Here are the five players who can help the Cleveland Browns contend for the playoffs this season:

Tyrod Taylor, quarterback: If Baker Mayfield is the future, Taylor is the very important present. For the first time in a long time, the Browns had a known quantity at the most important position. Taylor has won games. He is coming off a solid stretch in Buffalo in which he started 43 games the past three seasons and threw 51 touchdowns compared to 16 interceptions. Taylor's demeanor and professionalism earned respect from everyone on the team, from coaches to players. He is liked, and his work ethic is obvious. Taylor has the chance to hold the spot this season, then prove he should be given another contract in Cleveland. If he plays well, the Browns have a chance to win some games -- and they can let Mayfield wait and learn, to his benefit. If Taylor doesn't play well, Mayfield will arrive sooner rather than later and the Browns will go through yet more turmoil at a position at which turmoil has been constant since 1999.

Myles Garrett, defensive end: Garrett quietly had a very good rookie season. His numbers, though, don't show it because he missed five games to injury. That limited the 2017 draft's first overall pick to seven sacks in 11 games. However, those numbers don't reveal Garrett's true value, and his true play. In watching film, the Browns determined that Garrett was one step from a sack at least a dozen more times. Had there been better coverage in the secondary, Garrett would have added to the sack total. ProFootballFocus actually called Garrett "dominant," pointing out he had 37 pressures in 300 passing snaps. PFF rated Garrett the best rookie edge defender in the league in 2017, by a healthy margin, and the highest-graded edge defender overall in the AFC North. Garrett said his key is staying healthy. If he can do that, he can be everything the Browns thought he would be when they drafted him.

Denzel Ward, cornerback: The Browns' glaring need for a cover corner with speed led them to bypass a pass-rusher and draft the guy they felt was by far the best press corner available. Ward did nothing in the offseason to dispel belief that he can step in and play immediately. Coordinator Gregg Williams basically preferred the corner to the pass-rusher because the defense lacked a solid cover guy who could run. Ward will have his hands full in the AFC North alone with Antonio Brown and A.J. Green, but the Browns will depend on him to make significant contributions immediately. "From an intelligence standpoint, it is not very hard because he just has to count to one and cover the guy that is the first one in from the sideline," Williams said. "Now, from an ability standpoint, that is another thing, but he fits in ability-wise. He has covered some awfully good guys. He has had a chance to play at a very high level in college."

Josh Gordon, wide receiver: The Browns still are living on the Josh Gordon of 2013. That guy was suspended for the first two games of the season but led the league in receiving yards with 1,646. That Josh Gordon had three games with 150 or more yards receiving, two more than 200. But that Josh Gordon has not been seen in five years. The Josh Gordon of the past five years was disconnected and suspended for 54 of the past 64 games. The Browns hear good things from Gordon, whose mantra in the offseason was that he is given only each day, and each day he must concentrate on making it a good day. If Gordon returns to two-thirds of his former self, the Browns have an excellent receiver. If he does what he says his goal is, and that's to exceed expectations and his goals, the Browns have a unique player lined up with another Pro Bowl receiver in Jarvis Landry. If Gordon is unique, the entire offense changes.

Emmanuel Ogbah, defensive end: Why a pair of defensive ends? Because two talented ends can cause a lot of problems for offenses. Last season, when Ogbah and Garrett were both healthy, they were very disruptive. In a five-minute stretch in Detroit with linebacker Jamie Collins also on the field, they were dominant on every play. Ogbah is a big, physical end who can run and rush the passer effectively. His presence limits double-teams on Garrett, which opens up a lot of possibilities for the Browns defense. Ogbah might not be Garrett's equal, but he is a very underrated player and rusher. Williams said that Ogbah is "night and day" more comfortable in the system than he was a year ago, and he has recovered from the foot injury that sidelined him the final six games of 2017. If Ogbah is himself, the Browns would have a special pair of ends who could be the cornerstones of the defensive effort.