5 Looming decisions for Cleveland Browns ahead of 2019 season

1. Do they need to add defensive line depth?

Sheldon Richardson and Olivier being added in the offseason shores up the starting defensive line for the Cleveland Browns. They now have the two new additions as well as Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi which is as good a starting line as there is in the NFL. The question that comes up though, is whether their depth can hold up or not.

Behind Vernon and Garrett, the Browns have second-year pro Chad Thomas as well as veterans Chris Smith and Anthony Zettel. That’s not terrible depth but Zettel wasn’t consistent last season and Thomas hardly got on the field. Word is he’s doing better in camp this season, but we need to see that carry over into games.

With that being said, Cleveland is probably not going to add defensive end help unless something falls in their lap — such as a young player they liked in the draft not making a 53-man roster. As for defensive tackle, that’s a different story.

John Dorsey has said all the right things about the tackles, but his actions show he’s not truly satisfied with the players they have there. Sure, he loves Richardson and Ogunjobi but the depth behind them is questionable at best.

Currently, they have Trevon Coley, Carl Davis, Brian Price, and Daniel Ekuale as the primary reserves to Ogunjobi and Richardson. None of those players have really shown they can be counted on consistently, which has led to Dorsey swinging and missing twice on free-agent additions.

First was Gerald McCoy, who was let go by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cleveland brought him in for a visit but was unable to land him. The same thing happened when the Green Bay Packers cut Mike Daniels.

Surely, the Browns will monitor the waiver wire for this position as they need to decide how comfortable they are with the depth behind their two starters at defensive tackle.