Predicting Cleveland Browns 53-man roster after the offseason program

Linebackers (7)

Joe Schobert, Christian Kirksey, Adarius Taylor, Genard Avery, Sione Takitaki, Mack Wilson, Ray-Ray Armstrong

The linebacker position was one of the biggest question marks for the Browns during the offseason, mainly because they released Jamie Collins. After releasing one of their starters from last season, the Browns then did not aggressively address the position during free agency. The only free agent linebacker they signed was Adarius Taylor.

However, the reason the Browns did not aggressively attempt to replace Collins was because they may play in a sub-package more frequently, so they will only need two starting linebackers. And those two starters will be Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey. But when the Browns were playing in their base defense, Taylor was the third linebacker.

After those three are the two rookies, Sione Takitaki and Mack Wilson. Both have been reportedly impressive during minicamp and will be safe to make the final roster unless something dramatic happens. They also could snag playing time from one of the top three linebackers on the depth chart.

Ray-Ray Armstrong may be the most surprising name to make the final roster, but he is a significant player for the Browns’ special teams unit. He may not play a significant role on the defense, but the Browns are hoping to turn around their special teams unit and Armstrong will be key in doing so.