Cleveland Browns: Rising star, breakout player, rebound player, and more
By Randy Gurzi
Most underrated/underappreciated: Emmanuel Ogbah, Defensive End
No one wanted to give respect to defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah during the draft process. After two years of playing hard for Cleveland, Ogbah was all but dismissed as fans were eyeballing North Carolina State defensive end, Bradley Chubb. The front office, however, went a different direction and selected cornerback Denzel Ward out of Ohio State.
Doing so added a playmaker to a positional group that truly needed it. The defensive end spot, however, wasn’t as dire of a need with Ogbah under contract along with 2017 No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett.
While he’s never going to be the impactful edge rusher that Garrett is or possibly even Chubb, Ogbah is a good starting defensive end. He’s strong against the run and offers enough pass rushing help to be a factor.
He’s also incredibly young. At just 24-years old, Ogbah was the 32nd pick in the 2016 NFL Draft — which was the first in Round 2 thanks to the New England Patriots losing a first-round pick that year.
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In two seasons, Ogbah has 9.5 sacks while playing 26 games — according to Pro Football Reference. His ceiling is incredibly high and there’s only room to grow. Even if his name isn’t exactly always on the forefront of our minds.