3 players Browns should rest and 2 who need the snaps in Week 18

Browns need to play: Siaki Ika, NT

With their second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which was No. 98 overall in the third round, the Browns brought in Siaki Ika from Baylor. The selection was met with mixed reaction as some were thrilled to see a 6-foot-3, 357-pound nose tackle added to stop the run. Others were bothered by his testing numbers which were far below many other defensive tackles in the class.

Whether or not this was a good pick won't be decided just yet. Ika was essentially given a redshirt year after Cleveland added Dalvin Tomlinson, Maurice Hurst, and Shelby Harris to the defensive line. They also had a huge leap from Jordan Elliott who has put together his best season as a pro.

That's limited Ika to just 61 snaps all year, with none of those coming until Hurst was injured. Ika had been a healthy scratch until Week 15 but still hasn't seen the field much over the past three games. He's also still waiting to record his first NFL tackle.

Perhaps he gets that this week against the Bengals. Whether or not that's the case, he should be given every chance. Cleveland needs to treat this one like a preseason game and allow some of their rookies who have been quiet to get into the game. Ika should potentially start and at a very minimum, needs to be out there on every short-yardage situation to see how far he's come since being drafted.