Cleveland Browns draft profile: Myles Jack
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns haven’t had an impact player on defense in a long time. Could UCLA’s Myles Jack fix that come draft night?
The Cleveland Browns have had issues seemingly since they took the field as a reborn franchise in September of 1999.
No matter what area you look at, the Browns have consistently come up lacking. Pass defense? Not really. Rushing the passer? Outside of an occasional season here and there, not a concern for opposing quarterbacks. Stopping the run? Every running back on the schedule circles the Browns game on their calendar as it represents an opportunity for a career day.
There are multiple reasons for the ongoing ineptitude, ranging from poor drafts, under-performing players and poor coaching.
“My mentality is either him or me. And it’s not going to be me that’s going to get got.” – Linebacker Myles Jack
But the biggest hurdle has been the Browns inability to draft a true impact player on defense, one that the opposing offense has to account for on every play and who, even as the center of attention, can make something happen when the team needs it the most.
The Browns are hoping that the return of defensive coordinator Ray Horton can flip the switch on linebacker Barkevious Mingo, re-energize linebacker Paul Kruger and help linebacker Nate Orchard take the next step, but that may be a lot to ask of a defensive coordinator whose talk often exceeds the results from his defense.
It may be that the Browns finally need to draft their impact player to help elevate everyone else’s game.
And come the opening night of the 2016 NFL Draft, that player could be UCLA linebacker Myles Jack.
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