Cleveland’s defense continues to play fairly well, but can’t get that complete shutdown performance.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
- DL: He didn’t have a sack, but the Browns’ 4th-highest graded player on defense was Myles Garrett, who graded out to a 79.2. Rookie defensive tackle Michael Hall saw a solid workload of 47%, and earned a respectable grade of 78.5 from PFF. Shelby Harris, Za’Darius Smith, and Maurice Hurst/Isaiah McGuire were all in on sacks.
- LB: Another week, and another game of the Browns’ linebackers playing very well. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was the team’s 2nd-highest graded player with an 85.6, and the returning Jordan Hicks was right behind him with a grade of 81.0. I continue to like the pursuit that Mohamoud Diabate brings, as he still got 40% of the snaps this week.
- CB: We just aren’t getting lockdown seasons from Greg Newsome and Martin Emerson. It’s frustrating because I have faith in those guys, but Emerson keeps getting beat, and Newsome keeps not making plays when he could be in position for them. Denzel Ward, on the other hand, has been lights out. He defended two more passes and was the team’s highest-graded defender this week with a grade of 90.2.
- S: We saw the returns of Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill. While Delpit played the whole game, Thornhill split reps with Rodney McLeod. D’Anthony Bell was cut out of the rotation this week.