Draft picks, trade chips and free-agent signings: 5 acquisitions who lifted the Browns

BEREA — The NFL is all about acquisitions.

Draft picks, free agent signings, trades, any of those ways to improve a team. The right acquisition at the right time can be the difference between playing in the playoffs or spending the final month of the season trying to figure out where it all went wrong.

The Browns had a season defined by acquisitions. That's because they needed so many of them in order to keep their heads above water as injury after injury shot holes in their roster.

What follows is a ranking of the top five acquisitions made by general manager Andrew Berry between the end of the 2022 season and the end of this past season, including the AFC wild card loss to the Houston Texans. They could be any kind of pick-up, from free agent to draft to trade.

The only stipulation is that they were added to the roster at some point between the start of the free-agency period last March through last week. Consider that the Kareem Hunt Rule, since he was technically an acquisition even though he was on the roster the previous season.

Anyway, on to the list, which starts with an obvious name

1. Dustin Hopkins, kicker, trade

You thought this was going to be a certain quarterback, didn't you? That individual will be coming up shortly. However, by the time Joe Flacco arrived in Cleveland, what Hopkins had done to save the Browns season multiple times over was already well established. In fact, the day the Browns and Flacco agreed to terms to a practice-squad deal — on Nov. 19 — Hopkins kicked his second consecutive game-winning field goal, that time to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. The week before, his 40-yard kick at the gun handed the Baltimore Ravens what remains their last loss, in Baltimore, no less. Hopkins was acquired on Aug. 28 in exchange for a fifth-round pick from the Los Angeles Chargers and turned into the kicker everyone thought the Browns had drafted the previous year. He made a team-record eight field goals from 50 yards or longer — on eight tries — and hit four go-ahead field goals in the final two minutes of what turned into Browns wins. The only downside to the story was the Christmas Eve hamstring injury he suffered while trying to make a tackle on a kickoff return for a touchdown by Houston's Dameon Pierce that cost him the final two regular-season games, as well as the playoff loss.

2. Joe Flacco, quarterback, free agent

Now we get to the quarterback who will be forever associated with this playoff season, the quarterback who went from AFC North nemesis with the Ravens to season savior. Flacco's story will be one that is hard to forget, even with the way it ended in a playoff loss. The former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player was throwing passes to family members in his backyard outside Philadelphia before the Browns called him after Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. The rest, as they say, is history. Flacco went 4-1 as a starter in December, set a franchise record with four consecutive 300-yard passing games and had Browns fans chanting his name in the playoff-clinching win over the New York Jets.

3. Dalvin Tomlinson, defensive tackle, free agent

The Browns have a notorious history for setting money on fire with big-ticket free-agent signings coming to Cleveland and flaming out. That wasn't the case this season, as Tomlinson and defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo — both of whom agreed to deals on the first day of free agency — proved to be invaluable for the Browns defense rising to be the No. 1 defense in the league during the regular season. So why is it Tomlinson, specifically, here? Think back to the 2022 season and what was arguably the worst position group on the field for the Browns, the defensive tackles. Now think about how well that group played over the course of this season. Front and center in those performances was Tomlinson, who proved worth every cent of his big contract. He was one of several defensive tackle additions, including Maurice Hurst II and Shelby Harris, who paid big dividends for the Browns.

4. Dawand Jones, right tackle, fourth-round draft pick

Jones' season ended with the disappointment of a knee injury before the Browns' Week 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, that was about the only disappointment in a season in which the massive tackle went from project fourth-round draft pick to being thrown into the starting lineup when right tackle Jack Conklin sustained a season-ending knee injury in the opener. All the former Ohio State standout did after that was hold his own against some of the top edge rushers in the game, including Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt and San Francisco's Nick Bosa. According to Pro Football Focus, Jones allowed just three sacks and three quarterback hits, along with 15 quarterback hurries. If the 6-foot-8, 374-pound Jones can avoid the potential of knee issues becoming a regular concern, the evidence was there in his rookie season that the Browns may have found themselves a good one.

5. Kareem Hunt, running back, free agent

This last spot on the list could've gone to a lot of different individuals. Za'Darius Smith, a mid-May trade pickup, gave Myles Garrett a running mate on opposite ends of the defensive line, as did Okoronkwo. Rodney McLeod, even after a Week 11 season-ending bicep injury, was an invaluable leader for the safety group after signing in May. Even Geron Christian, signed on Halloween to the practice squad before being added to the 53-man roster a week later, did a mostly solid job at left tackle for the final 10 games, including the playoffs. However, this spot goes to Hunt, who no one could've envisioned back in a Browns uniform after the 2022 season. Instead, when Nick Chubb went down with a Week 2 season-ending knee injury, the Browns and Hunt had a reconciliation and the former rushing champion, if nothing else, turned into the perfect short-yardage and goal-line back.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns' 5 key acquisitions who paid off in playoff season