The Future of the Browns Defensive Line

The Cleveland Browns defensive line has little entrenched other than Myles Garrett and the front office has left themselves an endless amount of options in how they want to approach the situation.

The defensive line of the Cleveland Browns is anchored by Myles Garrett, who is signed for five more seasons, but the rest of the defensive line has little certainty and an almost endless amount of options in how they can proceed in the future.

Defensive end stood out coming into the season as an issue the Browns would be addressing in the offseason and they still should, but the emergence of a healthy Olivier Vernon has provided an interesting wrinkle into the decision making process.

The Browns seemingly spent the entire offseason tantalized by the potential of signing Jadeveon Clowney only to be spurned in favor of more worthy teams that he deemed in contention. Clowney chose to sign with the Tennessee Titans for one year in hopes that he could have a great season, enter free agency again and cash in on what he thought his value should have been in 2020.

Clowney played better than his stat sheet would suggest, but he wasn't great and finished the season with an injury that has cut his season short. He's supposed to be healthy by the start of free agency, so the Browns could once again pursue Clowney, but the answer, or at least part of it, may have been sitting in front of them all along in Vernon.

Vernon's two seasons with the Browns has been limited by injuries, bookended by excellent play that doesn't receive enough credit. He gives the Browns one of the better tandems of defensive ends in the league. Vernon started the 2019 season playing at a remarkably high level, consistently creating pressure and showcasing exemplary, assignment sound play, both against the run and the pass.

After an abdominal injury that muted Vernon for much of the first half of the season in 2020, a healthy Vernon has reminded everyone, including the Browns, of just how valuable he is, including a game wrecking performance against the Philadelphia Eagles.

His emergence has fundamentally changed the capability of the Browns defense and while letting Vernon walk after the season had been a forgone conclusion, it's one that should be revisited.

If the Browns could re-sign Vernon to another year or perhaps two at a smaller contract figure, they could address defensive end in the draft and make a smoother transition into the future. And that pick could still certainly be in the first round, enhancing the team's rotation, giving them more options to attack the quarterback.

Vernon is currently on a one-year deal for $11 million that has incentives that could elevate it to $13 million. If he would come back for a slightly smaller amount for another season or two, the Browns could keep an effective player, who will undoubtedly aid in the development of whoever the Browns draft. That's in addition to Adrian Clayborn, who is scheduled to make $3.5 million next year to round out the group, who has been a good pickup for the Browns.

Whatever growing pains a rookie might experience, the Browns would have Vernon there to ensure they keep quality defensive end play on the field that can play a ton of reps. If the development is quicker, they just have the flexibility to stay fresh and keep up the pressure. It enables the Browns to enter the draft process without that as a need and focus on the value and the player.

Defensive tackle is a murkier proposition. First and foremost, the Browns are anticipating the return of Andrew Billings, who opted out of the 2020 season. His contract was one year for $3.5 million, which has now been deferred to 2021. And that decision changed the Browns defense.

Billings was expected to be the team's run stopping nose, soaking up blocks and changing the line of scrimmage. When he was lost, Larry Ogunjobi was forced back into that role, which isn't really his strong suit.

Ogujobi is a pending free agent. It's not clear what his market is, but the results of the pandemic may really be felt by the NFL this coming offseason at this particular position.

The 2021 NFL Draft class is remarkably thin at defensive tackle and with the amount of teams that couldn't play this season at all, it further reduces the amount of talent that teams could scout. Players may opt to stay in college, particularly at smaller schools that didn't have a season in addition to the fact the bigger schools are in a lean year at this position.

This is likely to carry over to free agency and defensive linemen could be in for bigger paydays due to scarcity. It also suggests that there will be less movement in free agency as teams cling to players they know out of fear they get left out in the cold and find themselves at a tremendous weakness.

The Browns drafted Jordan Elliott in the third round and he's a better fit at nose behind Billings. He can play the three-tech, but it's still more to disrupt as a more of a run stopper than attack the quarterback.

There's no sense in keeping three nose tackles, but Ogunjobi's role should evolve with the Browns. Since coming out of Charlotte, Ogunjobi's athleticism always seemed a better fit at the three. He can certainly rush the passer from the nose when he's isolated on a single blocker, because he can overpower them as well as win with quickness.

Perhaps if Billings played this year, they might have moved Ogunjobi to more of a hybrid role, playing more from the three.

Much depends on what Ogunjobi could theoretically get on the open market, but the Browns shouldn't let him get away even if he'd be changing roles. He's still only 26 years old.

That gets to the other issue at defensive tackle, which is Sheldon Richardson. Richardson's $13 million contract is more than he's worth, but it may also look like a pretty good number if the defensive tackle market takes off due to necessity.

Richardson is a good player that will flash greatness, not unlike Jadeveon Clowney, which always stood out in their pursuit of Clowney. There are a lot of things that Richardson can do that benefit the defense in terms of his awareness and his quickness, but his strength at the point of the attack can vary from game to game. 

Richardson's contract is scheduled to end after the 2021 season, so if they were to let Ogunjobi walk and then Richardson walk, they'd have to overhaul that position over the course of two years, which is riskier at defensive tackle than at a number of other positions, especially when the team is trying to make a run for the Super Bowl. Defensive tackle has a reasonably challenging maturation process due to the fact these players go from playing against players their own age to then getting doubled teamed by grown men in their late 20s fighting for their livelihood.

Richardson will be 31 when his contract runs out, which would seemingly make it less likely the Browns will want to extend him. Meanwhile, Ogunjobi is still just 26 years old, so the Browns would be keeping him in an age range where his prime years would occur. Depending on the length of a deal they would sign Ogunjobi, they would have a bigger window to replace Richardson.

Jordan Elliott would get another year to mature and if there's a defensive tackle the Browns like in the draft or elsewhere, they could add them to develop as a fifth option. More than anything, they avoid going into this draft needing to get a defensive tackle in an underwhelming class that would need to contribute as a rookie when the Browns are thinking about a deep playoff run.

The Browns have given themselves an almost unending amount of options with how to proceed with the defensive line, but their best path forward may be to keep it together while adding in Billings and add another talented pass rusher in the NFL Draft.