Want to a reason as to why the Browns defense can’t stop anyone thus far in the preseason, especially in the running game?
We’ll do better than that. We’ll give you three reasons.
Nose tackle Danny Shelton.
Cornerback Justin Gilbert.
Linebacker Barkevious Mingo.
Shelton was picked in the first round, at No. 12 overall, of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Gilbert was drafted in the first round, at No. 8 overall, in 2014.
Mingo was taken in the first round, at No. 6 overall, in 2013.
Three straight drafts.
Three straight top 12 picks.
Three straight colossal busts.
You can’t miss that badly, that much, in such a short period of time. You just can’t. It kills your defense, not just for those three seasons but for years to come. Instead of the three longtime stars the Browns should have gotten from players picked at the top of the draft, they got three longtime duds.
That there is a player in all three parts of the defense – the front, middle and back – just exacerbates the problem. The Browns have been equal opportunity destroyers – of themselves.
The Browns would have been better served by spending eight bucks at the newsstand for one of those draft guides and picking top-rated players from it.
Don’t laugh. We’re serious.
Really, could it have been any worse than this?
No. That’s obvious.
None of these guys can play – even just a little bit.
The members of the current Browns regime, particularly Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown, head coach Hue Jackson and defensive coordinator Ray Horton, will be the ones catching the flak if the defense continues to struggle like it has in losses to the Atlanta Falcons (24-13) and Green Bay Packers (17-11).
But that criticism will be misplaced, for this year’s defense was sunk long before these guys arrived.
The bottom line is this: Why is everybody so surprised at the failures of the defense so far? It’s a freight train of doom that’s been rolling on down the track since 2013, picking up steam as it goes. Now it’s finally here.
The bad thing is that Browns fans have to wait for who knows how long until the mess gets cleaned up. They deserve better than that.
