Browns NFL Draft Preview: Defense - Part 4

Before we get into this, some may wonder, why didn’t this ass-bag cover the kicking positions and some of the Special Team positions? Well…in my opinion those positions are in good shape with Phil Dawson returning as the Kicker, Dave Zastudil arriving from Baltimore to save the Punter position, Dennis Northcutt manning the Punt Returns (with Antonio Perkins being a solid backup option), Josh Cribbs occupying the primary Kick Return slot, and everyone’s favorite 5th round draft pick Ryan Pontbriand handling Long Snapping. Not to mention, there a lot of backups on the team like Simon Fraser, Mason Unck, and others who are solid Special Teams’ players so I don’t see too much of need to draft for any of these spots on the team.

Moving along: We’ve covered every roster spot occupied on the defense for the Cleveland Browns right now, so it’s time to sum it all up. What do the Browns need the most on this side of the ball? As you already know, the draft is the most important method to build a solid team, so it will be up to Phil Savage to fill some of these needs this year. Anyone not stuck under a rock knows that this side of the ball has been discussed ad-naseum when it comes to selecting in the first round at pick 12. Since there are 3 major holes on the defense, it appears that the Browns would use that #12 pick to upgrade one of those needs. We’ll soon see if that does become a reality. Next week, we’ll focus on some of those names that can fill these spots as we will be days away from the draft. For now, let’s break down the top defensive needs in order:

1a. DE/OLB – The Browns sucked a big fat one in 2005 when it came to sacking the QB. They’re going to need a big-time talent to get to the QB, because there isn’t a guy on the roster who can really specialize in this at the moment. Sure Chaun Thompson can do that at times, and Willie McGinest will get his shots at the QB, but the Browns really need a young defender to step it up and help increase the sack count. Most likely, this role would be filled by an OLB that can line up as a pass rusher. There are plenty of men in the draft that can fill this roll, so the Browns will have to be smart in picking the right one if they go this route.
1b. MLB – This is a gigantic need for this team because Orlando Ruff is not the answer as a starter, and he’s the most qualified to do so on this current roster. This is a glaring need that needs to be filled, but it remains to be seen whether there is a guy good enough to take at #12 in the draft to fill this position as a rookie. That’s why the Browns may look to a pass rusher instead in round 1. They’ll most likely take an inside Linebacker at some point though to hopefully pair with Andra Davis.
2. NT – This is another major need for this team because Ted Washington is older than dirt. The Browns would do themselves a favor by drafting a stud DT to learn behind Ted and take over for him once he croaks on the field. There are two guys in particular that may be available to them in the first round this year that could benefit greatly in this position. We’ll talk about them next week even though you probably already know who they are. Even though Ethan Kelley is a talented young guy, he may not be quite good enough to be a solid Nose Tackle in this league.
3. S – The Browns have young talent at this position, but they come into this season with question marks (Sean Jones and Brodney Pool). Can they really get the job done now that they are healthy and there’s a spot open for them? The Browns may need to plug another guy into this position to help the depth since they seem to have only 3 truly talented players at this position after dealing Chris Crocker.
4. CB – The Browns are solid at the top of the depth chart here with Gary Baxter, Daylon McCutcheon, and Leigh Bodden. Once you look past them though, there’s a considerable drop off. They could add another CB to compete for the 4th spot.

Now that we have the defense evaluated, we can focus on the crop of players available to them in this year’s draft. We’ll cover these guys in detail next week as the draft approaches. We’ll also open that up by combining the rankings on offense and defense to see what the total ranked needs are when you consider both sides of the ball together.