Cleveland Browns: 2018 Defensive line preview

The Cleveland Browns have a couple studs on their defensive line, but after that, it’s pretty underwhelming with more questions than answers.

The two brightest stars on the entire Cleveland Browns roster play on their defensive line in Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah. Larry Ogunjobi looks like he could be an incredible player as well, so the Browns could legitimately have three stars on their defensive front. After that, there are some players that could improve, but seem more likely to be role players and an injury to a key player could decimate the unit.

Garrett, as a 21-year old rookie with a injured ankle, was the best player on the entire team for the games he was on the field. Emmanuel Ogbah, as a second year player, was the most valuable player on the defense before he suffered a broken foot. In the 3.5 games they played together, these two combined for six sacks.

The biggest thing for Garrett is simply not having anyone step on him this year. It appeared as the only game where Garrett was truly healthy for the regular season might have been the season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers, when he routinely destroyed Alejandro Villanueva.

Garrett can play at both the right end and 3-tech spots, is a great run defender and a nightmare pass rusher. Simply through getting accustomed to what opponents are throwing at him and figuring out what works and what he needs to improve, he will only be better, although getting called for fewer offsides penalties would be nice. Anyone who takes one look at him can tell he’s just different and the Browns have never had a player like him.

Ogbah is incredibly gifted in his own right, but he was more of a work in progress when he was drafted. Outstanding at the point of attack, Ogbah takes away half the field as a run defender and is great at knocking down passes at the line of scrimmage. He collapses the pocket almost at will and was one of the best players in the league when it came to making plays at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield.

The issue for Ogbah is finishing pass rush opportunities. Too often, Ogbah would gain the advantage of an opposing blocker only to be unable to shed them to finish the play to hit the quarterback. Some of this is just the learning curve it takes for defensive linemen to figure out the NFL and how much better offensive linemen are there. If he improve that part of his game, he becomes a full-service threat and problem for offenses, which he’s routinely showed against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The concern with Ogbah is the foot he broke and the subsequent surgery required to repair it. Thus far, the team seems to be taking it relatively easy with him in OTAs, which is good, but does show there is some caution with it. The hope is everything is good with it and they are just being safe and it will never be a real concern again.

When Ogbah and Garrett are on the field together, the Browns front is imposing. Alone, both players are able to put pressure on opponents on any given down. Together, it was pretty devastating.

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Larry Ogunjobi is slated to take over as the team’s nose guard in place of Danny Shelton who was traded. For reasons that are still unclear, Ogunjobi played 28.18 percent of snaps last year. He was great when he was on the field, but if the plan was for Ogunjobi to increase his workload this much, it seems like it would’ve been prudent to have him get more experience, especially with a team that went 0-16.

Ogunjobi is incredibly powerful and dominates at the point of attack, driving opponents into the backfield. It was difficult to miss him on the field as he was so often able to impact plays and make a mess in the backfield.

From a technical standpoint, Ogunjobi didn’t have much of a clue last year. He was a battering ram. As he’s able to improve his hand use and balance, he’ll be able to shed and make more plays of his own rather than for teammates. Additionally, he should be able to be a threat as a pass rusher, which would give them nice interior pressure and would only help their edge players.

There is potential for Ogunjobi to be a star. And along with Garrett and Ogbah, they could dominate opponents. The issue is everyone else, particularly the 3-tech spot, where it’s unclear who will be the starter, if anyone truly deserves that title.

Trevon Coley was a consistent, dependable run defender. He looked like he was going to be able to cause more problems in the backfield in preseason, but teams adjusted and he was a non-factor as a pass rusher. His run defense was still good and will still be important this coming season. If he is able to contribute rushing the passer, that will get him more snaps.

Caleb Brantley was a non-factor as a rookie for the first three quarters of the season, but finished with a solid month to end it. As a result, some project him to take a sizable step forward and, though it’s possible, it’s anything but a guarantee. Brantley is a mediocre athlete who guesses the snap count and gets too many penalties. However, when he guesses correctly and fires through the offensive line and blows up a play, he looks good.

