Cleveland Browns: 5 post-draft free agents who can still fill holes

LB Anthony Chickillo

A special teams player and backup on Pittsburgh the last few years, Anthony Chickillo offers a younger, less expensive option for the linebacking corps. Like mentioned before, Chickillo is only an option as a backup to push the starters, and only if Clay Matthews III scoffs at playing in the city that his father helped put back on the football map.

Chickillo isn’t great at any one thing, but he is deceptively good at push rushing. In his four seasons in Pittsburgh, he got 7.5 sacks. It may not sound like much, but considering he only started 9 games in his career, you can see he’s made the most of the opportunities given to him. You wouldn’t expect 20+ sacks a year from him, but maybe four or five as an alternate isn’t that out of the realm of possibility if given consistent time.

Could Chickillo become a great starter and a franchise icon? Who knows, there’s no formula for this stuff no matter what sabermetrics or fans of WAR will tell you. You can’t predict a player’s fit or desire. Maybe Chickillo comes in and becomes the greatest linebacker in Browns’ history. Maybe he gets cut before week three of the preseason.

Regardless of which one is more likely, the Browns need to push their corp of backers, who feature such stalwarts as B.J. Goodson, Jermaine Grace, and Tae Davis. That was sarcasm. This isn’t the early 00’s Bears or Ravens. There’s no obvious Pro Bowlers here. Might as well bring in another 10 linebackers (not really joking either) and see which three of the group have what it takes.