For years, the Cleveland Browns have hung their hat on their defense. Led by coordinator Jim Schwartz and with Myles Garrett wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage, that unit was a force to be reckoned with week in and week out.
That's why, now that Garrett has taken his talents to Southern California and Schwartz is no longer with the organization, it only makes sense that some are worried about potential regression on that side of the ball. More often than not, that would probably be the case.
However, that may not happen in Cleveland. The Browns were extremely intentional when they chose Mike Rutenberg as the new defensive coordinator, and the transition might be much smoother than some think, according to team analyst Scott Petrak:
"I do think it's gonna be pretty much cut and paste from what we saw with Schwartz. That's part of the reason that Monken hired Rutenberg, because he's going to keep the same system. He's familiar with that system," Petrak said on 92.3 The Fan. "They kept all the assistants on defense, so we're not gonna have a whole lot of change. I think, overall, it's going to look a lot like what we've seen the last three years with Jim Schwartz."
Mike Rutenberg won't have to reinvent the Browns' defense
Of course, keeping the status quo and copying most of what worked during the previous regime is one thing. Having the personnel to run it is another. Fortunately, the Browns should be fine in that regard.
Granted, Jared Verse isn't Myles Garrett, and he won't draw 11 sets of eyeballs on every snap. Then again, he's also a highly productive and disruptive pass rusher, and while everyone else will have to step up, he's one of the few players capable of approaching Garrett's production.
Regardless, this defense has always been much more than a one-trick pony. Quincy Williams and even rookie Justin Jefferson should be a perfect complement next to Carson Schwesinger, a defensive quarterback coming off one of the best rookie seasons in recent years.
They should be just fine in the secondary as well, with Denzel Ward shutting down the pass and a trio of talented and hard-hitting safeties in Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, and rookie Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
Having Mason Graham take a step forward after an up-and-down rookie season will also be crucial, but this team fared more than fine against the run last year. Personnel-wise, there's no reason to believe things will be much different.
As a passing-game specialist, Rutenberg will bring some juice to the secondary, with the Browns likely deploying more creative schemes in obvious passing situations. Other than that, we should probably expect the Browns to deploy the same uber-aggressive, wide-nine, one-gap penetration scheme that helped them stay in games, even when the offense struggled to sustain drives.
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