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Cleveland Browns: 5 reasons to pump the brakes on expectations

By Elliot Kennel

Dec 14, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) makes a catch as Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) defends during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) makes a catch as Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) defends during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Browns
Sheldon Richardson, Cleveland Browns. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

The Browns have not replaced Sheldon Richardson.

Sheldon Richardson was a very good defensive tackle and the Browns have not replaced him with someone of comparable ability. Andrew Billings was accompanied by talented but inconsistent Larry Ogunjobi, who also left the Browns for Cincinnati.

Ogunjobi had some of his best games against the Bengals. They might be disappointed if he is not any more consistent in Cincinnati than he was for Cleveland. The Bengals allowed Andrew Billings to leave the Bengals. Malik Jackson and Billings are the primary candidates to replace Richardson and Ogunjobi.

Billings for Richardson is not nearly an even deal. Richardson turned in 64 tackles, 10 quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, and 4.5 quarterback sacks while playing in 74% of the defensive snaps last season. That’s excellent production.

As for Billings, in 2019 (he sat out last season due to Covid-19), he had 35 tackles, four quarterback hits, one sack, four tackles for loss while playing in 61% of the Bengals’ snaps. These numbers are nowhere near the same.

Even Ogunjobi put up better numbers with 46 tackles, six quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks, and five tackles for loss. Billings replaces Ogunjobi, but not Richardson.

Malik Jackson had 28 tackles, 13 quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks, playing in 49% of his team’s snaps. Jackson was outstanding at applying pressure on the quarterback, so there is something to work with here.

The Browns also have Tommy Togiai, Jordan Elliot, and Malik McDowell as part of the rotation. Hello, can any of you guys stop the run?

McDowell was the surprise of summer camp and Tommy Togiai was also very impressive.

By the same token, am I the only one that thinks the Browns may miss Olivier Vernon? He did not have the talent of Jadeveon Clowney, but it is not totally clear how much mileage is left on Clowney’s surgically repaired knees.

Vernon had a great year last season while Myles Garrett was being double-teamed. Clowney and Vernon were ranked about the same last season by Pro Football Focus. Vernon had nine sacks last season, so it’s not like he was just taking up space on the roster.

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