Grading the Cleveland Browns signings of Maurice Hurst, Juan Thornhill and Trysten Hill
By Chad Porto
DT Maurice Hurst
No Cleveland Browns fan should put a lot of hope and hype on Maurice Hurst. The Browns have signed the former San Francisco 49er and Oakland/Las Vegas Raider to deal this week, hoping his arrival will improve the Browns front-four. The team has gone out of its way to sign three defensive tackles to their roster since free agency began, highlighting just how bad the team has been upfront.
The problem comes with the fact that none of them, especially not Hurst, have proven to be world-beaters. The hope is that they’re all upgrades over what the Browns have had on the roster, but when looking like a guy like Hurst, that becomes hard to convince yourself. He had a very good, all-around rookie year with the Raiders, but it was in limited play. He only played 56% of the snaps for the Raiders’ defense. You usually want a guy around 60-70%, otherwise, he’s a rotational guy.
His play fell off in 2019, with his PFF grade against the run going from 69.2 in 2018 to 58.2 in 2019. In 2020 he got injured but he had an uptick against the run, rising to 62.5. He would then miss most of 2021 and 2022 due to injuries. In 2021 it was a lingering calf injury, while a torn bicep ended his 2022 campaign.
The Browns have made a considered effort to sign several defensive linemen with high PFF pass-rushing grades. That’s a thing that they are doing. However, the Browns don’t just need pass-rushers. They were among the 10 worst teams against the run, and the lack of effort to shore up that is very concerning.
Signing Hurst, a poor run-defender, who has had two significant-to-major injuries to the roster is not a great move whatsoever. It does fill a roster need, however.
Grade: D-