Browns Remaining Roster Holes

The Cleveland Browns desperately need some help at a few positions to get them in the position to go win the AFC North and players are being signed to teams very quickly.

The Browns need some help on the roster, even after the draft to put them in a position to be successful. 

The team had seven selections in this year’s edition of the draft.

The team used their first selection in the third round to select Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman to bolster their receiving core which features Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples Jones, and newly acquired Elijah Moore, who played all sixteen games with the Jets last year tallying 37 receptions for 446 yards and one touchdown.

The Browns also selected defensive tackle Siaki Ika from Baylor followed by Ohio State’s Dawand Jones.

The other picks continued to fill needs for the team but there was still progress to be made filling out the roster with free agents.

First off, the team must have a better running back room. Led by star Nick Chubb, the depth chart lists Jerome Ford as RB2 after the departure of Kareem Hunt, currently a free agent and D’Ernest Johnson who is now on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ford last year had just 12 yards on eight rushing attempts while the next Cleveland Brown on the depth chart, Demetric Felton Jr. rushed once last year, losing four yards. In 2021, he ran for 24 yards on 7 attempts.

With a whole list of free agent running backs still available, the Browns have a lot of options. Kenyan Drake, who played for the Baltimore Ravens last year totaled 482 yards rushing on 109 attempts.

Benny Snell is only 25 and only two years removed from a 368-yard campaign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. After the Steelers drafted Najee Harris in the 2021 draft, Snell failed to keep up his numbers with his reduced role.

Next up is defensive tackle. Currently Jordan Elliott and Dalvin Tomlinson are first on the depth chart for the left and right tackle spots. They are followed by the rookie Ika and Trysten Hill.

A guy they could look at for some help is Shelby Harris. Last year with the Seahawks, he recorded 37 tackles in fifteen games. He also had two sacks.

Another could be Matt Ioannidis. He played playing thirteen games in 2022, tallying 37 tackles and one sack. The Browns could use the seven-year veteran to boost their defense, which ranked 20th in team defense in 2022.

The Browns plugged their hole at edge rusher by trading for Vikings Za'Darius Smith on May 12. The deal sent Smith along with 2025 sixth and seventh-round draft picks to Cleveland for 2024 and 2025 fifth-round picks. 

Smith will join star Myles Garrett and look to be a dynamic duo on the edge for the Browns. Last year Smith tallied 37 tackles and nine sacks. Garrett had 60 tackles and 16 sacks. Together, Smith and Garrett should help bring some pressure to opposing QBs and help the defense improve. 

Where the team chooses to go is yet to be seen but one thing is for sure, moves need to be made to put this team in a position to succeed and have a chance at winning the AFC North and bringing the Browns defense out of the pit it fell into for most of the 2022 season.