Kicker Cade York Presents Unique Opportunities, Quandaries for Browns
In the preseason, the Cleveland Browns treated rookie kicker Cade York almost like a carnival act, dazzling fans and media alike, allowing him to show off his incredible leg strength on field goals from just about anywhere as they work to ascertain his effective range. The Browns aren't going to take the same approach in the regular season, at least not initially.
As head coach Kevin Stefanski put it, "You can do anything you want in the preseason," laughing in response to a question about whether he'd allow York to attempt a 70-yard field goal, a feat he accomplished in pregame warmups.
York's superhuman leg strength opens up a world of possibilities for the Browns, increasing the number of ways they can score points. The rookie attempted field goals of 55, 57 and 58 yards through three preseason games and all of them had the distance to go much further.
York missed from 55 and 58 yards, which showed the major risk with attempting kicks from that distance. Opponents took over the ball at their 45 and 48 yard line. In both cases, those opponents capitalized with touchdowns. Against after York missed the 55-yard attempt that was hooking and probably would've been good from 65, the Philadelphia Eagles scored a touchdown on the very next play. The Browns lost both of those games by a single point, something they can afford in exhibition games.
As much as the Browns aren't going to automatically assume every opponent is going to score that quickly against their defense, giving the opponent a short field presents a real threat.
The Browns will have to determine York's effective range, which is part of the reason they were all too happy to send him out there to kick these field goals in the preseason. Sure, he has the leg to kick the ball 70 yards, but the Browns will have to determine where he's consistently accurate so they can determine where punting and playing defense is the more prudent move.
The good news is the Browns will have a kicker that has virtually unlimited range, so as long as they can protect him, they can get off a good attempt a field goal before the half or in the waning moments of a game, a major advantage.
As York continues to get experience, that effective range could increase if he's able to develop consistency. The margin for error from so far away becomes so small when the uprights are only 18.5 feet apart, factoring in elements like wind and rain, which is why the Browns will likely be relatively conservative early in York's career.
Even from shorter distances inside the 50, which seem trivial to York, the Browns are likely still figuring out just how they want to deploy York. Some of that will be determined by their personnel and overall philosophy.
The Browns want to be aggressive on fourth down. They don't want to get in the business of consistently turning down opportunities to get seven points in favor of securing three. It's a losing formula. But when they go for three, they want it to be automatic. Nevertheless, the Browns are likely to be more conservative with Jacoby Brissett at the helm as opposed to Deshaun Watson. When Watson is playing at the level they expected when they acquired him, they will be hyper aggressive on fourth down.
The opponent is another important variable. Take the Buffalo Bills or Kansas City Chiefs, two teams that expected to score a high number of points in any contest. The Browns are less likely to settle for field goal attempts because they anticipate needing more points in order to win the game.
Against less potent offenses where the expected ability to score points is reduced, the Browns may be likely to take the three points, believing they can secure victory with a safer approach.
In 2021, between Baker Mayfield's injuries, an inconsistent offense and a wildly unreliable kicking unit, the Browns couldn't count on anything. They often went for it on fourth down because they didn't trust their kicker would make even seemingly routine kicks. A team that could ill afford to leave points on the field did so routinely, costing them multiple games that season.
Between York's ability and what the Browns expect from Watson, the Browns expect to be deciding between two game changing options, presenting a far more interesting decision in key situations. It will be worth watching how the Browns calibrate their approach to maximize both York and their ability to generate points and win games.
