Predicting Cleveland Browns Starting Lineup After the 1st Wave of Free Agency
The first wave of free agency has come and gone, with the Cleveland Browns making a handful of key moves. Though there is more change to come—other free agents to add and of course next month's draft—that can upturn the depth chart, it's not too early to make a few predictions on the starting lineup for 2015.
So, based on the past seven days' worth of activity, here's who looks to be starting for the Browns this season at every position.
QB: McCown
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It's possible that quarterback Johnny Manziel will be ready to start for the Browns in Week 1, but for now the only player on the roster who seems capable of taking on that job is recent veteran signing Josh McCown.
That's not to say that McCown is a better quarterback than Manziel—or Connor Shaw, or even Thaddeus Lewis. However, he is the most experienced of the bunch, with 16 starts over the past two years. He also has the full confidence of Browns head coach Mike Pettine, who said last week, "To me, the guy can still play. When the circumstances are right, he's shown he can play at a high level."
The Browns' quarterback situation is very fluid, however. In a month's time, Manziel could firmly hold the reins of the position.
RBs: Crowell, West
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Whether or not the Browns can get their run game going again, the job will primarily come down to two men: second-year players Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell.
West rushed 171 times in 2014, for 673 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He also caught 11 passes for 64 yards and a score. Crowell had 148 carries, for 607 yards and eight scores, and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. He added nine catches for 87 yards.
West and Crowell should again get the bulk of the carries in 2015, unless the team takes advantage of the deep draft class at running back, potentially eating into either back's workload.
WRs: Hawkins, Hartline, Gabriel
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The Browns aren't likely done adding to their receiving corps, but until they do, their three main starters appear to be Andrew Hawkins, the recently signed Brian Hartline and 2014 breakout player Taylor Gabriel.
Hartline, with his 14.2 yards-per-reception average, will be a deep threat. Hawkins, the Browns' leading receiver in 2014, will work all over the field. He totaled 63 catches on 113 targets for 824 yards and two scores last season.
The wild card is Gabriel. He played the second-most snaps of any Browns receiver in 2014 and was their second-leading receiver, with 36 catches on 71 targets for 621 yards and a score. He's another deep threat, averaging 17.3 yards per reception. However, he's a relatively obscure player. But it does seem like he's ready for an even bigger role in 2015, especially as the team seems to be slowly phasing out Travis Benjamin.
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TEs: Dray, Barnidge
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For now, the Browns have just two tight ends on the roster—Jim Dray and Gary Barnidge. Though an addition is expected at some point, for now they will split the starting duties between them.
Dray caught 17 passes on 28 targets, for 242 yards and one touchdown last season, while Barnidge had 13 catches on 25 targets, for 156 yards and zero scores. Of Barnidge's 366 snaps played in 2014, 181 were as a receiver, 160 were as a run-blocker, and 25 were as a pass-protector. Dray played 612 snaps, with 182 as a receiver, 360 as a run-blocker and 70 in pass protection.
Both should reprise those roles, though an addition of a pass-catching tight end could see their passing snaps and targets reduced.
OL: Schwartz, Greco, Mack, Bitonio, Thomas
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So long as center Alex Mack returns completely healthy from the broken leg he suffered in the middle of the 2014 season—and he should—the offensive line shouldn't see any changes in 2015. The group of right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, right guard John Greco, center Mack, left guard Joel Bitonio and left tackle Joe Thomas remains intact.
The only thing that could change is Schwartz being moved to right guard if the Browns add another tackle in the draft or decide that Michael Bowie is better-suited for that role. The issue isn't pass protection but run-blocking, which suffered greatly by Mack's injury. The Browns must make sure that one injury to an offensive lineman doesn't sink their ability to run the ball.
DL: D. Bryant, Taylor, A. Bryant, Winn, Hughes, Starks
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The Browns defensive line will feature a rotation of players at both end and tackle, much as it did in 2014. This time, however, it will boast at least one new face—free-agent signing Randy Starks, a run-stopping situational defensive tackle. There is also likely a new nose tackle in the Browns' future, coming via the draft.
