CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens has said since the start of the offseason program and throughout all of training camp and the preseason that he expects the defensive line to be a strength of the team.
However, the bulk of the attention from outside of the Browns’ facility has been placed on the offense with the offseason acquisitions of running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. mixing with a talented group of skill players around quarterback Baker Mayfield.
But within the building, the Browns’ defensive front has gained a high level of respect from the other position groups.
“I think they can be how good they want to be,” safety Damarious Randall said after Wednesday’s practice. “They’re a very, very talented group, and as long as we stay healthy across the board, I mean, we’re going to be a tough out each and every week.”
Fully healthy coming into the 2018 season, Garrett emerged as a leader for the Browns’ defense and registered 44 total tackles, including 35 solo stops, while playing in all 16 games for the team who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Of those 44 tackles, 13.5 were sacks on opposing quarterbacks for 75.5 lost yards and Garrett finished the year with the fourth-most sacks in a single season in franchise history.
Over 103 games in seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Giants, the 6-foot-2, 270-pound Olivier Vernon registered 326 total tackles, including 232 solo stops and 94 assists, with 51.0 sacks, two passes defended and one interception.
Vernon registered at least 6.5 sacks in each of the last six seasons.
“It’s very exciting to just know that you’ve got guys like that up front, and the guys that we have in the secondary, I’m just looking forward to putting it together each and every week for four or maybe more quarters,” Randall said.
“If you want to go off last year, we had a lot of overtime games, so we might have to play a little deeper in games. Hopefully, we can put it together each and every week and it should be a lot of fun out there.”
In his six-year career, including four with the New York Jets and one each with the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings, defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson played in 89 games and started 87 of those contests.
A one-time Pro Bowler, Richardson registered 333 total tackles, including 195 solo stops and 138 assists. Of those tackles, 49 went for lost yardage, and he had 76 hits on the quarterback. Also, Richardson recovered five fumbles and collected 23.5 sacks.
“They looked great in the preseason and once you get those guys all out there on the field at the same time, it’s going to be pretty scary, so looking to see what they can disrupt and handle up front and make plays for those guys in the back end,” Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield said.
“I think that’s something that people forget is, yeah, we have a great front, but that allows the defensive secondary to play very aggressive and the linebackers to run free.”