Cleveland Browns hurting the development of Emmanuel Ogbah
By Jon Dove
The Cleveland Browns are relying on rookie Emmanuel Ogbah to make an immediate impact.
It’s typically not to have a raw rookie change positions multiple times during his first preseason. This is exactly what the Cleveland Browns are doing with Emmanuel Ogbah who started training camp at outside linebacker, moved to defensive end and is now back at outside linebacker.
Ogbah is a terrific athlete who profiles as a top-end pass rusher if he can round out the mental part of the game. He has shown the ability to take to coaching thanks to his improvement during each of his college seasons.
The thing is he’s still raw and needs more coaching to reach his full potential. Cleveland’s decision to shift him back and forth between positions is only making things more difficult.
It’s especially curious because they appear to be counting on him to make an immediate impact. The switch back to outside linebacker is due to the fact the Browns got rid of two former starters in Barkevious Mingo and Paul Kruger.
Ogbah seems like a lock to open the season as one of the starters at outside linebacker. The other opening will be a battle between Nate Orchard, Cam Johnson and Joe Schobert. These three players are also young and inexperienced.
As a whole, the Browns defense lacks veteran leadership which could also have a negative impact on the development of young players. The two most veteran defenders are in the secondary in Joe Haden and Tramon Williams.
Most of the media attention with the Browns has surrounded the offense, but the defense could make headlines of their own with poor play.