The Browns brought in one undrafted free agent who has a chance to make an impact here in Trenton Thompson. Thompson has had issues staying healthy and there are some questions off the field, both of which combined to him being undrafted, but when he’s right, he’s athletic and productive, fitting a style the Browns could use.

At the very least, Thompson is there to push both Brantley and Coley, but he could be a player the Browns like enough to keep when they finish roster cut-downs. He does a lot of the same things Brantley does, but is frankly better at them, including getting off the ball and rushing the passer.

The safest player who should spend most of their time at the 3-tech is actually Chris Smith. Smith is technically a defensive end, but he’s been far and away the most effective rushing from the inside. His sack numbers aren’t high, but his disruption is. And with the players around him, that could do a lot of good. Hopefully Gregg Williams embraces him there and doesn’t try to keep him on the edge where he’s had less of an impact.

The edge depth isn’t great either, but they’ve got a ton of length. Carl Nassib is entering his third season and might have led the Browns defense in plays he almost made. This year, Nassib has to find a way to finish those plays and if he does, he’s a valuable role player. It would be nice if he can play the edge or slide inside as well, increasing his viability and allowing the Browns to move guys around the line to exploit matchups.

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Chad Thomas is another long defensive end that the Browns picked this year and it’s still difficult to understand the reasoning. Thomas is an effective run defender, but he’s not nearly the athlete one would think and his technique is pretty dreadful. He’s a big body and can play in multiple spots, but if he doesn’t learn to use his hands, he’s pretty useless in the NFL. He might look good in his equipment, but it won’t yield much impact.

Nate Orchard is still on the team for the moment. He hasn’t done much of anything since entering the league and his best year was actually as a rookie, when he was an outside linebacker. He’s slow, he’s predictable and he’s not really good at much of anything to this point. Somehow, some way, he’s got to find a way to make an impact as a pass rusher or he’s not going to make the team.

The Browns recently added an undrafted pass rusher that could be interesting in Marcell Frazier. Frazier is older than is preferable out of a rookie at 24, but he’s very athletic, has a good build and he produced at Missouri. If he can just be a credible pass rusher, that would give the Browns another option to come off the edge and attack the quarterback.

Jamie Meder is an extremely dependable backup nose guard. Nothing about him is particularly special or notable. He just gets in the game and does his job clogging up the middle. Conceivably, the Browns could use Meder and Ogunjobi next to each other in jumbo packages in goal line and short yardage packages, but outside of that and spelling Ogunjobi, there isn’t much call for Meder to be on the field.

One question in need of answering who are their best four players. Garrett, Ogbah and Ogunjobi are easy, but the fourth is anything but obvious and it might come down to the wire at training camp. It might be Chris Smith, but he’s more of a package player than he is an every down one.

Another question that has to be answered is who makes up the best Browns pass rushing line. Garrett, Ogbah and Smith seem obvious for this and maybe Ogunjobi is that fourth guy. That might say great things about Ogunjobi, but that would only serve to underline how underwhelming the rest of the unit is.

Along with that, it’s not clear where Garrett would play in that unit. Would he move inside to the three or stay out on the edge? Right now, it points to an obvious need the Browns will need to address after the upcoming season. It’s possible and seems likely the Browns aren’t done looking for this season, hoping to pluck some help off waivers when teams start cutting down talent (the Baltimore Ravens stand out).

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The last aspect of the defensive line’s success this year will be the secondary. Last year, the Browns left receivers open and the ball came out so quickly which reduced the number of opportunities to hit the quarterback. The Browns have put a ton of resources into trying to improve the secondary, specifically at corner. That could be a major factor in helping this defensive line improve its production.

First and foremost for the Cleveland Browns defensive line is the health of Garrett and Ogbah. If those two are healthy and able to play all 16 games this year, it will hide some of the sins of the rest of the unit. If not, this group could get exposed. Overall, the Browns have to hope their three young potential stars play that way, enabling others in the unit to shine in smaller roles until they are ultimately able to add more talent.