Cleveland Browns offseason team needs: Noah’s Ark edition

Defensive End and Linebacker

The primary needs at these two positions really depend on how the front office handles the current players on the rosters from last season. If the Cleveland Browns resign Joe Schobert and opt to bring Olivier Vernon back for the 2020 season, we can bump down to the next line and just worry about depth.

However, it has been looking like Schobert will at least test free agency (even with the new regime that played a part in drafting him) and Vernon looks like a very expendable way to add some cap space this offseason with no dead cap hit.

Vernon started off the season fairly well with his new team in 2019, but once the injury bug hit him and Myles Garrett was suspended, boy did he struggle. He struggled so much that many people in Cleveland are ready to let him walk out the door after just one season, even with giving up an All-Pro offensive lineman to get him.

Vernon has been a Pro Bowler and is an effective pass rusher when healthy, but should he really be the highest-paid player on the team next season? Most think not.

If Berry and the Browns are really going to be characterized by their aggression this offseason and are confident that they will be able to land multiple big-name players via free agency or trade, I say cut ties and save the full $15.5 million he is due. But if he is going to be released and the Browns won’t end up spending that money elsewhere this season, maybe give him another go alongside Garrett this season.

There are some realistic pass-rushing options in free agency that the Browns could bring in, but whether or not Vernon is back or they bring in a big-name free agent, I think the Browns should consider an edge rusher in the draft as well.

A guy like Jonathan Greenard or Bradley Anae in the second or third round or Alex Highsmith even later would give Cleveland another starting-caliber option at defensive end and at the very least would provide some depth that the team severely lacked last year.

I’m a proponent for bringing Schobert back. He and Mack Wilson would be an outstanding pairing to build around for the future. The free-agent market isn’t super impressive at linebacker and the draft class is thin as well, so it may make sense to not let Schobert go. Even bringing back Christian Kirksey on a restructured, team-friendly deal makes sense to me to keep the linebacking corps intact.

But if Schobert really asks for a ton of money and the Browns opt to spend that money in other places, then they will have to evaluate their other options. If they sign a solid offensive lineman or two in free agency then maybe their hand won’t be forced into a tackle at 10 and they may consider the unicorn of Isaiah Simmons if he’s on the board when the Browns pick. But without Schobert or Simmons, the other options aren’t nearly as strong.

Maybe the new analytics approach will lead the front office to believe that they don’t need to spend money at the linebacker position, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on going forward.