Cleveland Browns: Five ideal 2020 NFL Draft prospects
Javon Kinlaw – DT – South Carolina
The Browns defensive line as a whole needs help. They have great talents on the line, and with names like Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, and Sheldon Richardson, you’d expect a good defensive line.
While these guys are good, there are still holes. For one, Vernon is a liability health-wise, and you can’t truly count on him playing a whole season. Garrett is great at pass-rushing, but his run defense is still less than stellar. Richardson had an inconsistent start but played well down the stretch in 2019.
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Behind these three names, however, the defensive line has a bunch of names that in no way should be starting games in the NFL like they were at the end of 2019. Depth isn’t the only thing needed on the Browns defensive line, however.
The Cleveland Browns finished 2019 with the third-worst-ranked run defense in the NFL, allowing nearly 145 rushing yards per game. The run defense starts up front, and what better way to clean that up than with the biggest and best athlete at that position in this year’s draft class in Javon Kinlaw.
Kinlaw is a raw athlete, but is an absolute beast in the interior of the defensive line. He tallied 17 tackles for loss in his three seasons as a Gamecock. He also got 10 sacks, proving that he can be a force in the passing game as well and isn’t just a running down defender.
Kinlaw is projected a later first-round pick, so if one of the Browns top choices aren’t there, and they look to trade back, he could be one of their main players of interest. He’s an ideal player to fill a position of need and help improve a rather porous defensive unit.