Predicting Cleveland Browns 2020 Depth Chart: Defensive Line
By Randy Gurzi
Starting Defensive ends
Myles Garrett
There’s no doubt who the alpha-dawg is on the Cleveland Browns defensive line. Myles Garrett was on pace to set the franchise record for the most sacks in a single season as he had 10 throughout the first 10 games of the 2019 season.
He then missed the final six games of the season due to a suspension for hitting Mason Rudolph in the head with a helmet. Garrett has since been rewarded by the team with a five-year $125 million extension and has vowed to never have another incident like the one that cost him the end of his 2019 campaign — saying that his life won’t be defined by that “one moment.”
Garrett is now more focused than ever as he entered his fourth NFL season and there’s no reason not to believe he’s about to have his best season yet.
Olivier Vernon
Throughout much of the offseason, there was talk that Olivier Vernon could be released. After being acquired in a trade with the New York Giants in 2019, Vernon came in with a lot of hype. He didn’t live up to that hype completely due mostly to injuries.
Vernon played in just 10 games and was slowed by his knee injury for portions of several other contests. He finished with 26 tackles and 3.5 sacks — although his worth was more than what those numbers suggest.
Even so, Vernon was set to make a whole lot of money and the team could have had no dead cap hit had they released him. They even flirted with Jadeveon Clowney, which could have meant the end of the line for Vernon in Cleveland.
In the end, Clowney never joined and Vernon agreed to a restructured deal which gave the team some wiggle room as they were preparing to make a massive offer to Garrett. Look for Vernon to remain the starter but don’t be surprised if the new coaching staff doesn’t rotate him more often in an attempt to keep him fresh and healthy as the season goes along.