The 3 Browns moves that could change the defense like 3 moves last offseason changed the offense: Doug Lesmerises
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If Browns general manager Andrew Berry can make the kind of moves this offseason for the defense that he made to improve the offense last offseason, an 11-5 team that won a playoff game in 2020 can make a jump to another level in 2021.
Berry filled three major needs for the offense a year ago with the biggest moves of his tenure. He nailed the Browns’ first-round draft pick with left tackle Jedrick Wills, and added two big-time free agents in right tackle Jack Conklin and tight end Austin Hooper. Wills and Conklin were Grade A additions, while Hooper, who saw his targets, catches and receiving yards go down compared to his 2019 season in Atlanta, still filled an important role in a Kevin Stefanski offense that needs reliable tight ends.
So just do that on the other side of the ball. Simple, right?
“I would say it is possible,” Berry said this week when I asked about the defensive case for a Wills-Conklin-Hooper package of additions. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s what we are going to do, but I really would not limit us or pigeon hole us into any type of strategic approach. Part of it is because we still have a fair amount of things to do.”
We’ll take possible.
Berry acknowledged the obvious in saying that last season’s additions focused on helping the offense and quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Browns did sign multiple defense veterans last offseason, giving one-year deals to linebackers B.J. Goodson and Malcolm Smith, cornerback Kevin Johnson, safeties Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo and tackle Andrew Billings. They signed defensive end Adrian Clayborn to a two-year contract.
But they were position fillers, not franchise changers.
On offense, the additions helped the Browns move from No. 20 in offensive DVOA (a measurement of overall efficiency) in 2019 to No. 9 in 2020. The Browns went from averaging 20.9 points per game, which ranked 22nd in 2019, to averaging 26.3 points per game in 2020, which ranked 13th.
Again ... just do that on defense. The Browns’ defense this season ranked No. 25 in DVOA, compared to No. 24 a year ago. It needs a boost.
The Browns had Nick Chubb, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Joel Bitonio, J.C. Tretter and Baker Mayfield on offense, and by turning left tackle Greg Robinson into Wills, right tackle Chris Hubbard into Conklin and tight end Demetrius Harris into Hooper, they raised the level of the pieces in place.
Now the Browns have Myles Garrett, Sheldon Richardson, Denzel Ward, Ronnie Harrison and presumably the healthy return of Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams on defense. Imagine a major upgrade at linebacker and at safety, and a defensive end addition who could help make up for the loss of Olivier Vernon, who tore his Achilles late in the season and is a free agent.
It’s probably not realistic to expect two huge free agent signings with what the Browns have ahead in taking care of their own young, franchise players. But let’s still use the Wills-Conklin-Hooper model for what could be ahead for the defense.
The first-round rookie who steps right in as a starter
Last offseason offense: Left tackle Jedrick Wills
This offseason defense: Linebacker Zaven Collins
The Browns found an ideal match of need, draft spot and player availability in the 2020 draft, filling their gaping hole at left tackle by plucking Wills at No. 10. Only one left tackle was off the board at that point, which gave the Browns a choice of Wills, Mekhi Becton and Tristan Wirfs, and based off their rookie seasons, the Browns couldn’t have gone wrong (though Wirfs did play right tackle in Tampa Bay). The pick was obvious because need, talent and options aligned. The same could happen at linebacker in this draft.
With the Browns picking at No. 26, they won’t be in range of the premium players at cornerback, receiver or pass rusher. Roughly speaking, there should five or six tackles; three or four corners; three or four pass rushers; and three or four receivers off the board by 26.
It seems like they might have a shot at the third linebacker, though. Penn State’s Micah Parsons and Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are projected to be gone by 26. But that would leave a selection of linebackers on the table, led by Collins, an All-American at Tulsa this season.
You’ll see Collins mocked to the Browns repeatedly in the months to come. He’s 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds and he can move -- the type of every-down linebacker the Browns need. They did a lot of mixing and matching around Goodson (848 snaps) this season, with Smith (559), Sione Takitaki (435), Mack Wilson (372) and Jacob Phillips (169) all filling roles.
The Browns need either an upgrade over Goodson (who is a free agent and played better in the second half of the season but lacks playmaker speed) or a player who can settle down the revolving door next to Goodson. Finding that linebacker wouldn’t have been worth it last year at No. 10, when more vital positions were prioritized, but it makes sense at No. 26.
Baltimore took linebacker Patrick Queen at No. 28 last year and he made the All-Rookie team while leading the Ravens in linebacker snaps and tackles. The Chargers took Kenneth Murray at No. 23 last year, and he did the same, making All-Rookie and leading the Charters in linebacker snaps and in tackles. In 2018, the Colts took Darius Leonard early in the second round at No. 36, and he led the entire league in tackles as a rookie while leading the Colts in linebacker snaps.
Of course, you can find examples of successful picks to prove any case. But the idea of a linebacker drafted at this spot and then contributing immediately makes a lot of sense. Missouri’s Nick Bolton and North Carolina’s Chaz Surratt might also fit the linebacker thought process at 26, but Collins is the player you’ll get very familiar with before late April, and the one you may be hoping lasts until 26 on draft night.
How else it could go: Last offseason showed the Browns probably don’t want to spend a lot of money at linebacker, but if they choose to bolster this position through free agency instead, Tampa Bay’s Lavonte David is a nine-year veteran and second-team All-Pro who would change the entire linebacker situation immediately.
