The Cleveland Browns are poised to have a special defensive line, but must address the 3-tech defensive tackle in order to complete it.
The Cleveland Browns took an extremely aggressive approach to dealing with the interior of their offensive line, not only improving the front line players, but giving them a ton of depth. In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Browns should take the same approach with improving the interior of the defensive line, specifically targeting the 3-tech defensive tackle.
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On the edge of the defensive line, the Browns have a number of interesting players to evaluate and develop and they are about to add Myles Garrett. The combination of Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah should be as strong as any unit on the team in short order.
They also have players like Carl Nassib, Nate Orchard, Tyrone Holmes and Cam Johnson that should be a great battle to see who can make the team behind them as newly hired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams molds the unit in his image.
The nose tackle position is in pretty good shape with Danny Shelton as their best interior player. Whether he’s playing a true nose in an odd front or a 1-tech nose guard in an even front, Shelton is the guy that makes this defensive line go and will likely be called upon to be a leader.
Having signed restricted free agent Jamie Meder, the hope is he can go back to being used effectively. Meder did his best work when he was used to spill Shelton and occasionally used next to him if they want to go with a short yardage package.
Meder was asked to play the 3-tech defensive tackle and 5-tech defensive end last year, because the Browns simply didn’t have anyone else to do it. Once Desmond Bryant went down for the year with a torn pec in the offseason, the Browns were caught flat footed without a real plan and just tried to get through the year.
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This is a spot where critics will look to pile on the deposed Ray Horton, but he could only play who he was given and the front office left him woefully ill-equipped to do the job at that position. As much as the front office has shown to be effective, this was a massive failure on their part where they just tried to get through the 2016 season.
Meder was one of the players pressed into duty at that spot and deserves a ton of credit for giving everything he had even if basically never had a chance to succeed. Meder was accustomed to taking on double teams, trying to cause problems and hold up a gap. He was now being asked to work laterally and that’s not what he does.
To this point, the Browns have done nothing to improve the 3-tech. Bryant is coming off a torn pectoral injury from last season on a restructured contract, but he’s not built to be a full time player. Ideally, he’s a rotational player that can rush the passer, but it’s possible the Browns opt to cut bait from Bryant entirely.
The Browns have Xavier Cooper coming into his third year. Cooper has the potential to develop into a starting caliber player but has the talent to at least be a situational pass rusher. His impressive agility allows him to beat offensive linemen to their spot and get pressure on the quarterback, but it’s only shown in flashes to this point.
This new defensive scheme should benefit Cooper, since it should focus entirely on one spot and play more on instinct. Given his contract and the talent he offers, it stands to reason they will give him an opportunity to see if this scheme brings out the best in him and he can bring help as a pass rusher. It’s also likely now or never for Cooper at least as far as the Browns are concerned.
Nassib could see time inside as a three, but he shouldn’t be there full time. His length is valuable on the outside on running downs as it’s difficult to get outside of him. He can rush from the inside, but if he’s inside on short yardage plays, teams will just run at him and it’s difficult to see him holding up to that. That’s not really his fault, since that’s not what he’s built to really do.
The Browns still have control of Gabe Wright who was signed and waived multiple times for the sake of roster mechanics. He was a decent player for the Browns last year, but he’s not built to be a full time player either.
With the 2017 NFL Draft a month away, the Browns don’t have a player that deserves to start at the three. It remains to be seen if the draft will yield them a player that can, but at least they should have more options in the fold.
Williams is coming from a situation where he had Aaron Donald. Pound for pound, Donald is the best defensive tackle in the NFL and he was the player that made the now Los Angeles Rams defense operate. This is a fact that’s not lost on Williams or the Browns front office.
Donald is not in this draft and the fact of the matter is there isn’t a single defensive tackle that fits what the Browns have shown to value that’s likely to go in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. It should come into play with the 52nd or 65th pick. And the Browns might be inclined to grab one there as well as on the third day of the draft.
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In addition to not having obvious options to play this position in this draft class, many of the best options attended schools that fans don’t immediately associate with successful college football players. Here are a handful of players that fit the profile the Browns like from less than traditional locales.
- Larry Ogunjobi, Charlotte
- Tanzel Smart, Tulane
- Tueni Lupeamanu, Idaho
- Pat Ricard, Maine
All four of them are athletic enough to do the job and were productive at the collegiate level, which is what the Browns look for in their prospects. And obviously small schools don’t scare the Browns away, even though Charlotte, Idaho and Tulane are FBS schools.
Williams wants to put pressure on the offense and doesn’t want to have to blitz to generate it. Hue Jackson has made it clear he wants a defense that creates more turnovers. With those two things in mind, they need a defensive tackle that can be effective stopping the run, but is athletic enough to put pressure on the quarterback.
It’s not an easy job and takes an impressive athlete to do it, which is what makes players like Donald so valuable. The best are all incredibly well paid, including Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Fletcher Cox and Geno Atkins because they are rare. This should be a priority for this front office, since hitting on this position could enable them to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
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The Cleveland Browns have what should be a strong offensive line. Given what they are paying for it, it had better be. They also have what should be a very talented defensive line and with the investment made there in terms of draft capital, it has to be. In order to finish the defensive line, they have to find a starting caliber 3-tech and the draft is their best chance to find it.