Billy Winn, Desmond Bryant, Armonty Bryant and Phil Taylor will rotate as defensive ends, while Starks and John Hughes will be the primary defensive tackles alongside the yet-to-be-determined nose tackle. The Bryants will be situational pass-rushers, while Winn and Taylor will do more work as run-stoppers.
LBs: Kruger, Mingo, Dansby, Kirksey, Robertson
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Much like the defensive line, the Browns also will take a rotational approach to their linebacking corps yet again in 2015.
Outside linebacker Paul Kruger is the closest they have to an every-down player, having played 919 of the team's 1,177 defensive snaps in 2014. He totaled 53 tackles, 11 sacks, two tackles for loss and four forced fumbles last season. He'll be joined on the outside by Barkevious Mingo, who will have an expanded role this year after the team lost Jabaal Sheard in free agency. Mingo had 42 tackles, two sacks and two tackles for a loss in 2014.
The inside will be more rotational than on the outside. This group should yet again be led by Karlos Dansby, who was the Browns' third-best tackler in 2014, with 93. He also had eight tackles for a loss and three sacks. Craig Robertson and Chris Kirksey will join him; they played over 600 snaps apiece in 2014. Robertson had 99 tackles and two interceptions last year, while Kirksey totaled 81 tackles and two sacks.
CBs: Haden, Williams, Desir, Williams
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The signing of free-agent cornerback Tramon Williams seems to indicate that the Browns are letting their three second-year corners, Justin Gilbert, K'Waun Williams and Pierre Desir get more experience before starting one of them alongside Joe Haden. Of the three, Gilbert—who had a rocky rookie year (to say the least)—seems to be the most affected by the signing.
The elder Williams, an eight-year veteran of the Green Bay Packers, totaled 65 tackles, three interceptions and 14 passes defensed in 2014. Though 32 years old, he certainly has enough left in the tank to take up the starting mantle in Cleveland for at least one year.
K'Waun Williams, meanwhile, totaled 38 tackles and eight passes defensed for the Browns last year, while Desir totaled nine tackles and two passes defensed on 120 snaps played. The two will likely duel this summer for the slot cornerback position.
The only sure thing is Haden, who is destined to remain a starter in Cleveland for the duration of his time with the team. He had 73 tackles in 2014, along with three interceptions and 20 passes defensed. He also allowed catches on a mere 53.1 percent of the 113 targets thrown his way and gave up just four touchdowns on the season.
S: Gipson, Whitner
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So long as no team successfully steals away Tashaun Gipson—a restricted free agent whom the Browns gave a second-round tender to last week—the safety position should be unchanged in Cleveland in 2015. Gipson will join Donte Whitner in the starting lineup.
Despite missing the final five games of the 2014 season with a knee injury, Gipson put up the best year of his career. He totaled 52 tackles, eight passes defensed and six interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown. Gipson is just now hitting the prime of his career at age 24 and is a major component of Cleveland's talented secondary.
Whitner was the Browns' leading tackler in 2014, with 106. He also had five passes defensed and an interception. Gipson and Whitner ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, among safeties last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Therefore, it's fair to say that the Browns have the NFL's best safety tandem heading into the 2015 season.
ST: Hartley, Lanning, Yount, Moore, Draughn, Benjamin
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Kicker Garrett Hartley took over for the disappointing Billy Cundiff at the end of the 2014 season, making all three of his field-goal attempts. He'll likely keep the job for 2015. The same can be said for punter Spencer Lanning, whom the team re-signed last week. Long snapper Christian Yount should also keep his gig, although it's possible that Charley Hughlett could jeopardize his roster spot.
At kick returner, it appears that the re-signings of Shaun Draughn and Marlon Moore means they will be handling the majority of those duties. Draughn returned five kickoffs last year for 115 total yards while also working on the special teams coverage unit. Moore returned 13 kickoffs for 322 yards.
Also in the mix should be Travis Benjamin. He returned 12 kickoffs for 246 yards last year and 15 punts for 127 yards. Draughn and Moore will handle kickoff duties, while Benjamin, should he stick around, will handle punt returns.
Advanced stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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