Browns: 5 best defensive players a quarter way through the season

The Cleveland Browns are 3-1 through four games and with a quarter of the season through, let’s look at the five best defensive players so far.

The Cleveland Browns defense has largely been bad. They’ve done enough to win three games, and they lucked out beating a few bad offenses on their way here. That doesn’t mean that their accomplishments should be trivialized. They’ve still executed. That’s more than past Browns teams can say.

So we’re taking a look at the five best defensive players so far through four games. This isn’t a measure of talent or expectation, just an acknowledgment that these five have done as much, if not more than other players on the team. Whether or not their stats reflect that.

This list will change every few weeks or so, and when it does we’ll see if anyone new has stepped up.

These are the five best Browns players on defense through the first quarter of the season.

Myles Garrett

This one is pretty obvious. While we can debate all day about if he has or hasn’t lived up to his lofty offseason signing, there’s no doubt that he’s still the best player on this defense. Consistency has been an issue for Garrett but he has five sacks in four games, nothing to shake a stick at. This doesn’t mean he’s been perfect, far from it, but he’s the best defensive player on a 3-1 team and that’s a great argument to make this list. That and his five sacks.

Sheldon Richardson

Sheldon Richardson looked lost last year, to the point that bringing him back seemed like a bad idea. Yet, he’s taken the opportunity to beat up on a few bad offensive lines and get his groove back. He may not keep this production and pace the entire year, but the Browns faced a few bad teams last year and Richardson was hardly seen. It seems that he has a fire this year he hasn’t had in years past. It’s not a contract year either.

Denzel Ward

Denzel Ward hasn’t been great in 2020. Sure, there will be apologists who blame the entire secondary and linebacking corp but Ward has had his own fair share of issues. That’s mostly because he’s been attempting to play through a groin injury but blown plays are blown plays. Ward, however, has stepped up in the crunch and made sure to make plays when no one else can; namely against Dallas.

Larry Ogunjobi

Larry Ogunjobi is doing Larry Ogunjobi-things. Injuries have slowed him down but he’s provided a lot of pressure up the middle on both rushing and passing plays. He and Richardson are snagging stats from one another so they won’t have the best statistical numbers this year but his tape shows you all you need to know. Re-sign him already.

Porter Gustin

Not a name you’d expect on this list but Porter Gustin has really been a great player off the bench. His pass-rushing skills are top-notch and his ability to make plays are pretty clear. The thing that really makes Gustin a valuable piece of this team is his ability to play as a defensive end and tackle depending on need; while excelling at both.