For the second straight season, the Browns' pass defense was spectacular, while the run defense was less than. Cleveland led the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt. They were second in passing yards allowed, their 18 interceptions were tied for third most, and their 49 sacks ranked sixth. Meanwhile, the run defense tied for 20th in yards per carry, finished 17th in points, and no one allowed more runs of 20+ yards. All while facing the seventh-fewest rushing attempts.
Cleveland did not dump a ton of capital on the defensive side this offseason but at least the moves they made look like upgrades. Their two biggest needs were up the middle at tackle and linebacker. Both of those positions were addressed and, at least on paper, improved.
Defensive Linemen
Defenses under coordinator Jim Schwartz have a reputation for getting after quarterbacks. The 2023 Browns did nothing to tarnish that reputation. Schwartz will blitz some, but he doesn't like to rely on it to get pressure. The defensive line accounted for 38.5 of the team's 49 sacks last season, so Schwartz was probably satisfied, at least for the most part.
Any defensive coordinator would be thrilled to have a player like Myles Garrett to work with. The 2017 first-overall pick came with grand expectations and has done nothing to disappoint. Garrett is an elite, three-down defensive end who does a great job setting the edge versus the run and is one of the league's premier pass rushers. He is a leader and the cornerstone of the Cleveland defense.
Garrett got off to a modest start with 30 combined stops and seven sacks as a rookie in 2017. Since that time, he's cranked out six consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks, including at least 14 in each of the last three.
With 13 sacks over the first ten games last year, Garrett was on pace for what would have been a career-best and league-leading 21.5 when he suffered a shoulder injury in week twelve. He only missed one game but was limited by the injury, posting one sack over the final seven games. The sore shoulder impacted his tackle production as well, with the 42 combined stops being Garrett's lowest total since an injury-shortened 2019.
Garrett doesn't like to come off the field much. He played over 75% of the snaps in all but three starts last year and regularly exceeded 85%. Two of those three light games were due to the shoulder. He is dealing with a minor hamstring issue this summer but is otherwise healthy. Garrett slipped out of the top ten last year but, barring a setback, should return to elite, top-five status in 2024.
One thing the Browns lack is a bookend for Garrett. Last season, they used a committee approach with three other players seeing at least 410 snaps. Za'Darius Smith was the anointed starter, but Ogbo Okoronkwo and Alex Wright also played significant roles. The result was 15 sacks between them. The problem for IDP managers is that each player had at least four and a half while none managed more than 31 combined tackles. The rotation got the job done for the Browns, but it did nothing for us. With no additions and all three players still in the fold, it looks like they will use the same approach this year.
The Browns play an even front with two tackles on the field at a time. Last year they used four players in a virtually even rotation between Dalvin Tomlinson, Shelby Harris, Maurice Hurst II, and Jordan Elliott. Elliott moved on so the team added veteran Quinton Jefferson to replace him. They also used their first draft pick, which was in round two, on Ohio State's Mike Hall.
No one outside the first four players saw any action last year until rookie third-round pick Siaki Ika took over for an injured Hurst in week 15. Unless the team elects to move on from one of the four veterans, we can expect a similar approach in 2023, with Ika and Hall likely having few, if any, opportunities. The young guys will likely be groomed for bigger roles in 2025 when Jefferson and Hurst will be free agents.
There is IDP potential here, but the chances of it showing up are slim. Harris led the team's tackles with 17 solo stops in 2023, while Tomlinson led the group in sacks with three. Skip all of these guys on draft day. If one of them shows up in the first couple of weeks, pick them up then.
- DE Myles Garrett – Elite tier-one
- DE Za'Darius Smith – Injury sleeper, could produce with more opportunities
- DE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo – Injury sleeper who could produce with a bigger role
- DE Alex Wright – Injury sleeper
- DE Sam Kamara – No impact
- DE Isaiah McGuire – No impact
- DT Dalvin Tomlinson – Marginal value at best
- DT Quinton Jefferson – No impact expected
- DT Mike Hall – Dynasty deep sleeper at best
- DT Shelby Harris – No impact
- DT Siaki Ika – No impact
- DT Maurice Hurst – No impact
- DT Jowon Briggs – Developmental rookie
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Linebackers
The Browns' linebackers have been a dumpster fire for a while now. Injuries have been a contributing factor, but poor personnel decisions and an unwillingness to make a significant investment are the biggest issues. They still don't want to commit starters money or early draft picks, but this year's bargain free agents might finally break the trend of bad decisions.
It took three years, but Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah finally got it together in 2023. After two rather disappointing seasons, he showed some of the athleticism and playmaking ability that was part of his college resume'. If the coaching staff would just put the guy on the field and leave him there, Owusu-Koramoah might become a major fantasy factor in 2024. Unfortunately, that remains unlikely to happen. No one in the Cleveland front seven played more than 75% of the snaps last year. Myles Garrett saw more action (851 plays) than any of the team's linebackers who were led by Owusu-Koramoah (807).
To his credit, Owusu-Koromoah turned his limited playing time into 72-29-3.5 with 3 turnovers and 6 pass breakups. He checked in at LB27, which was the first top-50 ranking of his career. For all those dynasty managers that picked him up and those who were planning to draft him as a second or third starter this year, I have two words, Jordan Hicks.
