Cleveland Browns: 4 most underhyped players in 2021
By Randy Gurzi
3. Andrew Billings, Nose Tackle
The Cleveland Browns were one of the best running teams in the NFL last season, gaining 2,374 yards on the ground with 21 touchdowns. Unfortunately, they weren’t great at stopping the run.
According to Pro Football Reference, the numbers looked solid as they surrendered 1,773 yards and 17 touchdowns but that number is skewed. Part of the reason is that the Browns defense wasn’t able to stop anything in the passing game and another part was that Cleveland was winning many of their games which led to opposing teams having to air it out to catch up.
Fans who watched every game and not just the stats sheet understood that there were times in 2020 when the offense could assert their will against the Browns front seven. That had a lot to do with Cleveland playing two defensive tackles who were better at the three-technique than as a true nose tackle.
This will change with Andrew Billings returning to the lineup. Billings was added in free agency a season ago but sat out due to concerns over COVID-19. He’s back now and should provide a huge boost in shutting down the running game.
He’s also not getting the hype he deserves. That’s the norm for a player such as Billings though as nose tackles often do all the dirty work without much praise.