Predicting Cleveland Browns 2020 Depth Chart: Defensive Line
By Randy Gurzi
Predicting the Cleveland Browns defensive line depth chart in 2020
Last season, the Cleveland Browns featured a very impressive front four. Both Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi joined the team via the 2017 NFL Draft but then in the 2019 offseason, former general manager John Dorsey brought in two more big names to fill out the starting rotation.
In free agency, he signed Sheldon Richardson to a big contract, giving them another solid interior pass rusher to line up next to Ogunjobi. Dorsey also added a Pro Bowl edge rusher via trade to go along with Garrett who had a breakout campaign in 2018.
The player he added was Olivier Vernon, and while it cost them a stud right guard in Kevin Zeitler, it gave the Brown an imposing defensive line. The problem was, there wasn’t a whole lot of depth behind those players and in 2019, they could have used some.
Garrett was infamously suspended for six games after smacking Mason Rudolph in the head with his own helmet. In that same brawl, Ogunjobi was suspended for one game. This was in addition to Vernon missing six games due to a nagging knee injury — and he looked bothered by the knee even when he did return.
Richardson ended up being the only member of the line to start all 16 games and he proved his worth all season long. Still, there was only so much he could do while being surrounded by undrafted free agents.
New general manager Andrew Berry saw this unfold and he decided to do something about it. Berry made several signings and used some draft capital on the defensive line to bolster it for this season. With that being the case, we now look at what players are on the Cleveland defensive line and predict the depth chart for 2020.