Sione Takitaki leads the way with Cleveland Browns with rising stock

Defense

Sione Takitaki

If you need more of a reason to fire Kevin Stefanski, can I offer up Sione Takitaki as Exhibit Z-1? Takitaki switched from an outside linebacker (SAM) to inside (MIKE) for the Bengals game and dominated the Cincinnati offense. Seriously, why would Stefanski look past him when Joe Woods was looking at guys? Takitaki obliterated the Bengals, racking up 13 tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss while posting a PFF grade of 87.3. Takitaki has played well all year but rarely do his stats show that as well as they did in Week 8.

Martin Emerson

I mentioned that David Bell has been lackluster as a rookie but a rookie who has exceeded expectations is Martin Emerson. It seems like he’s usually on these lists. Emerson, the rookie cornerback out of Mississippi State wasn’t seen as a guy who’d get a lot of reps with three corners ahead of him, but thanks to injuries to Greedy Williams and Denzel Ward over the first eight weeks, Emerson has basically been a full-time player. He’s played fantastically and he’s gotten enough reps to make someone like Williams expendable.

Isaiah Thomas

We’ll talk about the failings of Jadeveon Clowney in the Stocks Down version of this article but Isaiah Thomas really did have a solid outing. Now, it’s the Bengals, so don’t start thinking the second coming of Bruce Smith is here, but Thomas did still play against an NFL team and did well in doing so. He had three tackles, one for a loss, and a sack, all while posting a PFF grade of 68.2 overall. His defense against the run grade, however, was not great.

AJ Green

AJ Green was the fourth corner against the Bengals and did well. Normally a performance of his caliber wouldn’t make the list but considering how bad Green has been all year, we had to add him. He was solid and reliable all game.

Greg Newsome

Last year’s first-round pick, Greg Newsome, has had a fine, albeit unimpressive second year in the league. His play against the Bengals was among the best play he’s put to tape all year. Hopefully, we get more of this Newsome.