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3 Browns Who Need to Be Benched in the Playoffs

With the NFL playoffs beginning this weekend, these three Browns must be benched if Cleveland wants to go on a deep postseason run.

By Devon Platana

WR Marquise Goodwin is one of three Browns who must be benched in the playoffs.
WR Marquise Goodwin is one of three Browns who must be benched in the playoffs. / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
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3. Siaki Ika, DT

After a productive two seasons at Baylor, the Browns drafted defensive tackle Siaki Ika with the 98th overall section at the 2023 NFL Draft. But despite being a Day 2 selection back in April, the 23-year-old defender was a healthy scratch for each of Cleveland's first 13 regular-season games.

As injuries piled up, Ika finally made his NFL debut against the Chicago Bears in Week 14. Although he's played at least 16 defensive snaps in each game since then, he doesn't look like he belongs in the postseason just yet.

Ika's play just hasn't been anything to write home about. The Salt Lake City native has only registered one defended pass without a tackle in four games. PFF is only giving him a 29.5 defensive grade for his work thus far, which includes an abysmal 35.3 run defense grade — fourth-worst on the team.

Another reason why Ika should be benched is a lack of discipline. He took two untimely neutral zone infraction penalties during the Week 18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, which are the type of mistakes that could lose the Browns a playoff game due to a lack of personal experience.

Ika is still young with plenty of time to learn and grow, however, dressing him in the postseason could be detrimental to both his development and the Browns' playoff hopes.

In other Browns news:

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