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Cleveland Browns: 3 Studs and duds from Preseason Week 1

By Randy Gurzi

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 09: David Njoku #85 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates his touchdown in the second quarter against the New York Giants during their preseason game on August 9,2018 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 09: David Njoku #85 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates his touchdown in the second quarter against the New York Giants during their preseason game on August 9,2018 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Caleb Brantley Cleveland Browns
GAINESVILLE, FL – SEPTEMBER 12: Caleb Brantley #57 of the Florida Gators celebrates a defensive stop during the game against the East Carolina Pirates at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

Dud: Caleb Brantley, Defensive Tackle

To be fair, it could have been injury holding him back, but Caleb Brantley wasn’t able to stand out in any good way on Thursday Night. Early in camp he was struggling with a quad injury and has missed some time on the field. He was able to suit up and with fellow defensive tackle Trevon Coley out with an ankle injury, Brantley could have moved up the charts with a good game.

He didn’t do that in this one as he was pushed back often by the Giants backup offensive linemen. The coaches did him little favors as well, even dropping him into coverage at one point.

After trading Danny Shelton to the New England Patriots in the offseason, the Browns are leaning on some of their younger stars to step up. Brantley is one of those players as is Larry Ogunjobi. Neither were named starters and could have used this game to show their worth.

As a whole, however, the interior defensive line struggled. There wasn’t much push up the middle and the Giants were able to run at will because of it. They finished with 134 yards on just 23 carries — eclipsing the work done by the Cleveland backs. There’s still time to improve, but Brantley wasn’t at his best here.

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