Isaac Rochell proves you can’t solely rely on PFF grades

Isaac Rochell of all people tops all of the defensive players for the Cleveland Browns on PFF’s weekly grades.

The Cleveland Browns’ defense is utter trash at the moment. Some will blame Joe Woods, some will blame the players, and fans playing 4-D chess will blame Andrew Berry, but you can spread the blame around to all three groups and people, honestly. The Browns’ defense lost a few minor pieces in the offseason that may have been more important than we thought, and the team is almost over-relying on drafted players that Berry has brought in.

Woods playing soft on coverage underneath isn’t helping, nor is his love of not blitzing. Top stars like Denzel Ward are having career-worst years, players are at each other’s throats and even the best players like Myles Garrett, really aren’t affecting all facets of the game like other elite players at his position do.

This has turned a lot of fans off on the Brownd defense as a whole and maybe rightfully, are now viewing them as a detriment to the team. The defense is ranked 9th most in points given up, 5th in most rushing yards given up, and 19th in most passing yards given up. When they give up plays, they give them up deep, with the Browns 7th in the league in giving up the most yards per play.

Rightfully you’d think the Browns players are graded pretty badly, and they are.

1. Isaac Rochell – 85.4 DEF
2. Myles Garrett – 80.9 DEF
3. Greg Newsome – 79.2 DEF
4. Jadeveon Clowney 77.0 DEF
5. Martin Emerson -73.5 DEF
6. Jacob Phillips – 68.0 DEF
7. Grant Delpit – 64.9 DEF
8. Ronnie Harrison – 60.9 DEF
9. Isiah Thomas – 60.0 DEF
10. Sione Takitaki – 58.0 DEF
11. Tommy Togiai  – 50.2 DEF
12. Jordan Elliot – 48.1 DEF
13. A.J. Green – 47.5 DEF
14. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – 43.8 DEF
15. Denzel Ward – 42.3 DEF
16. John Johnson – 42.1
17. Taven Bryan – 40.1
18. Alex Wright – 38.5
19. Perrion Winfrey – 38.0

Three things to note about the Cleveland Browns after the Chargers game

1. Martin Emerson impresses

Martin Emerson is the team’s best-rated defensive back and has been all year. Greg Newsome is having an “OK” year but no one else on the team is really doing any work worth noticing. Greedy Williams may be back sooner rather than later, but until then Emerson is the guy to lean on. With Williams’ returning, I think it should be Denzel Ward that loses reps, considering how consistent Emerson has been.

2. Myles Garrett’s score doesn’t reflect how little impact he makes

Myles Garrett earned himself an 80.9 for his play against the Los Angeles Chargers but he did so very little against them. In fact, on the year he only has a 66.3 grade against the run, but PFF over-prioritizes pass-rushing ideas like “pressure” so much that you’d think he’s actually making an impact. A lot of people over-hype the relevance of “pressure”, as it’s a stat based on assumptions and not actual impact. You have to presume a quarterback is affected in order for it to qualify. So Garrett’s impact is not only not tangible, but it’s mostly theoretical. Garrett routinely takes plays off and puts in little effort against the run. Yet he grades out well, for whatever reason. Teams run right at him because they don’t respect his run-stopping game.

3. Isaac Rochell shows you that PFF without context is useless

Why is Isaac Rochell first on the team in grades against the Chargers? Well, even though he’s a defensive end, Rochell dropped into coverage on two plays and did well, apparently. Dropping ends into coverage isn’t unheard of, and something that could be used to better effect with the likes of Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney (it’s how you get knockdowns at the line of scrimmage). It’s something that J.J. Watt did very well in his prime. Yet, Rochell’s two pass coverages were enough to earn him the top spot on the list. Despite how little actual impact he had on the game.