3 things Za’Darius Smith brings to the Cleveland Browns

Za’Darius Smith will allow the secondary to play above their talents

There are two ways to build a top-flight defense against the pass; either stack the secondary with All-Pros so talented that you give your front four all the time in the world needed to get a sack or build the defensive line with so many great pass-rushers, that the quarterback has no time to test the secondary.

The Browns have chosen the latter. While the team has some solid, if not flawed corners, the team’s safeties are where the biggest problems lie. Right now the team has an average safety-free agent signing in Juan Thornhill, who basically put up the same stats and PFF grades as John Johnson III. They also have Grant Delpit, the underperforming 2nd round pick from 2020, and Rodney McLean, a mid-30-year-old backup.

Legion of Boom they are not.

The Browns are developing a front-four who excel at pass rushing. The thought is, if the Browns’ front four can wreak enough havoc, then their secondary won’t be tested nearly as much. Opposing quarterbacks will throw more junk than intended and the defense will be able to get key stops.

As always, there exists a possibility that they aren’t the pass-rush demons that Jim Schwartz is hoping they become, but assuming everything goes according to plan, the Browns’ front four may make their secondary look better than they actually are.