The high-priced free agent who fills a major need
Last offseason offense: OT Jack Conklin
This offseason defense: Minnesota S Anthony Harris
When the Browns needed a right tackle last season, they signed the best one on the market, giving Conklin a three-year deal worth $42 million to leave Tennessee. He was worth every penny, starting 15 games at right tackle, grading out as one of the 10 best tackles in the league according to PFF and being named an All-Pro.
Imagine that veteran impact on defense. After watching what Kansas City safety Tyrann Mathieu did as a clever, versatile, game-changing force, the value of a big-money safety for a team with Super Bowl aspirations came into focus. According to spotrac.com, the Browns’ highest-paid safety in 2020, Joseph, ranked 47th in average salary at the position. We know the Browns saved money there with one-year deals for Joseph ($2.5 million) and Sendejo ($2.25 million). Even the smart trade for Harrison, who is making less than $1 million per year on his rookie deal, wasn’t pricey.
So there’s a chance to go big here. Delpit has to work into the Browns’ plans, as he was expected to be the playmaker at this position before a torn Achilles ended his season before it started. But signing someone like Harris at safety covers a lot of bases as it relates to Harrison and Delpit.
Harrison and Delpit might be a safety combo that could work, but the Browns can’t bank on Delpit’s immediate full return to form off such a tough injury. So Harris helps that. If Delpit is ready to roll, then Harris, Delpit and Harrison as the three top safeties opens the door to more three-safety looks (which coordinator Joe Woods likes and which the Browns did a lot against the Chiefs), with Delpit a strong option to cover slot receivers.
Harris is coming off a bit of a down year after a spectacular 2019 in Minnesota. In 2018 and 2019 combined, he had the highest overall grade and coverage grade of any safety, according to PFF. A six-year veteran at age 29, he’s a good bet to leave Minnesota, with the Vikings needing to prioritize locking down younger safety Harrison Smith, who is a year away from free agency.
Harris made more than $11 million in 2020 and likely will get a raise from that in a multi-year deal. Five safeties, including Mathieu, made at least $14 million in 2020 and Harris may enter that group. The Browns paid Conklin that much and it was money well spent, because Conklin’s presence made the entire offense better. A safety like Harris, Denver’s Justin Simmons, New Orleans’ Marcus Williams, the Jets’ Marcus Maye or the Rams’ John Johnson III could pay off in the same way. PFF ranks those five safeties among the top 22 overall free agents, so there are potentially multiple options here for the Browns, even if a few re-sign with their current teams.
How else it could go: The Browns just spent a high pick on a safety, choosing Delpit at No. 44 last year, so the draft seems like less of an option. The Browns could bank on Delpit and Harrison as their top two safeties and bring in another cheaper veteran, but one above the Joseph-Sendejo level, like Detroit’s Duron Harmon.
The high-priced free agent who’s more of a luxury
Last offseason offense: TE Austin Hooper
This offseason defense: Pittsburgh DE Bud Dupree
The Browns signed two of the 20 biggest free agents by average value last offseason, giving Conklin $14 million per year and Hooper $10. 5 million per year. They also had the most cap space in the league last offseason -- but they’re also rolling over more cap value from 2020 to 2021 than any team in the league. So they can spend again.
Still, expecting two free agents like Conklin and Hooper might be asking too much. That means huge edge rusher free agent options like Cincinnati’s Carl Lawson, Tennessee’s Jadeveon Clowney, Tampa Bay’s Shaquil Barrett and Baltimore’s Yannick Ngakoue might be out of range. Taking a shot at shorter deals on mid-tier rushers might be more likely.
The status of Vernon changes the context here. The Browns looked at several edge rushers recently, including Clowney and Ngakoue, while looking to supplement, or maybe replace, what they had in Vernon. Then he raised his game in the second half of this season, and ended with a devastating injury.
Without Vernon, the Browns clearly need help opposite Garrett, as neither Porter Gustin nor Adrian Clayborn is a starter-worthy end. So sliding a veteran in here only to replace Vernon is really just aiming to keep the status quo. But the Browns could target edge rusher in the second or third round of the draft, then add a veteran and hope the mix actually improves the position in 2021.
A player like Dupree could slide right in to aid that. He tore his ACL in Week 12 and was lost for the year. An outside linebacker in Pittsburgh’s 3-4, he can be a dynamic pass rusher. A one-year deal to prove himself off the injury could benefit both sides, with the Browns needing him most on critical passing downs and Dupree, who turns 28 in February, taking the season to show he deserves a major multi-year deal.
He could very well do the same in Pittsburgh, signing for a year with the team he’s been part of for six seasons. But making a run at him seems like a worthy risk for the Browns. Arizona pass rusher Haason Reddick, who had 12.5 sacks this season after being moved from linebacker to edge rusher, could also be in the market for a shorter deal to prove he deserves a longer one. Takkarist McKinley, a player the Browns tried to claim after he was waived by Atlanta, could also fit as a pass rusher who will get a deal below the first-tier options.
How else it could go: Could the Browns go all-in here? It’s a premium position, and after locking up Garrett long-term, the best way to help him would be to invest in the other end spot. Imagine signing Lawson, the Bengals’ best pass rusher, who could increase his sack total and his chances of winning by sliding up I-71.
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