4 Cleveland Browns who will blow up in 2021
By Greg Newland
After winning their first playoff game since 1994, the Cleveland Browns head into the 2021 season with a ton of momentum and reason to believe this team could be great. There was a lot of excitement about 2019, but the difference there was nothing was yet to be proven.
The great news for the Cleveland Browns, they have a roster that is loaded full of talent, and as a major bonus, the core of that talent is still young. Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, and even Odell Beckham are still in their prime and are all set to have monster 2021 seasons (fingers crossed).
While these core players will perform at a high level, which is expected to be honest, look for these four players to come out of their shell in 2021 and become a household name for Browns fans.
4. Jordan Elliott – Defensive Tackle
The Browns drafted Jordan Elliott with the 88th overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft out of Missouri. At the time many-valued, it as an A+ pick for the Browns, and look for that to be even more true in 2021.
Elliott was limited in snaps in 2020 because of Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi on the roster, but when he was on the field, he showed that he can be a solid interior defensive lineman. While the stats from 2020 won’t blow you away with only 15 tackles, Elliott proved to have tremendous gap discipline which is so helpful for the linebackers in run defense.
Elliott proved in 2020 that the Browns can move on from Ogunjob who is out of contract, and even Richardson if they wanted who save the Browns more than $10 million in cap space if released. He and Andrew Billings would be a strong duo for the 2021 season. Both are great against the run but would need to work to improve their pass-rushing skills.
With a year under his belt and a much bigger opportunity, look for Elliott to take full advantage. I fully expect him to be a starter in 2021 and to greatly improve his pass-rushing skills from the middle. As a defensive tackle, his stats once again won’t blow you away, but he will be a crucial piece of this Brown’s defensive unit moving forward.