Film Room: Browns Defense

by Charles McDonald

There's no need to sugarcoat this simple fact: the Cleveland Browns have been the laughingstock of the league since the Jurassic Period. Outside of stalwart left tackle Joe Thomas, Cleveland's roster (especially the quarterback position) has been a revolving door of sadness, misery, and despair.

At the start of the 2016 offseason, the Browns committed themselves to a different approach in hopes of dragging themselves out of the gutter. Paul DePodesta, Sashi Brown, and Hue Jackson have spearheaded a "Moneyball" campaign in hopes of exploiting market inefficiencies to build a complete juggernaut team that is set up for years of good cap health, kind of like the New England Patriots.

It's easy to make fun of the Browns' on-field results (hell, I do it all the time), but reality shows that they are starting to build a semblance of a winning roster, despite the team's 1-26 record since the start of the 2016 season. The first position group that's really starting to blossom is along the defensive line.

When defensive linemen hit free agency, they tend to break the bank. It's imperative to get early production from these types of players before they get to their second contract in order to maximize the value they bring to a team. In the past two years the Browns have added Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Carl Nassib in the draft, and for the most part they've all been positive contributors. Cleveland has also done a marvelous job carving out a role for former first-round pick Danny Shelton and allowing him to become the anchor for their No. 2 run defense according to DVOA.