5 players who should get more time and the 5 players they should replace
By Chad Porto
Sheldon Day in place of Malik Jackson
I had such hopes for Malik Jackson. Not huge hopes, mind you but compared to Malik McDowell, HUGE hopes. Unfortunately, Jackson is done in this league. He’s not a serviceable player anymore and the Browns could find a dozen better options in the county alone. He’s done, and retirement is coming for him.
He and McDowell are among the worst graded players on the roster this season, and the defense has no interior pressure in most of the games they played. They’re among the worst-performing parts of a pretty impressive defense. One has to wonder how good Jadveon Clowney and Myles Garrett would look if their tackles were half as good as they are.
The team should give Sheldon Day a fair shake; he may not be a long-term replacement but you’d have to think that he’d be an upgrade over Jackson.
Or Porter Gustin in for Malik Jackson
Another option is defensive end, Porter Gustin. He’s finally playing again and while his PFF grade isn’t great, he also isn’t playing that often. Less time and fewer stats equal a skewed and distorted rating. It’s possible Gustin isn’t an improvement but he’s not that much smaller than McDowell (30ish lbs) and he’s almost the same weight as Jackson (10ish lbs). It’d be an out-of-the-box idea but hey, we need out-of-the-box thinking right now.