The Cleveland Browns are in full-on rebuild mode, but they will still need help from these five key veterans in 2016.
The Cleveland Browns have been extremely busy since the close of the 2015 NFL season.
The team’s latest biennial rebuilding project has brought in a new head coach and front office; 14 draft picks, many of whom have a very real chance of making the final roster this fall; and the exodus of numerous veterans, either by choice in free agency – Alex Mack, Mitchell Schwartz and Travis Benjamin, to name a few – or by force with the releasing of Karlos Dansby, Donte Whitner, Randy Starks and, on Monday, Brian Hartline.
“We’re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we don’t need to be right now,” head coach Hue Jackson said last week. “We need to work at it and pay attention to detail and be accountable to each other and make sure guys are doing the right things and coach them the way we know we have to in order to get them to where we need to get them to be.”
“We’re starting at the bottom, and we’re going to climb our way to the top.” – Head coach Hue Jackson
The Browns were already facing a tall challenge coming off a 3-13 season – the franchise’s 11th double-digit loss season out of the past 13 – even before the rebuilding efforts began. Now, after the last few months, the Browns have quickly turned the Browns into a young team that is going to need plenty of work.
Jackson has put together what is being touted as a very strong coaching staff, but there are only so many hours in the day (ever for someone as energetic as wide receivers coach Al Saunders), so the team is going to need to keep some veterans around to help out.
Along that line of thinking, here are five veterans that will play a key role this fall in helping to accelerate the learning curve of the young players.
Next: Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins
The Browns went all-in on wide receivers during the draft, selecting Corey Coleman, Ricardo Louis, Jordan Payton and Rashard Higgins, all of whom have a very real chance of making the final roster.
The team will most likely carry just seven wide receivers, with Marlon Moore likely taking a spot because of his work on special teams. So that leaves Taylor Gabriel and Terrelle Pryor fighting for a spot.
Let’s say the Browns keep Moore simply for special teams and go with the six aforementioned receivers. In that scenario, they are looking at a group that has combined for 65 receptions for 904 yards and one touchdown at the NFL level.
That’s where Andrew Hawkins comes in.
Hawkins has worked his way from undrafted free agent to productive wide receiver, an invaluable lesson to teach to the rookies. Not only can he be another coach in the meeting room, but he can still back it up by being a productive player on the field.
Next: Left tackle Joe Thomas
The Browns are replacing 40 percent of their offensive line after losing Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz in free agency, and things may get rough before they get better.
Cameron Erving is taking over at center and, as talented as he may be, he’s not going to be Mack, especially early in the season. The same can be said at right tackle, where several players, starting with rookie Shon Coleman, will work though training camp to claim the starting slot.
Even Joel Bitonio, who has quickly become one of the best young guards in the league, is still only entering his third season and has a lot to learn.
While it may not be the same as the wide receiver group, Thomas can still impart wisdom on the younger members of the offensive line. He may not be a vocal public leader, but there is no question that Thomas understands what it takes to play on an NFL offensive line. He showed that last year in his comments about Erving, pointing out technique is just as important as strength for an offensive lineman.
Keeping Thomas on the team not only keeps the left tackle position among the league’s best, but also adds an experienced voice for the youngsters to turn to when things go south.
Next: Cornerback Joe Haden
Much like the wide receivers, the Browns have reworked their defensive secondary, most notably at the safety position.
Gone are last year’s starters in Tashaun Gipson and Donte Whitner, and in are a second-year player Ibraheim Campbell, underperforming free agent Rahim Moore and the inexperienced Jordan Poyer.
At one cornerback, the Browns have Tramon Williams, a talented player that is on the downside of his career, and a group of youngsters that include K’Waun Williams, Charles Gaines, Pierre Desir and Trey Caldwell and the disinterested Justin Gilbert.
Haden returning to the field and playing at his Pro Bowl level will have a calming effect on the secondary and, as the only secondary player left from defensive coordinator Ray Horton‘s last time in Cleveland, Haden will be invaluable in helping the new guys decipher Horton’s unique brand of defense.
Next: Linebacker Paul Kruger
Just like Joe Haden, Paul Kruger is a holdover from the Ray Horton-led defense of 2013.
That season, Kruger’s first in Cleveland, was not his best as he had only 4.5 sacks and was mostly ineffective. He bounced back the following year in former head coach Mike Pettine’s defense, leading the team with 11 sacks before dropping off last season when Jim O’Neil took over as defensive coordinator.
The Browns added Emmanuel Ogbah in the second round of the draft to join Kruger, second-year player Nate Orchard and Barkevious Mingo in an attempt to finally find a way to get to the opposing quarterback on a consistent basis. In addition, the inside linebackers are flush with new players in Demario Davis, Justin Tuggle and Joe Schobert, who all need to learn just what it is that Horton expects from them.
Like Haden, Kruger can still be a key contributor on the field as last year was most likely an aberration, and help the linebackers figure things out.
“Any time you evaluate a good team, a successful team and successful defenses, you’ve got to have contributors at every level of the game and that includes rookies, that includes backups, and that includes obviously the starters,” Kruger told the team’s website. “That’s what’s exciting (as) there’s nothing else involved except getting our defense where it needs to be and winning games.”
Next: Defensive end Desmond Bryant
Desmond Bryant has quietly become arguably the Browns best defensive lineman since joining the team as a free agent in 2013.
Bryant had a career-best six sacks last season and brings a veteran presence to a defensive line that has gotten younger after adding Danny Shelton, Jamie Meder and Xavier Cooper in 2014 and Carl Nassib in 2015. A quick look at the roster shows that of the nine players listed on the defensive line, seven of them have less than three years of NFL experience.
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Being familiar not only with Horton’s defensive principles but with Jackson, who was Bryant’s head coach in 2011 with the Oakland Raiders, means that Bryant should be an asset to all those young players.
“He’s more mature than what he was when I had him in Oakland,” Jackson told The Plain Dealer. “He was really starting to become a really good football player. Obviously, coming here for him was probably the height of his career where all of a sudden he started making a lot of money and having an opportunity to really be the guy.
“I see a more mature player who’s a lot calmer, who knows how to play this game, who knows the process of getting ready to play this game. He works at it every day.”
If these five veterans can play to their potential while also helping the rookies learn about life in the NFL, then the Browns latest rebuilding efforts may move along more quickly than anticipated.
Next: Can Hue Jackson turn things around?
The Cleveland Browns are in rebuilding mode, but still need some veterans on the team. Which veterans do you think are key to the team’s success in 2016?