3 Cleveland Browns players entering boom or bust seasons

No. 2: Jacob Phillips, LB

Cleveland has two incredibly fast linebackers in Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Jacob Phillips. The problem is that Phillips has been struggling to stay on the field, but if he can stay healthy, these two could be elite together. That’s something the Browns and the fans are chomping at the bit for that to be a reality in 2022.

Phillips is entering his third season with the Browns after they drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He has all the physical and athletic tools to be a special player in this Cleveland defense, but unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to get past injuries.

During his first two seasons in the league, he has been on the field for 13 games. Last season he suffered a torn bicep but was able to return at the end of the season. He played in only four games in the extremely odd saga that was the 2021 Cleveland Browns season.

When JOK was drafted last year, Andrew Berry thought he just hit the jackpot at the thought of having Phillips and JOK on the field making plays together. Sadly, we were never fortunate enough to see that play out as it was originally envisioned.

The duo has tremendous speed and athleticism and that is crucial to playing in the loaded AFC and even more so in the highly competitive AFC North. Dawg Pound Daily’s own, Jacob Roach, says this is a perfect pairing at the linebacker position.

Phillips has 42 tackles, three for a loss, four passes defensed, two quarterback hits, and a sack in his minor sample size of gameplay. If he can stay on the field this season, he can prove to be a missing piece of this already highly regarded defense that will only help that side of the ball out.