Cleveland Browns: 3 most important defensive players

Looking to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2007, the Cleveland Browns will be counting on many players to step up, such as these 3 defenders

2018 was a fun season for the Cleveland Browns as they finally turned a corner following a 3-36-1 stretch over two and a half seasons with Hue Jackson as the head coach. Once they finally moved on from him after eight games last year, they ended up looking like a much more cohesive unit, going 5-3 down the stretch.

Since the season ended, the Browns have made some big moves which included adding head coach Freddie Kitchens — who was the offensive coordinator during the final eight games. In addition to Kitchens, the Browns signed Todd Monken as the offensive coordinator, Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator, and Mike Priefer as the special teams coach.

Here we focus on some of the players that Wilks will be working with. Cleveland has plenty of returning starters as well as some new blood that will help them as they look to take their next step.

With all that being said, we look at the three most important Cleveland Browns players on the defensive side of the ball in 2019.

Honorable Mention: Joe Schobert

It was hard not putting the Browns middle linebacker in the top-three because he really is vital to what this team does on defense. We all saw that when he was out in 2018. However, there are other players who the defense will be counting on even more in 2019.

It’s no slight to Schobert by any means. He’s become a great leader in the middle of the defense and is looking for his third straight 100-tackle performance ‚— and a new deal. Even though he just missed the cut, Schobert has to be mentioned.

With that being said, here are the top three most important players on the Browns defense heading into 2019.