Cleveland Browns defensive depth chart: PFF fair or not?
By Thomas Moore
Oct 5, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Charlie Whitehurst (12) passes against Cleveland Browns defensive end Desmond Bryant (92) during the second half at LP Field. Cleveland won 29-28. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
No surprises as the defensive line is the shakiest unit on this side of the ball.
Randy Starks, who the team signed in free agency from Miami, scores highest among the starters with a ranking of Good, while Desmond Bryant is considered Average. Danny Shelton, the No. 12 overall selection in the 2014 NFL Draft, obviously comes in under the Rookie tag.
There is not much love for the backups along the line, with incumbents John Hughes, Phil Taylor and Ishmaa’ily Kitchen being ranked as Average, and Billy Winn earning a Below Average mark.
Related: Browns Position Preview – Defensive Line
We want to argue with those rankings, because Starks is a veteran presence, Bryant has been a bit under-rated since arriving in Cleveland, and Hughes and Taylor are not that bad.
But the reality is that Starks only played 544 snaps last season with the Dolphins and could just be a different version of Rubin. And while Bryant is a solid player, after having 3.5 sacks in his first three games with Cleveland, he’s only had five in the 24 games since.
As for Taylor, he earned a grade of -6.5 from Pro Football Focus after playing just 133 snaps last season as he struggled to stay healthy.
The biggest hope for the defensive line rests with Shelton, who if he can be a dominant player and occupy the offensive line’s attention, it may raise the play of everyone else.
“I know a lot of people — just like they like to put sacks on an offensive line when a lot of times it’s not necessarily on them — that (think) rush defense goes onto the defensive line,” Pettine told The News-Herald. “Obviously, the fair share of blame is there, but it was part scheme, part the linebackers, the edges, secondary, improper angles, missed tackles. It’s part of it but probably not to the extent that most people would think.”
Speaking of stopping the run being everyone’s responsibility, let’s move onto the linebackers.
Verdict: Fair
Next: The Linebackers