Jacoby Brissett, Myles Garrett highlight 10 most important Cleveland Browns players
BEREA – Importance can be a relative thing in many instances. For the Browns, though, the level of importance of a player to success this season can very well be tied to the level of that player's talent and/or position.
There's a belief around the Browns they can be a playoff contender this season. Of course, there's a massive asterisk attached to this considering the uncertainty around Deshaun Watson and any penalty he may receive from Sue L. Robinson and/or the NFL for violations of the league's personal conduct policy.
That uncertainty would obviously make Watson the single most important player to the Browns' success this season. However, he's off the board because it's still uncertain how long he'll be off the field.
Instead, let's look at 10 of the most important players to the Browns' successes this season. It's filled with star players and high-profile positions on the field.
Of course, it starts with the most important position of them all, even if it's not the elite-level talent the Browns were hoping to have all season.
1. Jacoby Brissett, quarterback
This is where it starts, because there's no player who will have a bigger impact on the Browns' fortunes than Brissett. It'll be Brissett who will run the offense at quarterback during the duration of any suspension Watson serves for personal conduct policy violations. If he can play at a steady level during Watson's absence, there's a chance the Browns can weather the storm and stay alive for a playoff berth. Otherwise, the suspension will have the impact everyone has expected it to have on those hopes.
2. Myles Garrett, defensive end
Even while the Browns are missing their own quarterback, they're still going to have a chance to get the opposing one. That's because Garrett figures to be right in the heart of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year conversation all season after having a career year as a pro last year. The first-team All-Pro set a single-season team sack record with 16, recorded a career-high 51 tackles and even picked up his first career touchdown. And his own coaches believe there's room for Garrett to improve.
3. Nick Chubb, running back
Want to find a way to survive the absence of your quarterback, even in a pass-happy NFL? Give the ball to one of the league's best running backs. Chubb ran it 228 times for 1,259 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago, and there are many who feel like that wasn't enough. Considering the fact the Browns also have Kareem Hunt and D'Ernest Johnson on the roster, it's hard to see those carries going up a whole lot. However, if Chubb basically is Chubb, especially while Brissett is under center, it's a great way to take the pressure off the quarterback.
4. Denzel Ward, cornerback
Edge rusher and cornerback. Have elite players at those two positions and there's a good chance your defense can be special as well. Ward, who signed a massive extension in April, helps the Browns complete that pairing with Garrett. At least, when Ward's healthy. The Pro Bowler played in a career-high 15 games a year ago, intercepting three passes, making 43 tackles and returning one of those picks 99 yards for a touchdown against the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals. Ward ended his minicamp last month with a foot injury, although there was no concern it would be a lingering issue.
5. Cade York, kicker
The Browns drafted York in the fourth round. The fourth round. That should be the final word on the level of importance they place on York and his impact on the season. The Browns watched their in-state rivals ride the leg of a big-legged rookie kicker from an SEC program taken in the middle rounds of the draft to a Super Bowl appearance last year. So they're going to hitch their wagon to someone who checks all those boxes, including a game-winner in the fog over the other's team two years ago.
6. Jack Conklin, right tackle
Want an idea of what it could look like without Conklin? Just watch last year's loss at Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football. Conklin has spent all offseason recovering from a torn patellar tendon suffered on Nov. 28 in Baltimore. The Browns need the right tackle to be healthy to really allow their offensive line to return to an high level of performance. Another lengthy stretch of missed time for Conklin would expose some of the depth issues they have at tackle.
7. Taven Bryan, defensive tackle
This really could be Jordan Elliott or any other of the Browns' interior defensive linemen. What Bryan represents more than anything is the team's need to have someone step up and provide above-average play inside to help the defense elevate its performance as a whole. Bryan was signed as a free agent from Jacksonville this offseason to add a little more veteran help to a group that's mostly third-year or younger players.
8. Donovan Peoples-Jones, receiver
Peoples-Jones could even be higher on the list. The third-year pro out of Michigan is one of a group of players, along with David Bell – who started camp on the active/physically unable to perform list – and Anthony Schwartz, who's being asked to emerge as the No. 2 option behind Amari Cooper. There have been flashes of that ability over his first two seasons. A year ago, he actually finished as the team leader with 597 yards on 34 catches with three touchdowns. Those numbers, though, must rise for the receiving corps to rise as well.
9. David Njoku, tight end
Another one in the mold of Peoples-Jones. Njoku received a big contract extension this spring. With that extension comes even more expectations on the Miami (Fla.) product to play at a first-round level in his sixth season. He is coming off arguably his second-best season as a pro, when he caught 36 passes on 53 targets for 475 yards and four touchdowns in 16 games a year ago, 11 of which he started. With Austin Hooper gone, Njoku becomes the featured player in the tight end room.
10. Jadeveon Clowney, defensive end
Let's end this list close to where it started, on the edge of the defensive line and the potential of what a Clowney-Garrett one-two punch showed itself at times a year ago. Garrett, obviously, was a first-team All-Pro, while Clowney earned Pro Bowl alternate status for his play. Nine sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 14 games, the most he's played in since 2018 with Houston, should be the baseline for what the former No. 1 overall pick can provide on the opposite side from Garrett.
Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.
On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett highlight 10 most important Browns
