Cleveland Browns: Trade to move Danny Shelton gives others a chance to shine
By Ryan Rosko
The wheeling and dealing done by the Cleveland Browns continues.
Following three trades made Friday by the Cleveland Browns, another move has been agreed to. Four picks have been agreed to in the last 24 hours, wow!
When one assumes Cleveland is done, the transaction alert is seen again showing that they have made yet another deal.
Their latest was moving on from defensive lineman Danny Shelton. According to ESPN’s Field Yates and Adam Schefter, Cleveland dealt their former first rounder and a fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots for a 2019 third-round pick.
Updated via @FieldYates and me: Browns trade Danny Shelton and a 5th round pick in '18 for the Patriots’ 3rd l-round pick in '19. And there it is, the fourth Browns’ trade in less than 24 hours. https://t.co/MQ6Qc8Dmha
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 10, 2018
Shelton was not a star defensive lineman but was solid at times despite not meeting expectations. In three seasons, Shelton played in 44 games where he accumulated 1.5 sacks and 71 tackles.
Shelton is a gap filler and that is what he will continue to be in New England replacing Alan Branch in their two-gap. Also, after moving to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ defense, Shelton became and less and less of a fit.
92.3 The Fan’s Ken Carman stated a good understanding of Shelton’s tenure in Cleveland.
This the problem with the Browns history. Shelton is a fine enough player, and would have been better with better players around him. But since their R1 players have been terrible for 20 years, it puts that much more expectation on even a rotational DL. https://t.co/2QlVU9Onc4
— Ken Carman (@KenCarman) March 10, 2018
Following this trade, Cleveland will need fellow defensive linemen Jamie Meder, Caleb Brantley, and Larry Ogunjobi to all take the next steps in their development. With one less player similar to them now on the roster, it would be for one of them at least to dominate the inside wrecking havoc on opposing guards and centers.
Meder can kick outside and play defensive end as well so depending on the play-call, Cleveland could do a lot with Meder on the field. He is, however, coming off of a down year where he only accumulated eight tackles in 10 games.
Ogunjobi displayed some flashes at defensive tackle in the rotation in 2017 as a rookie. In 14 games, he put up one sack, 17 tackles, and 15 assisted tackles. Ogunjobi is better served on passing downs but can be a disruption though on the running game. With more playing time in 2018, there is no reason not to see a major impact from him this fall. Keep an eye on Ogunjobi, you won’t be disappointed.
Brantley, a seventh-rounder last season, put up similar numbers to Ogunjobi. Had it not been for off the field issues, he would have been drafted much sooner. Despite providing a similar impact to Ogunjobi, at least for my liking, he was a bit too inconsistent even as a rookie.
Next: Browns mock post combine
The opportunity is there for the taking. Hopefully, progress is made.