Owusu-Koramoah made hay last year because Anthony Walker was in the coach's doghouse and then got hurt, and Sione Takitaki is simply not a starting linebacker in the NFL. Hicks is not a great one himself but he is a proven starter and arguably the best linebacker the Browns have had since Joe Schobert who left in 2019.
Hicks can be a playmaker. He's had six takeaways in three of his nine seasons as a pro and recorded four with the Vikings last season. In all, Hicks has 15.5 sacks, 13 picks, 6 forced fumbles, and 11 recoveries since 2015. He can be a tackling machine as well. If not for missing games with injuries, he would easily have six consecutive seasons with at least 77 solos and 116 combined stops. His best season was with the Cardinals in 2019, when Hicks went 92-54-1.5 with 6 turnovers and 6 passes defended to finish as the fantasy game's top linebacker.
Hicks is going to start in the middle, and if the Browns have an every-game three-down linebacker, he will be that player. Sorry Owusu-Koramoah fans and managers.
Hicks was not the only free-agent addition at linebacker. The team also signed Devin Bush. As a rookie with the Steelers, Bush looked like a future star. That ended with an injury in his second season (2020). He has not been the same player since. Pittsburgh gave up on him after the 2022 season and Bush spent last year with the linebacker-needy Seahawks, who made zero effort to bring him back. At this point, he is no more than a veteran presence who will put up mediocre numbers if injuries put him on the field.
- MLB Jordan Hicks – Potential LB1 if he plays full-time
- WLB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – Part time role will limit his value
- SLB Devin Bush – Injury sleeper with limited potential
- MLB Nathaniel Watson – Developmental late-round rookie
- WLB Tony Fields – No impact
Defensive Backs
In Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, and Martin Emerson, the Browns have a rock-solid trio of corners that can hold their own against any group of receivers. At age 27, Ward is the grizzled veteran heading to his seventh season, while Newsome just turned 24 ahead of his fourth year as a pro. The one disadvantage of Ward and Newsome is their size. Ward checks in under six feet and 190 pounds. Newsome is an inch taller and 192. Thus, big physical receivers can be a headache.
The team addressed that issue to some extent with the addition of Martin Emerson in the 2022 draft. At six feet two inches and 201 pounds, Emerson is a more physical compliment to the finesse approach of Ward and Newsome. Emerson jumped right into the fray as a rookie, working over the slot most of the time and stepping up to an every-down role when Ward and Newsome each missed a couple of games.
When it comes to IDP help, the Cleveland corners don't provide much. Emerson led the group with 59 tackles (45 solo) and 4 interceptions. As the rookie corner rule suggests, his tackle totals were lower in year two. His big play production went up but not far enough. With an average of 7.8 points per game, Emmerson came in at 40th among corners in his second season.
There is one quality IDP target in the Browns' secondary. Strong safety Grant Delpit took the long route to get there, but he arrived in 2022. After missing his entire rookie campaign with an Achilles' injury, Delpit was back on the field in 2021 but was not 100% until late in the season. His role was limited to a third safety in most games but he still managed ten or more fantasy points in three of the final five contests.
With the injury finally behind him, Delpit's 2022 season was a breakout. He stepped up with 105 total tackles, 72 of them solo, a team-leading four interceptions, and ten passes defended, landing among the top-ten defensive backs for the first time.
On the heels of his top-ten season, Delpit turned in a slightly disappointing 2023. Instead of repeating or improving on his breakout, he regressed a little. Delpit missed four games at the end of the season so his overall numbers of 63-17-1.5 with a pair of takeaways, don't tell the full story. His per-game average was down by over half a point, landing Delpit just inside the top 30. Improvement at the linebacker position will not help his fantasy value either but Delpit should still manage to be a decent third starter for us.
Juan Thornhill will continue in the deep safety role. He has the physical tools and is a dependable center fielder, but his role is not fantasy friendly. He was drafted by the Chiefs in 2019 to provide a big play threat at the free safety spot but averaged just two takeaways per season over his four years with the team. The Browns would love to get that out of him this year since he put no marks in the splash play columns in 2023.
Thornhill can run with receivers down the field and will get the ball carrier on the ground in run support, but he lacks the physicality and killer instinct of an impact safety. Thornhill has never exceeded 45 solo tackles and has a career-high of 71 combined stops. He will not hurt the Cleveland secondary and might be just what the team wants at the position, but Thornhill will not help our teams win championships.
The Browns added veteran Rodney McLeod last year to be their third safety. He was a free safety for the Eagles from 2016 to 2021 but is position versatile. McLeod was a strong safety for the Rams early in his career and moved back to that position with the Colts in 2022. He should be the next man up at either spot for the Browns, but he has never been much of an IDP factor.
- SS Grant Delpit – Target as a third safety with some upside
- FS Juan Thornhill – No impact
- FS Rodney McLeod – No impact
- SS D'Anthony Bell – Injury deep sleeper
- FS Ronnie Hickman – No impact
- CB Denzel Ward – Marginal IDP value at best
- CB Greg Newsome – No impact
- CB Martin Emerson – Worth keeping an eye on but no grand expectations
- CB Cameron Mitchell – No impact
- CB Justin Hardee – No impact
That's a wrap for part 10. Coming up next, we continue the AFC North with the Steelers.
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