5. Kitchens at the controls -- and Baker in Year 2

Kitchens will have the whole squad in town by mandate for the first time as head coach, and so far, he's looking much more comfortable at the helm of the Browns. He was asked last week to self-scout and declined, saying he doesn't constantly analyze himself in the moment. That's wise because there are plenty of other more important things to deal with right now.

But if he had to, he should be fairly pleased with what he's seeing in the mirror. Special teams has become a focal point of practice, with field goal and kickoff unit work coming in the middle of the day, not just tacked on at the end. He's concise and firm with his corrections and won't let practice continue until the team accomplishes what he wants accomplished correctly. And by all accounts, his players like him and are buying in (in fact, a couple even picked him as their choice for biggest prankster in the building). These are all good signs for a first-time head coach.

Kitchens and quarterbacks coach Ryan Lindley both said it last week: Baker Mayfield's time with receivers expected to slot below Beckham and Landry on the depth chart was a bit of a blessing in disguise because it helped Mayfield learn how to get through his progressions better. He couldn't rely on option A (Beckham, perhaps) being open because he's that skilled at getting open; he instead had to read properly before deciding to throw.

Those are good mental reps for a quarterback who is going to have a ton of expectations on his shoulders in Year 2, even as he's working in an offense coached by the same person who teamed with him to transform the offense at the end of 2018. Now you sprinkle in Beckham, and perhaps Landry, and you'll start to see the very preliminary fruits of your labor.