Browns NFL Draft Preview: Defense - Part 2

On a side note, I am very disappointed in the Cleveland Indians right now. That's about all I have to say about that right now. In other news, I played my first 9 of golf in almost 2 years and I played pretty well. I hit a Double Bogey on the first hole and had a nice drive off the first tee without hitting a driving range in almost 2 years either. OK...on to stuff you might actually care about.

Linebackers on the Browns have come and gone over the last several years since the Browns returned in 1999. There hasn’t been a whole lot of consistent talent across the board at the 3 LB positions while guys like Butch Davis, the idiot circus clown, coached the team. So when Romeo Crennel arrived and shifted the team to a 3-4 alignment, it was already apparent that LB was going to be way under-stocked for Crennel. The Browns already did some work in last year’s draft trying to help the depth at LB, but they’re still a little weak, especially at one of the inside positions.

Let’s take a look at the current roster of both OLBs, and MLBs:

OLB
Chaun Thompson – Thompson has improved as a LB over the last couple seasons to ALMOST justify the fact that Butch Davis passed up much more football savvy players to pick him in the 2nd round back in 2003. Thompson has always had prime athletic skills at the position, but has been slow in developing the mental aspect of the game at this level. He’s done enough though to be somewhat effective at OLB and has limited a lot of his mistakes out there. Thompson can get after the ball carrier and the QB and can run down some pretty quick skill position players. He’ll return as a starter most likely but will he improve enough to be a good LB at this level? Right now I think he could use some more seasoning.
Willie McGinest – Naysayers think the acquisition of McGinest at this point in his career was pretty pointless as he’s an aging veteran who doesn’t have much left in the tank. He may be on the decline, but McGinest will bring a great work ethic and leadership to the defense. It wasn’t like the Browns were the only team to covet him either. He had several extremely interested teams lining up for visits, but he never made it out of Cleveland. In addition, the guy led the Patriots in sacks in the post-season. I expect a pretty decent season out of McGinest this year, and the Browns would do themselves a favor by lining up a young up-and-comer behind him to learn.
Matt Stewart – Steady but unspectacular, Stewart had a bit of a tough year as he battled injuries and missed some time. I think Stewart is an average player who would be great as a backup helping the depth of this team. I wouldn’t want him being a regular starter and it looks as though that will be the case this year (barring injury).
Nick Speegle – The hard working, tough-nosed Speegle was a popular pick in last year’s draft, and saw action in 14 games as a rookie playing some Special Teams and getting a little work at LB. Speegle is in an interesting position this year as the Browns may look to make some more additions to the OLB spot, which may mean they don’t see much ahead for him as a future starter. We’ll see what happens, but it at least looks like Speegle will have some role on this team, especially as a valuable Special Teamer.
David McMillan – McMillan was a part of GM Phil Savage’s first draft with the Browns last year as a potential pass rushing specialist at LB. McMillan didn’t see too much time in 2005 as he only saw action in 4 games. McMillan will be a good guy to keep an eye on in camp and in the preseason to see if he can work up to more playing time during the regular season.


MLB
Andra Davis – Part of a trio of LBs Butch Davis drafted in the middle of the draft in 2002. The other two are gone now as Kevin Bentley left last season and Ben Taylor just left a few weeks ago for Green Bay. Davis has been the one consistent rising star for the Browns' defense over the last two years, and he may have a huge breakout year in 2006 with the additions the Browns have made around him. He may be the first Browns' Pro Bowler since fucking Jamir Miller way back in the olden days of the new Expansion franchise.
Orlando Ruff – As it stands right now, Ruff is still a member of this team and would start at MLB if the team opened the season now. That’s a bad thing. This is no knock against Ruff, but he would be better suited to bounce around at LB positions as a veteran backup.
Mason Unck – Unck is best suited to be a Special Teams player as he has done a good job in that role for this team over the last few years. He could fit the mold of a Larry Izzo when you consider his best role for the team. I don’t know if he’s good enough to see ample time at LB in this league. He could work his ass off and prove many people wrong, but the odds are against him.
Justin Kurpeikis – Not much different from Unck, Kurpeikis is best fit for Special Teams. I’m not sure how long he’ll stick around anyways. He’s a decent LB, but that’s the extent of it.
Clifton Smith – The talented Syracuse LB hasn’t had much of a chance in the NFL, and he was a late add to the Browns in 2005. The jury is out on Smith, and many wonder if he can stick on the team going into 2006.

Tomorrow, we’ll finish up looking at the defense with the big boys on the Defensive Line. Thought to be another major area of need, it will be important to break the DL down to gauge how much help they’ll need there. Stay tuned…