.com/LamarHeisman/status/1239596735024050176?s=20
Austin Hooper is basically a pass-game calibration tool.
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) March 16, 2020
He will get you exactly what you scheme open between zones and nothing more.
https://twitter.com/do_ryu_u/status/1239608404567625729?s=20
While others are jacked up about the move.
New Browns tight end Austin Hooper has been among the most productive TE when targeted in the seams over the last two seasons, trailing only Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz and George Kittle in total receptions. https://t.co/pNKLLogU0s pic.twitter.com/iczEGWMswg
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 16, 2020
Ladie & Gentleman, I give you our new TE @AustinHooper18 !!! Great Pic here by @romalley216 !! #Browns pic.twitter.com/f40DY4X8Ta
— BrownsTherapy (@BrownsTherapy) March 16, 2020
typical browns signing a free agent at a position they’re already doing well at..... JUST KIDDING, david njoku sucks and so does austin hooper!!! #thebrownswillalwayssuck #steelers
— Jameson (@jamesonwoods24) March 16, 2020
And then there’s some that are on the fence about the move.
Browns fans trying to calculate if they should get back on the HYPE TRAIN after signing TE Austin Hooper pic.twitter.com/is1SXusBNA
— Big Apple Browns Backers | NYC (@bigapplebrowns) March 16, 2020
Baker mayfield after leading the brown to a 9-7 record with OBJ, Jarvis Landry, Austin Hooper, David Njoku, Nick Chubb, and Kareem hunt as weapons pic.twitter.com/two1g2zEVG
— John (@iam_johnw) March 16, 2020
Last season in Atlanta, Hooper caught 75 passes for 787 yards and six touchdowns and should provide a giant safety net in the middle of the field for Mayfield, which hopefully helps improve the Browns 22nd-ranked offense.
Hooper is a piece to hopefully fix some of the problems with Cleveland’s offense. With the play-action game featuring Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the backfield, Mayfield should have an easy target like Hooper to find often.
But the Browns wanted to add another real pass-catching option after Beckham and Jarvis Landry, who each had over 1,000 yards receiving last season. Clearly those two weren’t the issue, but the Browns didn’t have another receiver approach 300 yards in 2019. They’re hoping that changes by plugging Hooper in at tight end.