Looking Forward to the 2021 AFC North

BRONWN FANS WHO IS BETTER GARRETT OR TJ WATT

 

Larry Ogunjobi 643
+ Signed Malik Jackson (538 snaps)
+ Returning Andrew Billings from 2020 Covid-19 opt out

B.J. Goodson 848
+ Signed Anthony Weaver Jr. (697 snaps)
+ Re-signed Malcolm Smith (559 snaps)

Terrance Mitchell 1071
+ Returning Greedy Williams from injury
+ Different positions, but signed nickel corner Troy Hill (972 snaps)
+ Projected: will likely draft a cornerback during 2021 NFL Draft

Karl Joseph 660
+ Returning Grant Delpit from injury
+ Projected: will likely draft a safety during 2021 NFL Draft

Olivier Vernon 805
+ Signed Jadeveon Clowney (426 snaps - cut short due to injury, averaged 641 per season prior to 2020)
+ Projected: will likely draft a defensive end during the 2021 NFL Draft

Adrian Clayborn 404
+ Signed Takkarist McKinley (85 snaps - cut short due to injury, averaged 522 per season prior to 2020)

Andrew Sendejo 919
+ Signed John Johnson (1,024 snaps)

So the point was to illustrate that the Browns made improvements over an 11-5 roster in the free agency period, I guess?

 

Thank you for taking the time to list the players you expect to replace those snaps. But there are a few question marks there for a defense that was already pretty mediocre. I was just offering a little reality to the free agency post. There was some give and take there. I do like the John Johnson signing.

 

Without a doubt. I would expect the defense to continue to be a major concern until it's not. The reason I have to go 13-4 versus 17-0, tbh...

Terrance Mitchell and Andrew Sendejo proved to be such major liabilities that we lost some winnable games solely based on their play alone. Sendejo, in particular, is one of the worst defensemen I think I've ever seen play the game. A good number of the Browns' games should have been "easy" wins where you can turn the TV off after the third, but last year's secondary was such a mess they allowed teams to rally back and make them close. John Johnson should fix a tremendous amount of that and if he stays healthy, I would expect him to play at a very high level. We're going from an F- player to an A+ player... that impact cannot be overstated.

Likewise, we added the NFL's best nickel cornerback which is another much-needed infusion of talent into the secondary.

I don't expect the 2021 Browns to rival the 1985 Bears anytime soon from a defense standpoint, but the improvements should take them from a massive liability to a decent unit and when paired with one of the best offenses in the entire league, that's a recipe for a very successful season.

 

I like the corner and safety. The rest is meh. Malik Jackson was awful in 2020 - a total non-factor the last 8 games. Clowney didn't have a sack. McKinley is a bust. What made the defense play at a higher level the 2nd half of 2020 was the pressure coming from both sides. Vernon had finally lived up to the NYG contract. If I'm a Browns opponent I'm even more comfortable with double-teaming Garrett in 2021. I think you'll miss Ogunjobi. He wasn't great but he's much better than Jackson.

 

We still have Andrew Billings too. He opted out last year, but he was a significant F/A signing from the previous year. I don't think we'll miss Ogunjobi that much. Last time we saw him he was getting outrun by Chad Henne. Plus, what if we end up taking Christian Barmore in the draft? Plenty of mocks out there that have Cleveland doing exactly that.

 

Just a thought. The signing of Clowney gives Cleveland three #1 overall's on the roster, along with Garrett and Mayfield....Seems like a rarity, but maybe it isn't. I wonder if any team has ever had more than that.

 

With Jadeveon Clowney, a 2014 first-round pick, reportedly joining the Browns, the city that will host the 2021 draft now has 10 first-round picks on the roster.

The other nine first-round picks on the Cleveland roster include receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (2014), tackle Jack Conklin (2016), defensive end Myles Garrett (2017), quarterback Baker Mayfield (2018), defensive end Takk McKinley (2017), tight end David Njoku (2017), defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson (2013), cornerback Denzel Ward (2018), and tackle Jedrick Wills (2020).

The Browns also have three No. 1 overall picks — Clowney, Garrett, and Mayfield.

And let’s not forget they also have a Super Bowl MVP. Linebacker Malcolm Smith, a seventh-round pick in 2011, was the MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII.

Per, NBC
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Cleveland is changing their name from the Browns to the Cleveland 1st Rounds.

 

I seem to recall that the 49ers had four 1st Rd picks on their starting D-line and the Falcons had five 1st Rd picks on their O-line. But I'm way too lazy to go look it up.

 

Agreed.

