Cleveland Browns: 5 Strongest positions heading into the 2018 season

The 2018 edition of the Cleveland Browns are coming together and it’s a good time to take a look at the strengths of the team in terms of position groups.

Training camp is almost over and the 2018 preseason has started. This year’s version of the Cleveland Browns is starting to come together and some strengths are emerging.

For the first time in years, the Browns have some depth in areas so that if the worst happens and injuries occur, these positions won’t immediately fall apart. For the Browns to make meaningful progress, this is going to be critical as the team cannot simply rely on luck to get through the war of attrition.

And with that, we look at the five strongest position groups for Cleveland as we get set to embark on the 2018 season.

5. Safety

There’s a lot of projection involved here as far as how good this group will be, but the floor is solid. Jabrill Peppers and Damarious Randall are back to their natural positions and have been promising in camp. Really, the strength of this group is in their depth.

Derrick Kindred was a starter last year and should be a featured role player as an extra strong safety. Briean Boddy-Calhoun is listed as Randall’s backup, which could allow them to save a roster spot there if they choose, but Derron Smith had a good game against the New York Giants and is still a pretty young player. It remains to be seen if this group will be very good, but at the very least, it shouldn’t be a problem area.

4. Tight End

David Njoku showed exactly why people are so excited about him in the first preseason game, catching two passes for 46 yards, both resulting in touchdowns. He even played as a gunner on punt and made a tackle. Njoku is physically outstanding and really offers the Browns a lot of opportunities to attack the middle of the field as well as down the field, which is difficult to defend.

Behind him, the Browns signed veteran Darren Fells, who is an effective blocker with size and length. He’s not that much smaller than Chris Hubbard at right tackle. And even though he seems like he’s just there to block, a curious number of passes have gone his way.

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Seth DeValve has a similar athletic profile as Njoku, so he has a lot to offer in the event the Browns put them both on the field. DeValve is purely a wing as a blocker and he needs to be more physical in the passing game to create space to catch passes. If he can do that, the Browns have two incredibly difficult matchup options they can throw on the field at once. Julian Allen and Devon Cajuste are interesting options if they can keep a fourth tight end.

3. Running Back

The Browns currently have five running backs that look like they will be on NFL rosters this year. Duke Johnson, Carlos Hyde and Nick Chubb are safe bets to make the Browns, leaving Matthew Dayes and Dontrell Hilliard as players that likely end up on other teams after roster cut downs.

Duke and Chubb are easily the most talented of the group and the hope for the Browns is they become a great tandem for at least the next four years. Hyde is a big back that can fight for tough yards and pass block, which should enable the Browns to keep fresh legs on the field at any point in the game. This should be the focal point of the offense if they can find some blocking.

2. Quarterback

It’s remarkable the difference a year and finishing dead last can make. With the acqusition of Tyrod Taylor and drafting Baker Mayfield, the Browns may gone from the darkest period in the team’s history to the best since 1999. Taylor has been a very good quarterback so far, but his impact on the team has been just as valuable.

He eliminates questions about whether the position can function, who’s the starter and his even-keeled temperament and excellent character make him a non issue as it pertains to media coverage. Taylor isn’t an upper echelon quarterback, but the fact that he’s solid and unquestioned makes him almost boring, which is exactly what the Browns need.

Meanwhile, Mayfield has a ton of talent and the questions with him are about maximizing it as opposed to when he’s going to need to try to drag the team out of the basement of the NFL. Even when he had a poor series against the first team defense in the orange and brown scrimmage with a fumbled snap and his first interception of training camp, the sense is more about how would Mayfield respond to this new challenge in front of him rather than concern that he wouldn’t be able to compete against the best in the NFL.

The Browns find themselves in a situation where the minimum appears to be solid quarterback play with the potential for great play in the near future.

1. Linebacker

This is easy and obvious. The Browns are loaded at linebacker and they shouldn’t be in the market to trade any of them, save for their most recent addition, Mychal Kendricks, as he’s on a one-year contract. But even with Kendricks, he brings something of value to the Browns.

The Browns are five deep at linebacker that have a ton of talent. Jamie Collins was one of the best linebackers in football with exceptional coverage skills and Gregg Williams needs to get him back to that point. Joe Schobert was a Pro Bowl alternate and Chris Kirksey has been just as good as Schobert. Kendricks is devastating near the line of scrimmage, able to play low, fight through contact and make plays against the run game and on the blitz.

That leaves rookie Genard Avery, who has a ton of talent and room to grow. Avery looks like Larry Ogunjobi’s little brother in terms of the sheer amount of muscle the two possess. Avery is unique in that he can play as an off-ball linebacker, has shown promise in coverage, but his best trait may be his ability to be a pass rusher. Good bend, power and speed, Avery can be a great change up for opposing offensive tackles to have to deal with from the likes of Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah.

Honorable Mention: Defensive End

Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah are the anchors of this defense at the ends. Garrett already looks like a star and Ogbah appears primed for a big year. Whatever success the Browns have on defense is going to come on the backs of these two. A case can be made they should be on this list for those reasons alone. The reason they aren’t is the depth.

Chris Smith is the next best option and he looks out of position on the edge. His best play has come when he was a role player rushing from the interior, where he’s able to generate pressure and create opportunities for teammates.

Carl Nassib is the king of the almost-play. Last year, he came close to making a ton of plays, but almost never did. He needs to show quickly that he can make more of those plays. It would also help him if he proves viable as a defensive tackle, so that he can help in both areas.

Nate Orchard has good hands and can shed blocks reasonably well, but he’s so slow that it rarely matters. Chad Thomas hasn’t been able to do anything due to his recovery from a sports hernia, but even in college, he was an underwhelming pass rusher and looked to be a long term play.  Marcell Frazier has shown some flashes as an undrafted free agent as well.

The bottom line is that much like last year, if Garrett or Ogbah miss time, the position immediately goes from a huge strength to a problem area and unless some of these guys show real progress this season, it’s going to be an area the Browns will have to address for 2019.