4 Players Cleveland Browns should trade for ahead of training camp
By Randy Gurzi
LB. Washington. ShaunDion Hamilton. 2. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 53
Shaun Dion Hamilton from Washington could help at LB
There’s one position that general manager Andrew Berry didn’t work overtime on fixing this offseason — linebacker. In fact, this is an area where they could be in trouble since they lost a lot of talent but didn’t spend a lot of resources when trying to replace the outgoing players.
One loss they suffered was Joe Schobert, who wasn’t given a new contract once his rookie deal expired. Cleveland also released Christian Kirksey who had struggled to stay healthy over the past two seasons and had a pretty hefty price tag.
Kirksey signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kirksey landed with the Green Bay Packers. As for their replacements, the Browns look ready to see what 2019 third-round pick Sione Takitaki can do alongside Mack Wilson — who was a fifth-round pick last season that ended up having to start in place of Kirksey.
They did make a couple of additions including free agent B.J. Goodson and third-round pick Jacob Phillips from LSU. Even with them onboard, there have been calls for Cleveland to add even more competition and one player who could offer that is Washington’s Shaun Dion Hamilton.
Like Wilson, Dion Hamilton came out of Alabama and fell to the third day of the draft despite having a very good collegiate career. Dion-Hamilton ended up being taken in the sixth round at No. 197 overall. So far in his first two seasons, Dion-Hamilton has recorded 76 tackles with two forced fumbles and one interception.
He wasn’t a full-time player in 2019, recording zero starts, but he still was highly effective when he was on the field. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) was very high on him, giving him a grade of 74.9 which had him ranked 13th overall at the position.
Washington could be interested in trading Dion Hamilton as well considering they’re rather crowded at the position. Not only that, but they’re a team in full rebuild mode meaning they would surely be willing to add an extra draft pick in exchange for a reserve linebacker.