3 players Cleveland Browns should have retained for 2021

Cleveland Browns former player No. 1 – Sheldon Richardson, defensive tackle

The Cleveland Browns had a decision to make at the beginning of the season, they could either have Sheldon Richardson or Jadeveon Clowney. I’m not saying they made the wrong decision by going with Clowney who has been fantastic, but after releases of Andrew Billings and Odell Beckham that were unexpected, I wish they would have dug a little deeper to get creative and keep Richardson.

The nine-year veteran wasn’t flashy or an All-Pro talent, but he was extremely consistent vs. the run and pass, and you knew he was going to be available to be on the field. In two years with the Browns, Richardson played in every single game.

There’s no doubt he’s on the downside trajectory of his career, but I think he had one more year to be extremely effective for the Browns. Remember, this is a guy that was able to play defensive end just as effectively as a defensive tackle and was a huge problem when teams tried to run up the middle on him.

As mentioned above, defensive tackle continues to be the biggest struggle on the defense for the Browns. It’s a position that is extremely undervalued in the league, but you can see firsthand how difficult it is to have a great defense with below-average tackles.

I still have confidence that Jordan Elliott and Tommy Togiai can develop into starting NFL tackles, but they just aren’t ready yet. It’s tough to waste draft capital at this position, but it will have to be done in 2022 if the Browns want to improve on defense.