Cleveland Browns need a new spy linebacker for Lamar Jackson

The Cleveland Browns had a bunch of turnover on the defensive side of the ball, and now they will have to find a new spybacker to face off against Lamar Jackson.

Like it or not, the road to the playoffs goes through Baltimore this year and the Cleveland Browns need to come up with a way to handle the monstrously talented quarterback Lamar Jackson. Remember, Jackson is only 23-years-old, the same age now that Baker Mayfield was in his rookie year for the Browns.

Jackson set the NFL record last year for the most rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,206 yards and a mind-boggling  6.9 yards per carry. As a team, the Ravens had an NFL record 3,296 rushing yards last year.

What the Ravens do on offense is not exactly rocket science. One of their favorite plays is to run Mark Ingram one way, and Jackson the other way, and it is up to the defense to diagnose who actually has the ball. If they guess wrong, they are toast.

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Jackson is equally deadly with play-action. The defense has to respect the run, which permits Jackson to throw against man-to-man coverage more than any other quarterback in the league. It is true that Jackson can not do what Drew Brees does, but you know what? He does not have to.

It’s not against the rules for the quarterback to run with the football, so the attempts to disparage Jackson because of his mobility are pointless and stupid. The guy is a threat and he must be stopped if the Browns are to beat this Ravens team.

If you watch superhero movies, Jackson versus former Browns linebacker Joe Schobert was like Quicksilver, who runs around normal people as if they are standing still.

Yet, the Browns may have the perfect spy to counter Jackson in strong safety J.T. Hassell. Hassell went undrafted because of an incompletely formed hand, which he has had from birth. That factor has psyched out coaches and recruiters throughout his career.

But check out these Pro Day numbers: A 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds, which makes him probably the second-fastest Brown behind Denzel Ward at 4.32. Also, he posted more reps on the 225-pound bench press than Schobert (23 to 22). Hassell had a vertical leap of 42 inches, which was probably the best on the team until the arrival of Donovan Peoples-Jones, who posted a 45.5-inch leap at the Combine. This is the kind of insanely talented athlete you need to take on Lamar Jackson.

Hassell was a linebacker at Florida Tech, where he was a Division II first-team All-American and destroyed the Gulf South Conference, leading in tackles (124), tackles per game (10.3), solo tackles (76) and forced fumbles (3). The Browns have moved him to strong safety.

In limited snaps, Hassell received the highest grade among any of the Browns safeties from Pro Football Focus.

He is the player best suited to go one-on-one with Jackson. He is fast enough to catch Jackson, whereas Schobert was not. Plus, in the spybacker role, Hassell’s lack of experience may not be that big of a handicap. In fact, because he has played both safety and linebacker, he may have the best combination of experience.

But for whatever reason, Hassell did not impress Steve WIlks and Freddie Kitchens enough to get a trial as the defensive spy, even though Hassell graded well as a defensive back according to Pro Football Focus. Perhaps new defensive coordinator Joe Woods and head coach Kevin Stefanski will see him differently.

In any case, the Browns have to improve their run defense dramatically to avoid getting slaughtered by Baltimore. Cleveland’s defense was pathetic against the run last year, finishing  third-worst in the NFL by giving up 2,315 yards and yielding 5.0 yards per carry.

They are going to have to improve multiple positions to be competitive against Baltimore. Hassell deserves a shot in this fan’s opinion, but there will have to be four or five positional upgrades to beat the Ravens this year.

Still, Baltimore can be beaten, as the Browns proved by beating them 40-15 in Baltimore last year.