Cleveland Browns: 3 matchups to watch vs the 49ers

Odell vs. Sherman

The Baltimore Ravens created a blueprint of how to shut down Odell Beckham Jr. The problem was they did not anticipate the monster that is Nick Chubb running all over their defense. The 49ers will probably not play man to man defense as much with Richard Sherman.

This doesn’t mean they will not double team Beckham with Jarvis Landry in doubt and Antonio Callaway returning. Callaway may need to shake off some rust in his first game back.

At the time of this writing, Landry is still in the concussion protocol. Odell may be the Browns only real receiving threat. Take him away and the Browns may be one dimension. But that one dimension is pretty scary.

Richard Sherman is primarily a zone coverage cornerback. If the 49ers want to sell out to stop the run by playing man to man, Odell may be looking at another double team day. Sherman may not be known for man to man coverage but zone coverage becomes man to man when a receiver enters your area. Sherman will be ready for the challenge.

Both OBJ and Sherman are trash talkers. So, it will be interesting to see if the officials will allow Sherman to try to choke out Beckham. Hopefully, it was get stopped before that, but there will be plenty of talking and possibly fighting between these two on Monday night.

Advantage: Odell Beckham Jr.

I will take the best wide receiver in the league against an aging Richard Sherman. To quote a former Browns defensive coordinator “Come get some!”