 

I think at one point, San Fran might have had five first round picks along their four defensive line spots, actually. Mega-bust Solomon Thomas (#2 overall) was a reserve along said line.

 

I really liked Thomas, but he’s on his last shot to get a long term contract in Vegas.

 

I mean, you weren't alone. Just goes to show the unpredictability of the NFL draft and how players shake out on certain terms or in certain systems. Lance Zierlein (NFL.com) said at the time Thomas would be a better pro than Myles Garrett and there were plenty of debates leading up to that draft which player made more sense for Cleveland to take.

Though no one could be like Booger McFarland and rank Myles #4 on EDGE players that year.

Bottom line of the Draft: don't overthink it.

 

Or - Don’t Chris Simms sound bite for clout.

The interesting part of that argument, for me personally, was over where to play either player.

Garrett was a clear #1 for me at 3/4 OLB.

Thomas was a better fit at 4/3 three tech.

But it’s an interesting conversation to go back and view opinions on still to this day, even if only one guest has showed up to the party.

 

No, I didn't mean to confuse with first rounders....I'm talking about the fact that we currently have three #1's OVERALL...First pick of the entire draft. We have three of those right now. (Clowney, Bake, Garrett)....

Has any team ever had three guys on the roster that were the first overall pick of the draft?

 

All ya need is Hue and a little 1-31 streak and you're two thirds of the way there.

 

Evidently we'll have to settle for high marks everywhere else except the beach-scale. I can live with it.

Malik Jackson is an upgrade. Clowney has never been a sackmaster. His strength is stopping the run and disrupting plays. And McKinley is a wildcard well worth the minimal investment.

 

In all seriousness, it's been a great offseason for Cleveland. It might not blow beahbums socks off, but the key is the frugality with which the Browns went about their business. That's why the high marks, and don't underestimate the signing of Anthony Walker and the re-signing of Rashard Higgins. Those are two very important pieces.

 

Per PFN

Jadeveon Clowney and the Cleveland Browns: A perfect combination
The low-risk, high-reward Jadeveon Clowney signing in free agency shows just how far the Cleveland Browns have come in the last year.


The lower your expectations for Jadeveon Clowney, the better Clowney looks. And that’s what makes Clowney such a great signing for the Cleveland Browns.

It’s a testament to how far the Browns organization has come in the past year that they just signed Clowney, the much-traveled defensive end and first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, to a modest one-year contract. Past Browns teams might have made a player like Clowney the centerpiece of their offseason philosophy, signing him to some lavish contract and hailing him as a savior. The Andrew Barry/Kevin Stefanski Browns grabbed Clowney as an extra piece for a defensive line headlined by Myles Garrett and Sheldon Richardson. Some Browns fans seem to think the team just signed Thor, but the organization itself appears to regard Clowney as just another useful building block.

Building blocks. Big-name veterans signing on the cheap. Realistic Super Bowl expectations. Are we sure these are the real Cleveland Browns?

Clowney and the Browns: Perfect together
History tells us again and again that a team that expects Clowney to spearhead their pass rush is certain to be disappointed.

Clowney is a situational player, not a J.J. Watt. He’s better at collapsing pockets and disrupting running plays than generating sacks. He’s at his best when sliding all around the defensive front, left to right, often as a standup linebacker, sometimes as a blitzer up the gut. Most critically, he needs his snaps and workload managed carefully because he can probably operate an MRI machine by himself at this point.

The Browns don’t expect Clowney to spearhead anything. He’s a likely starter, of course, but he’s still a role player on what is turning into a stacked defensive line.

Myles Garrett is coming off his third straight double-digit sack season. He’ll be the J.J. Watt to Clowney’s, um, Clowney.

Sheldon Richardson has come into his own as an interior disruptor at defensive tackle. Like Clowney, Richardson spent several seasons as a semi-disappointment after the Jets drafted him 13th overall in 2013. Also like Clowney, he looks much better when he is not being compared to his sky-high expectations.

Malik Jackson, another free-agent acquisition, also has a Clowney-like history. The Jacksonville Jaguars overpaid him after he helped the Denver Broncos win Super Bowl 50. The Philadelphia Eagles overpaid him based on a strong 2018 season with the Jaguars. The Browns will pay him $3.5 million to keep blockers away from the others.

Just in case the Browns had not collected enough talented baggage guys on the defensive line, they added Takkarist McKinley in free agency. McKinley never developed after the Atlanta Falcons made him the 26th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. If he can stick as a 30-snap rotation player, he can help reduce Clowney’s workload.

That projects as one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, folks. And it should still be pretty darned good if Clowney turns out to be Ol’ Aches and Pains again for a chunk of the season.