4 Reasons Cleveland Browns will have a top-five Defense in 2021
By Greg Newland
![Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) participates in drills during an NFL football practice at the team's training facility, Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Berea, Ohio. [Jeff Lange / Akron Beacon Journal]Browns 5](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fhttps-3A-2F-2Fdawgpounddaily-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2018-2F08-2F16263266-850x560-ce41b2e00feb68aa8c439c46da8e771c54f5dbc9e29f5e23c986fdb6d9877e93.jpg "Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) participates in drills during an NFL football practice at the team's training facility, Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Berea, Ohio. [Jeff Lange / Akron Beacon Journal]Browns 5")
After having one of the worst defenses in the year last season, the Cleveland Browns could have a top-five defense in 2021.
The Cleveland Browns defense was just awful last season. As good as this team was, it’s simply amazing they were as successful as they were with the defensive unit they had on the field.
Some of this was a personnel issue, but by far the biggest reason was injuries. Remember, there were two starters in the secondary that didn’t play a single snap. Not to mention multiple missed games by Denzel Ward, Ronnie Harrison, Myles Garrett, and Olivier Vernon.
With all the players missing time, defensive coordinator Joe Woods was out of his comfort zone. He was forced to stay in the 4-3 scheme and couldn’t afford to ever bring any pressure.
A multitude of things will make this defense substantially better in 2021, and below are four reasons this squad could be top-five in the NFL.
No. 4 – Health
As mentioned above, injuries last year were so detrimental to this defense. There were certainly a few players that were on the depth chart last year that were underqualified, but most of those guys only made it because of so many injuries.
The big question, will the injuries be a fluke, or a trend? If we are sitting here next offseason saying the Browns can’t catch a break with injuries, there is something more to it than bad luck.
The two big names to watch this season to make sure they stay healthy, Ward and Williams. Ward hasn’t put together a full 16-game season yet, and Williams missed all last year. While all three phases of the defense are important, it’s hard to win in today’s NFL if you can’t stop the pass.
The defense will have 6-7 new starters in 2021 because of free agency, draft, or returning from injury, and all are major upgrades from last season.