5 Cleveland Browns whose stock jumped after another Bengals beatdown

Genard Avery

You may have noticed Genard Avery break up a pass that he came really close to intercepting during the contest.

The rookie from Memphis also made some nice tackles in the run game while adding a sack of Cincinnati quarterback Jeff Driskel, beating lineman Bobby Hart.

Avery was a fifth-round pick who had a nice resume coming out of college, but being such a late-round pick who came out of low profile school, he really was a lottery ticket.

Avery had a decent preseason, and that carried into Week 1, as the rookie had a stellar game teeing off on Ben Roethlisberger.

He cooled after that, though, because the Browns had to be worried about how he’d fare dropping back into coverage.

Avery still had some moments throughout this season, but his stock takes a jump in this game because of what he showed when pressed into coverage.

He’s only in his first year, and this game shows he’s progressing. If the Browns can get to the point where Avery can be on the field more, they’ll have a dangerous piece to add to their defense in 2019.

For the season, the 23-year-old has 3.5 sacks and 35 tackles.