Cleveland Browns Draft Countdown: Making the Case for NT Eddie Goldman

At first glance, it appears that the Cleveland Browns have their nose tackle problems solved. Ahtyba Rubin is gone, joining the Seattle Seahawks in free agency. Phil Taylor has been moved back to nose tackle after spending the 2014 season, before his knee injury, working out of position at defensive end. Ishmaa'ily Kitchen is there to back him up. 

But that doesn't mean the Browns should shun the chance to get better. After all, the Browns ranked dead last in run defense in 2014, and it wasn't an outlier—it's been a problem the Browns have tried and failed to solve for years. Nothing, including coaching changes, personnel changes, scheme changes and previous seasons using Taylor as a nose tackle, has served to fix the problem.

So the Browns would be wise to address the issue head-on this year and boost the run-stopping capabilities of the front seven. 

Year	Comb. T	TFL	Sacks
2012	8	1.0	0.0
2013	19	3.0	2.0
2014	35	8.0	4.0
Total	62	12.0	6.0

The Browns have two Round 1 picks they can use toward any number of their needs—or even on a player who they consider the best option remaining, regardless of position. But another year of subpar run defense can sink the season, especially with a number of powerful rushing offenses slated to face the Browns in 2015.

That's why Florida State defensive tackle Eddie Goldman would be a great fit in Cleveland this year.

Goldman totaled 62 combined career tackles, 12 tackles for a loss and six sacks in three years with the Seminoles, and he had 35 combined tackles, eight tackles for a loss and four sacks in 2014.

Though he did have those six career sacks, Goldman isn't much of a pass-rusher on a consistent basis. That's fine for the Browns, however, who simply need him to occupy space, take on double-teams from offensive linemen and swallow running backs whole.

In fact, NFL.com's Lance Zierlein says that Goldman "plays the run like a full-grown man" and does more than simply block lanes—he possesses enough "power at the point of attack and ability to discard blockers and actually make plays rather than just eating space."

Goldman is all about power: He "explodes out of stance and into defenders with force and leverage," he has "violent hands that jar offensive linemen and force them into defensive posture" and he is "able to shed blockers with hands or with clubbing arms and spring into [the] ball-carrier," in Zierlein's words.

CBS Sports' Rob Rang notes that Goldman was a rotational player at Florida State, so it comes as no surprise that he says Goldman is "still working on some of the finer details of [the] position" and is "just scratching the surface of his potential." For that reason, he may not be able to completely beat out Taylor for his snaps or keep Kitchen off of the field in his rookie year.

But on-field experience will further hone his technique to the point that he could evolve from a running-down specialist to a three-down nose tackle by his sophomore year. Goldman's immediate situational value should not scare the Browns away—what he can give the team as a rookie will still do much to turn around its struggles against the run.

It's time for the Browns to get serious about turning around the run-defense troubles that have plagued them for so long. By drafting Goldman, it would send a clear message that from now on, teams aren't going to be able to run at will against Cleveland's defense.