Cleveland Browns: 10 players to watch in the preseason

Defensive end Myles Garrett

This is an easy one. The No. 1 overall draft pick and the highest graded defensive end to enter the NFL since Jadeveon Clowney of the Houston Texans, fans went wild when the Browns announced that Garrett would be the pick. Now everyone has visions of him and second-year defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah terrorizing quarterbacks for years to come.

In Friday’s Orange and Brown Scrimmage, Garrett was credited with two sacks. But there were those in attendance who believe that Garrett could have had more, which has only increased the hype.

Head coach Hue Jackson has not revealed how many snaps Garrett will have in the preseason opener. The coaches may prefer to keep him and a few others healthy and available for the season, but there’s no doubt fans will see him. All he needs to do now is deliver.

Safety Kai Nacua

It was surprising that no one had drafted Kai Nacua. A safety who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, and who had 14 career interceptions in college, would seem to be in demand. Apparently not enough teams wanted a potential ball hawk in their secondary.

With the injury to Ed Reynolds during the first weekend of training camp, and the poor play and inconsistency in the secondary, this could be Nacua’s time to shine. A few chances to show his skills at going after the ball would do him a world of good and make other teams, including Cleveland, question themselves for allowing him to go undrafted.

Linebacker Joe Schobert

Joe Schobert’s rookie season was disappointing, but linebacker coach Blake Williams has hope for the second-year man out of Wisconsin as Williams believes that the 3-4 system run by former defensive coordinator Ray Horton wasn’t for Schobert, according to cleveland.com:

"“This is just in my opinion, he’s not a 3-4 outside linebacker. That’s kind of what he played in college, that’s kind of what he played last year, but that’s not what his body is.”"

Schobert could actually be a surprise candidate to take the starting MIKE linebacker position from Tank Carder and Dominique Alexander. What Carder and Alexander have over Schobert is experience at the position, but they may not have as much skill as Schobert does. Watching him in the preseason at his new position will help determine that.

Defensive back Channing Stribling

Channing Stribling in one of the best undrafted free agents in camp with the Browns. Like Nacua, it’s unknown why teams didn’t want Stribling  after a great season where he and the other members of the Michigan secondary formed arguably the best, most complete unit in the country.

Cleveland Browns

Stribling is considered to be one of the best undrafted free agents this year, and has a great chance to make the Browns. Aside from the obvious starters, a knee injury to fourth-round draft pick Howard Wilson has opened the door for Stribling to earn a spot.

It’s very possible that Stribling went undrafted because he was overshadowed by guys like Jabril Peppers, Delano Hill and Jourdan Lewis, but either way, this looks like a blessing for Browns fans. All he has to do now is produce like he did in college.

Defensive tackle Caleb Brantley 

Cleveland fans should give thanks because there is no way Caleb Brantley, a first-round talent, would have fallen all the way to the sixth round and the No. 185 overall selection if he did not run into legal trouble a few days before the draft.

The charges were eventually dropped in the case and the Browns may have landed the steal of the draft. All Brantley has to do is showcase his talents and show why he was thought to be such a high draft pick.

Even though he didn’t play in the Orange and Brown Scrimmage due to a broken finger that required surgery, we should see plenty of him this preseason. The defensive tackle rotation that will feature Brantley with Danny Shelton and Larry Ogunjobi, among others, will be huge for this defense and it all starts in the preseason.