Browns: 3 areas the Browns may struggle with in 2021
By Chad Porto
Linebackers and defensive tackles
The Browns brought in two massive free agents to shore up safety and corner, but the defense still has lingering question marks. Usually, you’re going to be lucky to get two or three starters out of every draft class. That’s just the breaks. The Browns are going to try and get four starters out of this class alone and just on defense.
Greg Newsome, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Tommy Togiai, and Tony Fields are four names that many Browns fans think will make the starting lineup. It’s possible, it’s absolutely possible. It’s just not likely that every one of them turns into a starter, let alone an impact player. That’s the nature of the beast and anyone paying attention knows the odds aren’t in their favor, and that’s ok.
That’s why the front seven makes the list, and to be fair, you can throw Jadeveon Clowney into that quagmire of questions as well, as well as Anthony Walker. Clowney and Walker got one-year deals for a reason, they’re not exactly being looked at as long-term fixes as the position.
The hope is that all four rookies and the two big free agents all pan out, and all six do wonders on defense. It’s just not likely that it’s going to happen that way. That’s ok. Not every player the Browns acquire is going to turn into a Hall of Famer or even a starter. That’s why there’s always another offseason.
Yet if you’re looking for a position of worry, everyone in the front seven, save for Myles Garrett (for the most part) is going to be on the bubble in 2021. Garrett’s got his own list of things to prove, but that’s mostly being able to bounce back from COVID, staying healthy, and staying on the field. Something he’s struggled with from season to season for various reasons.
Unlike the others, there’s next to no chance Garrett isn’t on the team in 2022 as a starter. The others? The others may be on the team in 2022 but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be starters. Heck, they might not even be starters in 2021.