Gil Brandt Handicaps Defensive Player Of The Year - The 3 Players That Matter to the Browns

Resident old guy Gil Brandt, the legendary talent evaluator handicapped the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year and Cleveland Browns Myles Garrett naturally ranks highly.

A month into the NFL season, Gil Brandt has come up with his top five players for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Award based on the season thus far. Three of those players factor directly into the Cleveland Browns season, including their own Myles Garrett.

Brandt has been involved in the game of football since the invention of the forward pass, so he's forgotten more about the NFL than most would ever hope to know. His top player for the defensive player of the year award is none other than Garrett.

Garrett has 5 sacks and in the past three games, he has managed to strip the quarterback and the Browns have recovered all three. He has been a major factor in the Browns having 45 points off turnovers this season, which has contributed to their 3-1 record.

The Browns are increasingly just allowing Garrett to decide where he wants to line up, based on his own research of opponents, trying to find weaknesses and striking where he thinks he can do the most damage. For the most part, he finds what he thinks is the weak tackle in a given week and sets up shop, but occasionally, he will flop sides or line up inside, which gives opponents that much more to prepare for in a given week.

The sacks are great, but the consistent pressure is a huge problem as well, keeping quarterbacks uncomfortable and causing some mistakes merely because he's around them.

His number two player is Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle, DeForest Buckner, whom the Browns are preparing to face this week. It's still difficult to believe the San Francisco 49ers traded away Buckner, so they could keep Arik Armstead. Armstead does have 1.5 sacks and nine quarterbacks hits this month, but Buckner plays a more valuable position.

Buckner was a huge acquisition for the Colts, who have pushed in a significant number of chips into this season and he has been a major factor why they are arguably the best defense in the league.

The Colts are allowing the fewest points (14), the fewest passing yards (159.3) and fewest total yards (236.3) in the NFL.

The Browns offensive line has been fantastic but Buckner is a huge challenge, because of his length and athleticism. Even when he's not getting into the backfield, he's always a threat to knock down passes at the line of scrimmage.

Third, is T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers. If the season were to end right now, Garrett and Watt would almost certainly be first team All-Pro and their teams play each other twice per season.

Watt is a terrific pass rusher in the Steelers defense, but he adds another element with how they will occasionally use him like a linebacker, dropping him into coverage and how they can line him up wide on the edge. He was able to intercept a pass as a result and is part of a devastating front four that is as good as any in the league.

After the Browns face Buckner and the Colts at home, they then go on the road for their first matchup with the Steelers. Jack Conklin was signed as a free agent in no small part because of Watt and seeing him twice per season. That will be the biggest test of Conklin's young Browns career.