53-Man Roster Projection (Defense)
Shaping the Browns roster continues on the defensive side of the ball.
The NFL is now under a week away from upward of 1,000 players hitting the open market in the mass cutdown deadline. On Tuesday of next week we will see which players the Browns can claim with their high priority waiver wire location, but until then we continue to shape what we think the Browns roster will look like based on who is in-house.
In case you missed it, yesterday I broke down the offensive side of the ball which had a few difficult choices to make on the skill position bubble. The offensive line is nearly set without much question, and it feels similar on the defensive line as well. There are a few key names hovering, but for the most part it is set. The question will be volume at safety and linebacker and what the team will do with their most vulnerable position: cornerback.
As an aside, I will include the special teams players on this list and then keep Mike Hall Jr. in the IR designation with a chance to return after four weeks. Let’s dig into the details of the defense, make the tough cuts, and formulate this roster.
EDGE
Locks (4): Myles Garrett, Alex Wright, Isaiah McGuire, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
Bubble (2): Julian Okwara, Cameron Thomas
Practice Squad (1): Cameron Thomas
Comments: The top four here are the names we all know and expect to make the roster. Garrett, Wright, McGuire, and JTS all bring strong skill sets to contribute, and the latter three should complement Garrett well. The real question is whether there’s room for Julian Okwara, who has flashed with three sacks in two preseason games, and whether the staff likes Thomas enough to keep him.
This feels like one of the final, tougher decisions. When you keep three quarterbacks, this is the type of fallout that comes with it. My lean would be to keep Okwara and then try to stash Henry and Thomas on the practice squad. Overall, this is a very skilled group.
Final Cut: Myles Garrett, Alex Wright, Isaiah McGuire, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Julian Okwara
Interior Linemen
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Browns Film Breakdown to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.