Entering the 2020 NFL Draft weekend, many expected the Cleveland Browns to do something to address the EDGE position opposite Myles Garrett. You know, Olivier Vernon’s spot.
Vernon played well but didn’t produce on the stat sheet (3.5 sacks in 9 games) in his first season in Cleveland. The veteran also had injuries. Coupled with his hefty contract — Vernon is due a team-high $15.5 million in 2020 — there was a common school of thought that the Browns would replace or at least reinforce the position.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski shot that line of thinking down pretty quicky in his post-draft press teleconference. He was asked if Vernon remains in the Browns’ plans for 2020.
“That’s my assumption,” Stefanski quipped. “Obviously, I think Olivier is a really great player, unfortunately he was banged up a little bit. We look forward to all our guys contributing next year.”
He cautioned against reading too much — or too little — into the team not selecting any defensive ends or outside linebackers in the draft.
“I wouldn’t say it was a message of any sort, the fact we didn’t draft a defensive end. We’re not in the business of sending messages via the draft. We trusted the board and as the players came up, we made sure that we had the right people for the job,” Stefanski said.