Cleveland Browns: Final roster prediction comes with a few surprises
By Caleb Baum
Linebackers (6)
Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey will not be wearing the Browns jersey for many years to come, but they should be for this year.
Once Sione Takitaki is ready to takeover at middle linebacker, the Browns will pull the trigger on the change. Schobert is a great guy to keep in the room to her the young guys learn and grow, so even when he does lose the job, Schobert will probably stay on the roster for the remainder of he year.
Takitaki bring a certain level of aggression, violence, and attitude that the Browns have seemingly always been missing. He flies all over the field. That type of energy can become contagious for the defense and get under the skin of the opposing offense. That energy is amplified when you are the middle linebacker — essentially the quarterback of the defense.
Kirksey has produced every minutes he has been on the field. The only problem is that he hasn’t been on the field much the past couple years and his salary may not match the combination of his production and the sense of keeping Mack Wilson off the field.
While I think Kirksey can hold off Wilson for the majority of the year, Wilson will cut into Kirksey’s playing time because of Mack’s great coverage ability. Kirksey is similar to Schobert in that he is a great locker room presence for Takitaki and Wilson.
Genard Avery will be a hybrid linebacker and pass rusher for the Browns. His growth throughout last year was great to watch. He appears to be the type of player who has endless trajectory for his potential. Avery absolutely needs to improve his ability in pass coverage. Offenses can isolate him against running backs and tight ends. Once he develops that part of his game, he will consistently be on the field and the sky will be the limit.
Ardarius Taylor will make the Browns as a core special teams player and above average backup. Depth is very important in this position group because of the multiple units they must play on. The good news about that? Every linebacker on the team will have the ability to contribute to special teams.
PREDICTION: Christian Kirksey, Genard Avery, Mack Wilson, Sione Takitaki, Ardarius Taylor, Joe Schobert