Things are getting worse before they get better for the Cleveland Browns after an abysmal loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars is getting further in the rearview and is not aging well as they remain the only winless team in the league. Now, the Browns have dropped two winnable games in a row against the New York Giants and the Raiders, both of which were by less than a score.
The Browns will now travel to face the red-hot Washington Commanders seeking to upset the young kick-start team behind rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. But before we go forward we must go back and see where the Browns lie with their roster.
Injuries continue to hit the team but we’ve seen some strong performances and iron-men from unlikely sources. Here’s what the Browns are telling us and how they are navigating the depth chart with the team’s snap counts from last week.
100% Club
iOL Joel Bitonio
iOL Zak Zinter
OT James Hudson
OT Dawand Jones
QB DeShaun Watson
DB Ronnie Hickman
Last week I included near-perfect snap counts as it seemed that those who could play a full game were quickly dwindling, so if it’s any consolation this list increased this week.
The Browns finally got some continuity on the offensive line as four starters played the full game. After struggling with rotations from injuries last week, they were able to settle into clear roles with backups Hudson and Jones holding down both tackle spots and rookie Zinter moving into the spot left by Wyatt Teller.
Defensively, Hickman was the only defender to not come off the field. Even with the injury to Juan Thornhill, the secondary is one of the rare spots on the team that’s held up well and has stayed healthy.
Staples
WR Amari Cooper – 93%
WR Jerry Jeudy – 86%
RB Jerome Ford – 78%
WR Elijah Moore – 73%
iOL Nick Harris – 68%
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – 98%
DB Grant Delpit – 98%
CB Denzel Ward – 93%
LB Devin Bush – 86%
CB Martin Emerson – 75%
DE Myles Garrett – 75%
CB Greg Newsome – 69%
Unfortunately, when I said the Browns got “some” continuity on the offensive line, that did not include center Ethan Pocic, who alongside Joel Bitonio was the last remaining starter on the line. Nick Harris stepped up in his place for most of the game but we’ll now have to monitor yet another starter’s status as Pocic has been ruled day-to-day.
Defensively we have a batch of starters who play most of the game and linebacker Owusu-Koramoah continues his streak of playing all but one snap. Devin Bush played his first full game as a starter in place of Jordan Hicks after previously being a depth and special teams player.
It’s encouraging to see Myles Garrett play more this week at 75 percent of snaps despite his injuries becoming a laundry list of things to manage.
As mentioned previously, the secondary is a bright light on the depth chart with reliable starters playing most of the game. A shoulder injury scare in Week 2 to Denzel Ward was only a bump in the road as he continues to string together good games.
Interesting/of Note
TE Jordan Atkins – 47%
TE Geoff Swaim – 41%
TE Brian Whiteheart – 36%
iOL Ethan Pocic – 36%
RB D’Onta Foreman – 22%
DL Dalvin Tomlinson – 59%
DL Shelby Harris – 59%
DE Za’Darius Smith – 51%
With tight end David Njoku’s return on the horizon, the Browns implemented a true platoon at the position and gave near-equal snaps to three different players. Originally, this position was held down by Jordan Atkins in Njoku’s absence but this week they changed strategy completely with Atkins receiving only slightly more playing time.
Lineman Tomlinson and Harris appear to be tied at the hip with the same snap count. Plenty of linemen are rotating in and out but their status as primary starters remains untouched.
Smith continues to hover around the 50 percent mark suggesting the Browns want to keep him healthy and use him more in clear pass rush situations, but so far he’s only returned two sacks and two quarterback hits.
We’ll continue to monitor snaps as the season plays out to see if anything drastic changes.