Post 2016 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns Depth Chart
By Jon Dove
The Cleveland Browns depth chart looks much different from last year thanks to a few free agency moves and adding 14 2016 draft prospects.
This version of the Cleveland Browns depth chart shows that the franchise is still in a rebuild mode. There are a lot of young players who’ll be asked to play major roles.
Quarterback
Starter: Robert Griffin III
Backup: Cody Kessler and Josh McCown
The talk is that this will be an open competition in training camp, but this is Robert Griffin’s job to lose. It would be a good idea from Cleveland to hang on to McCown because he’s someone who excels at mentoring young quarterbacks.
Running Back
Starter: Duke Johnson
Backups: Isaiah Crowell
Cleveland lacks great depth at this position and we could see some additions before training camp. Duke Johnson has the potential to be a game-breaker, but needs to stay healthy.
Wide Receiver
Starters: Brian Hartline and Corey Coleman
Slot: Andrew Hawkins
Backups: Ricardo Louis, Rashard Higgins, Jordan Payton and Terrelle Pryor
There’s a real youth movement at the wide receiver position and all these gusy should see significant playing time. Coleman is the cream of the crop as Cleveland’s 1st round pick.
However, he’s extremely raw and will experience his share of bumps in the road.
Left Tackle
Starter: Joe Thomas
Backup: Shon Coleman
Joe Thomas is back and will provide his All-Pro caliber play. It’ll be interesting to see if the Browns work to trade Thomas at some point during the year.
Left Guard
Starter: Joel Bitonio
Backup: Spencer Drango and Austin Pasztor
Bitonio is a finally healthy and appears ready to get back to high-level of play he showed earlier in his career.
Center
Starter: Cameron Erving
Backup: Mike Matthews
Erving had his share of struggles as a rookie and needs to show major improvements.
Right Guard
Starter: John Greco
Backups: Spencer Drango and Austin Pasztor
Greco is a solid performer who is very consistent.
Right Tackle
Starter: Alvin Bailey
Backups: Austin Pasztor, Shon Coleman and Michael Bowie
Reports are Alvin Bailey has the early edge to win the starting right tackle job. He has plenty of talent but has been too inconsistent. Rookie Shon Coleman is the most talented of this group and could easily win the starting job in training camp.
Tight End
Starter: Gary Barnidge
Backups: EJ Bibbs
Barnidge is coming off a great year and will look to build a relationship with whatever quarterback wins the starting job.
Defensive End
Starters: Desmond Bryant and Xavier Cooper
Backups: Carl Nassib, John Hughes and Dylan Wynn
Cooper had a solid rookie season as an underrated player. The word is that the Browns plan on using Nassib at defensive end where he will see a lot of playing time. In sub-packages we could also see Emmanuel Ogbah get some run at defensive end.
Nose Tackle
Starter: Danny Shelton
Backup: John Hughes
Cleveland really needs Danny Shelton to rebound after a poor rookie season. He’s one of the keys to the defenses success as a space-eater in the middle of the field.
3-4 Outside Linebacker
Starter: Barkevious Mingo and Paul Kruger
Backups: Emmanuel Ogbah, Joe Schobert, Nate Orchard and Jackson Jeffcoat
There’s going to be a lot of competition at this position with both Mingo and Kruger fighting for their jobs. Ogbah is raw but highly talented and capable of generating pressure on the quarterback.
Inside Linebacker
Starters: Demario Davis and Tank Carder
Backups: Christian Kirksey, Justin Tuggle, Scooby Wright and Dominique Alexander
Demario Davis was an underrated free agent addition and someone who’ll help on all three downs. Carder will battle the rest of the players for the other starting job.
Cornerback
Starters: Joe Haden and Tramon Williams
Nickelback: Pierre Desir
Backups: Justin Gilbert and Jamar Taylor
There’s plenty of talent here, but each player has his warts and they all showed up last season. This is likely the last chance for Justin Gilbert to get his career on track.
Safety
Starters: Rahim Moore and Ibraheim Campbell
Backups: Jordan Poyer and Derrick Kindred
Cleveland took a low-cost flyer on Rahim Moore in hopes that he can get back to the player he was earlier in his career. Campbell and Poyer are solid contributors, but lack huge upside.