Cleveland Browns: 6 second-year players to watch in 2016

Danny Shelton contributed on defense last season, but he was less of an impact than expected from the 12th-overall pick in the draft. Shelton was a victim of circumstance and struggles that come with any rookie lineman’s transition to the NFL.

Shelton readily admits he did not always know what to do on each assignment. In some respects, this is normal for a rookie. However, other veteran players made this same complaint about former defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil’s defense last season. This season will be different as Ray Horton has stated that there will clearly defined responsibilities. Will the scheme be difficult? Maybe. But has Horton is fond of saying, “Everything is easy, once you understand it.”

Shelton also suffered from the growing pains of adapting from college to the NFL. Shelton’s real strength in college was his ability to penetrate a gap and disrupt the play in the backfield. He was also very good at playing through the whistle, which gained him the reputation of having a high motor. Last season, Shelton played slow, which makes sense if he was unsure of his assignments. Offenses found it easy to move him with double teams.

To be a contributor this season Shelton will need to shed enough weight to allow him to run faster and be a three-down player.  To his credit he has taken off weight and seems physically prepared to take on that challenge. He will also need to play with a lower pad level as, at times, Shelton looked like he was playing upright at the line of scrimmage. This caused him to be the victim of double teams.

Shelton did flash last season during the Seattle Seahawks game. Maybe it was the fact of playing in his home state, but he played in that game like he did in college. Shelton has the ability, but he will need to learn to play with a lower pad level, learn how to fend off double teams and be put in single-gap responsibility situations to take advantage of his quickness off the ball.

Shelton will contribute at the nose tackle position. If Jamie Meder comes on strong in camp, it would be interesting to see Shelton at the three technique, as it would play to his strengths and mitigate against his inability to fight off double teams.

Overall, Shelton should improve enough to be a solid contributor next season.

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