Cleveland Browns: Mack Wilson set for monster year

With the Cleveland Browns still having question marks around their young linebackers, Mack Wilson is a man amongst boys in the linebacker room.

Heading into this year’s draft as well as free agency, it was pretty clear that the Cleveland Browns needed help at the linebacker position. Outside of Browns star linebacker Mack Wilson, depth was a big question mark for the Browns. They have Sione Takitaki, but outside of that, they are pretty slim.

Heading into the offseason, the Browns signed B.J. Goodson who has had a relatively quiet career up until this point. His best season was 2018 for the Giants where he recorded 61 combined tackles to go along with two interceptions.

Cleveland also drafted Jacob Phillips out of LSU who will need some coaching but is a guy they hope can produce long term. The leader and star of that group? Mack Wilson.

In his rookie season, Wilson recorded 82 combined tackles as well as one interception that came in a disappointing loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Wilson also out-performed his rookie contract for being a 5th round pick, making roughly an extra $416,000.

Not only did he perform on the field in terms of production and numbers, but Wilson also had big shoes to fill. Former Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey was a fan favorite in Cleveland and the fans loved and embraced him no matter what, through all of the struggles and injuries that haunted Kirksey. Wilson took that leadership role and ran with it, something you do not see from a lot of rookies.

Again, with the Browns still needing a lot of help on defense and in terms of linebacker depth, look for Wilson to lead the young group and have a monster season. With Wilson being able to put up solid rookie numbers alongside Joe Schobert, just imagine what he can do while teaching young guys how things work in Cleveland.

If Wilson can stay healthy and continue to produce at a high level and lead the Browns defense, hopefully they can lock him up long term and build a solid linebacker core around him.