Dawgs By Nature
The defense has full plans on being ranked #1 again
The Cleveland Browns’ offense this season will be the unknown to start the season, but the defense has full intentions of getting back to the top of the league ranking.
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Signing Myles Garrett to a new deal began the process, followed by using their first two draft picks on defensive players. The safety room saw three players leave, one by retirement, but Browns GM Andrew Berry inked two veterans in Damontae Kazee and Rayshawn Jenkins.
The defensive line has a few new faces in DT Maliek Collins, signed away from the San Francisco 49ers, CFL standout DT Ralph Holley, Jr., and a pair of defensive ends in Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (Tampa Bay) and Julan Okwara (Arizona).
Two key undrafted rookies brought in on the defense: DE Adin Huntington of Tulane and S Donovan McMillon from Pitt.
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The linebacker room has been a roller coaster for 2025, and the season hasn’t even begun yet. Is there room for concern? Will this group be an issue all year?
Browns DC Jim Schwartz is a proven defensive guru. He has a plan for every position, and one group’s actions affect the next line of resistance.
The defensive tackles plug their gaps to stop the run, and if Schwartz gets any sort of pass rush, that is deemed a bonus. The EDGE rushers are the main pass rushers and are designed to disrupt the opponent’s passing game. The linebackers are not expected to blitz except on occasion, so they are available to cover the tight ends and running backs, and are the primary tacklers on running plays. The cornerbacks cover mostly in man coverage, which leaves the safeties available for run support and also another body over the top.
This means the defensive line holds up the blocking while the linebackers seek out gaps to make the tackle on the ballcarrier. In Schwartz’s system, good linebacker play is paramount.
To say the problem began with this room this year isn’t entirely accurate.
Under Schwartz, the leading tackler morphed from safety Grant Delpit to linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah. Yeah, JOK. This process proved true to Schwartz’s system. JOK had 101 tackles in 2023 and then was leading the team once again with 61 going into Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens.
But in the third quarter, with a 20-17 lead, JOK suffered a neck injury after an awkward collision with RB Derrick Henry. The cart was summoned, and he was strapped to a full-body backboard. He was briefly hospitalized and released, and then added to IR for the remainder of the season.
The Browns took a cautious approach, and his future football playing career became uncertain. Since this occurred at the end of October, it was assumed that his rehab and healing process would enable him to be ready for training camp in late July. That’s nine months.
But on May 12, [Cleveland placed JOK...
