Cleveland Browns: 5 questions surrounding key players
By Chad Porto
Is Mack Wilson a star in the making?
The Browns need a stud linebacker and right now the team has none. It’s very possible one could emerge. Maybe Mack Wilson and Sione Takitaki are the next Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher. That’s anyone’s guess. Right now the focus is on Wilson, the former Alabama alum who had a relatively successful rookie season next to Pro Bowler Joe Schobert. The two played the most snaps of any linebacker on the team and were both effective in their roles behind a shoddy defensive line.
Yet, is Wilson a star?
Rule of thumb, you want one playmaker at every level on defense. Think about those successful Baltimore Ravens teams. First, it was Mike McCreary, Ray Lewis, and Chris McCallister. Then it was Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed. Then it was Haloti Ngata, Suggs, and Reed. Always three stars, always in three spots on the field. That’s a winning formula.
Hopefully, Myles Garrett can stay on the field and Denzel Ward returns to form going forward, which would mean two top-10 players at their respective levels. The Browns would just need one more; hopefully that can be Wilson.
Wilson is young, hungry, and ready to go. Will he be as good of a total player as Schobert was for the Browns is the question. Schobert showed high levels of energy and efficiency at both tackling and playing against the pass. He was hard to prep for. Granted a defense has to be a total team unit, and if it’s not then even one great player won’t make a difference.
That’s the issue Wilson will deal with, as the defensive line still isn’t great but at least this season they have depth. It’s not six Pro Bowler’s deep but should an injury happen, the line shouldn’t fall into disarray like it did last year. Hopefully, the line is better, which allows Wilson, Takitaki, and whoever else earns a starting job to do their jobs more effectively.
If the line is better, then maybe Wilson can show what he’s all about.