Cleveland Browns: Projecting the final 53-man roster

Rosters get reduced from 90 to 53 on Sept. 1, so with one final preseason game to play, it’s time to make a final roster projection for the Cleveland Browns for the 2018 season.

Despite the infamous mark of 0-16, the roster cutdowns for the Cleveland Browns are more difficult than they have been in previous years in a few positions.

This team will end up cutting players that end up being picked up by other teams, which shouldn’t happen for a team that finished that badly. The Browns will still have their share of issues and opportunities to upgrade.

As for the 2018 season, this is what Cleveland’s 53-man roster should look like after final cuts.

Quarterback (3)

Tyrod Taylor, Baker Mayfield, Drew Stanton

No surprises here. This has been obvious since the draft. Brogan Roback could end up on the practice squad simply to make sure the Browns have a quarterback that has been in their playbook there if catastrophe strikes a couple quarterbacks.

Running Back (4)

Duke Johnson, Nick Chubb, Carlos Hyde, Dan Vitale

This is what the Browns hope is a three-headed monster that can be a consistent threat on the ground. Dan Vitale is not only a solid lead blocker, but he’s a threat as a pass catcher and is a factor on special teams. It shouldn’t be difficult to get Matthew Dayes on the practice squad as insurance while Dontrell Hilliard may have a shot to make another team’s active roster.

Wide Receiver (6)

Josh Gordon, Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, Rashard Higgins, Damion Ratley, Jeff Janis

The first five are pretty obvious with the trade of Corey Coleman and the unfortunate injury situation with Ricardo Louis. Janis can help on special teams, but he’s also a unique body type and athlete that the front office may talk can convince themselves still has upside.

Da’Mari Scott and C.J. Board are viable sixth options in themselves, but they aren’t so valuable that they need to be retained and they aren’t particularly unique either. Derrick Willies would be the preferable practice squad guy as he’s got a ton of size and athleticism, but needs a ton of work.

Tight End (3)

David Njoku, Darren Fells, Seth DeValve

It would be nice for them to have a viable fourth tight end they could keep for depth, but this is a pretty solid top three. The big question is DeValve’s health and if he will be ready to go for the beginning of the season, but he’s far better than any other option on the current roster. Devon Cajuste could be a practice squad option.

Offensive Line (9)

Joel Bitonio, Austin Corbett, J.C. Tretter, Kevin Zeitler, Chris Hubbard, Spencer Drango, Austin Reiter, Desmond Harrison, Greg Robinson

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Not how I’d set the final roster, but this seems to be where the Browns are leaning. Drango has versatility in that he can play both guard and tackle. Harrison has some ability to play left tackle, though his lack of play strength is a problem. Greg Robinson is a tackle that should be a guard, but does offer some power up front and Austin Reiter has been the primary backup pivot and does have a solid athletic profile.

It may change in the last preseason game, but it seems like the Browns are hiding Anthony Fabiano, Geoff Gray and Christian DiLauro, who all have athletic profiles to be successful offensive linemen, in hopes they can get them to the practice squad. Personally, I would keep Fabiano over Drango and DiLauro over Harrison, but if they can get all three on the practice squad, that would be a coup.

Shon Coleman has regressed since being demoted from starting left tackle. Still a powerful run blocker, his pass protection has not improved and it seems like the Browns are ready to move on.

Defensive Line (9)

Myles Garrett, Emmanuel Ogbah, Larry Ogunjobi, Jamie Meder, Trevon Coley, Chris Smith, Carl Nassib, Chad Thomas, Caleb Brantley

Waivers could play a role here as there may well be some players that get cut by teams as they get down to the 53 that could help the Browns. Beyond that, the status of Trevon Coley’s ankle could be a factor if he’s not fully recovered.

Linebacker (6)

Chris Kirksey, Joe Schobert, Jamie Collins, Mychal Kendricks, Genard Avery, James Burgess

The Browns should keep Jamie Collins as he has shown the ability to be an impact player and one who can cover. Mychal Kendricks is a great run and chase linebacker that plays forward really well but offers next to nothing in pass coverage. Genard Avery, a linebacker in name only, has been fantastic as an edge player and Burgess has been pretty good.

If the Browns are looking to trade anyone because they have so many good options, Burgess would be the best one. That would allow them to keep either Justin Currie or B.J. Bello. Failing that, they can try to get one or both to the practice squad, but either could be attractive enough to other teams to make their active roster.

Corner (6)

Denzel Ward, Terrance Mitchell, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, T.J. Carrie, E.J. Gaines, Michael Jordan

The Browns have some options here. Given Gaines’ injury, the Browns could opt to release him or put him on PUP or short term IR. They could also decide that because Calhoun is the backup free safety in addition to their starting slot, it allows them to keep an extra corner. The risk here is that if Calhoun were to go down, it now affects two spots.

If so, the Browns could keep Denzel Rice, Jeremiah McKinnon or the team’s seventh round pick, Simeon Thomas. Thomas seems like the easiest of the group to get to the practice squad as he’s the most unorthodox of the group.

The reason it seems like the Browns favor Jordan is in addition to playing well when he’s been in there, the Browns may have tipped their hand when Ward went out in the Eagles preseason game with a back injury. The Browns put Jordan in to go against the first team Eagles offense as opposed to going with Rice or McKinnon.

Safety (4)

Jabrill Peppers, Damarious Randall, Derrick Kindred, Derron Smith

The first three here are obvious, but whether or not they keep a fourth safety will be interesting. Smith is a veteran, though still young and has ability. It may be a tough sell as he is effectively a third-team safety, so special teams may be a factor.

Specials (3)

Zane Gonzalez, Justin Vogel, Charlie Hughlett

Hue Jackson said that Britton Colquitt is ahead in camp and that may be true. He’s significantly older and slighly more expensive than Vogel, who has familiarity with members of this front office that had him with the Green Bay Packers. Vogel was also very good for the Packers last year, so even if Colquitt is better than Vogel, it may come down to degrees.

Is Colquitt clearly better than Vogel or is it a hair difference where the team could opt to keep Vogel anyway? That may determine who wins the job.