3 holes the Cleveland Browns won’t be able to fill before 2023 season
By Greg Newland
Cleveland Browns hole No. 2 – Linebacker
Similar to defensive tackle, the Cleveland Browns have a lot of talent at linebacker, but everyone seems to get hurt constantly.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Anthony Walker, Sione Takitaki, and Jacob Phillips have all missed a substantial number of games over the last two seasons with serious injuries. Walker and Takitaki return from season-ending surgeries in the 2022 season and won’t be fully healthy until the beginning of camp.
With the number of injuries this group seems to sustain each year, I hoped to see a depth piece brought in just in case. If this group can stay healthy, they can be as good as any in the league.
Walker and Takitaki are both strong run defenders and have gotten better in pass coverage, while JOK has proven he can be one of the most athletic linebackers in the league. Although he's rather small, he has no problem getting low and defending the run as well.
Linebacker is basically the offensive guard of the defense. An elite linebacker can certainly help your team but typically doesn’t move the needle on wins and losses.
With a substantially better defensive line in 2023, a small hole at linebacker isn’t the end of the world, but with all the money going to the front four, I don’t see another move happening at linebacker before the start of the season.