Cleveland Browns: Looking ahead to their needs in 2019
By Shane Carter
Another Linebacker
Jamie Collins, Joe Schobert, and Christian Kirksey will be the starters next season and should be too. Genard Avery has been a godsend this season and a late round steal. But what about the rest of the depth? Other than these four, who could comfortably say they like the other options?
The Browns need another linebacker, maybe two. Kirksey is out for the year and it always seems like we rarely get to see the trio together before an injury inevitably takes one away.
While not a top two priority, linebacker depth is still a concern for this team and will need to be handled before the start of next season.
Pass Rush
Myles Garrett is a star. Emmanuel Ogbah is a high quality starter. Genard Avery and Jamie Collins are both linebackers but they can both cause havoc for opposing quarterbacks. Larry Ogunjobi is a future Pro Bowl defensiveness tackle and helps form one of the best End-Tackle combos in the game with Garrett.
Oustide of these players, the team lacks some pass rush ability. Chris Smith is better against the run than the pass, Anthony Zettel is inconsistent and Chad Thomas hasn’t done anything yet this year that would justify his third round selection. The team needs more help.
They say you can never have too many good pass rushers, but this team ‘needs’ more good pass rushers. Whether it’s through the aforementioned defensive tackle or linebacker needs or by another defensive end, this team needs more players to get to the quarterback.
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The team has 24 sacks on the year but 13.5 of them come from two players (Garrett and Ogunjobi). A team with an up and coming defense can’t just be content with two players doing most of the work. They need more of this team hopes to see its full potential.