4 Cleveland Browns who could emerge as impact players in 2021

3. Porter Gustin is a starting-caliber NFL defensive end

Because the defensive end position is so deep, there is a possibility that Porter Gustin may be the odd man out among the Browns’ defensive ends and he may not even be on the team in September. But he is going to start in the NFL for someone because he is that good.

He’s just not on everyone’s radar screens right now because of the huge stars like Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney, Takkarist McKinley, and on and on. But what’s not to love about Porter Gustin?

One measure of talent is Pro Football Focus, which we all have our ups and downs with. But for what it’s worth, if you google “Porter Gustin, PFF grade,” up pops his grade of 61.3. By comparison, Matthew Judon, also considered an edge rusher in the PFF grading system, grades 59.4 (full disclosure: elsewhere on the website, the grades are slightly different when playoff games are included and Judon grades a little higher).

Judon made the Pro Bowl for the Ravens and was signed for our years and $56 million.

So, does this mean that Gustin is actually better than Matt Judon? Not really, and we are in fact starting the rumor right here and now that someone in Gustin’s immediate family bribed Pro Football Focus to give him higher grades than Judon.

Even so, Gustin is pretty good. Gustin was used primarily as the run stopper with Adrian Clayborn being used as the designated pass rusher. However, Gustin has speed (4.69 in the 40-yard dash, which is not too far off from Myles Garrett’s 4.64 at his Pro Day) and can probably become an outside threat as a pass rusher.

The table below shows the total defensive snaps in 2020, along with tackles, quarterback hits (QBHits), sacks (S), tackles per 100 snaps (T/100s), hits per 100 snaps (H/100s), and Sacks per 100 snaps (S/100s). The numbers show that Gustin had the best numbers as a run stopper for the Browns, but did not generate much pressure.

Player                     Snaps   tackles   QBHits  S   T/100s   H/100s    S/100s

Myles Garrett           758         48           18    10      6.33        2.37         1.32

Olivier Vernon          805         36           16      9       4.47       1.99          1.12

Porter Gustin           326         30              2      0       9.20       0.61          0.00

Adrian Clayborn      404         12              7     3.5    2.97        1.73         0.87

Garrett’s numbers, of course, are distorted because of the constant double teaming. One way to interpret the numbers is that the other team chose to come after Gustin. Nevertheless, he performed well in his role. Gustin also has some amazing athleticism, which he showed by accomplishing every lineman’s dream: an interception.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1348454253866618881?s=20

Not only that, he did it against the Steelers in the playoffs, after he tipped the pass from Big Ben Roethlisberger. That’s not easy to do. Big Ben may be getting old, but he’s not getting any shorter, and it is not easy to tip a pass coming from a guy who stands six-foot-seven.

That’s guaranteed to get the blood flowing for all Browns fans. This kid can play. The only problem is finding playing time on a ridiculously crowded roster.