CLEVELAND, Ohio – Winning the free agency is no longer something the Browns are trying to do. When you win games, all the pomp of the off-season loses its luster.
The free agency is fun, but good teams adjust their lists instead of remaking them. The draft is still an event, but choosing in the 1920s doesn’t exactly move the needle like the attention that the top of the draft brings.
The big splashes of the Browns will come when they make decisions about their own players. Extensions for Denzel Ward, Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb and others are at the table this off-season. Let teams like Jets and Jaguars make headlines in the coming months. The Browns are finally focused on making headlines from September to, hopefully, February.
All of us who are involved with our Browns coverage are revealing what we think would be an ideal free agency experience. Today is my turn and I am starting – and remaining – in defense. Here are the other posts:
This is how I think the Browns can earn (relatively speaking) a free agency:
Trey Hendrickson, defensive edge, 3 years, $ 11 million / year
Trey Hendrickson sacking Patrick Mahomes could be something the Browns are interested in seeing next season. (AP Photo, Butch Dill)AP
Hendrickson is the dynamic pass rusher that the Browns are looking for on the other side of Myles Garrett and if they can accept the money they were paying Olivier Vernon last year to bring Hendrickson to Cleveland, it is a perfect marriage.
We’ve talked about this before, but going back to the 2017 draft process, Hendrickson’s 40, 20 and 10-yard division was almost the same as Garrett’s on the harvester. Why does it matter? Because Hendrickson has only one year of great production, but his athletic profile says it is repeatable.
In his first year as a starter, Hendrickson delivered 13.5 bags, was the second in the Saints in pressure, according to the Pro Football Focus, and was the best-ranked edge rusher of the Saints.
Troy Hill, cornerback, 2 years old, $ 6.5 million / year
Troy Hill is a versatile player on the secondary. (AP Photo, Kyusung Gong)
I suspect the Browns will face the cornerback in the first two days of the draft and the good news about Greedy Williams adds more options in a position where you can never have healthy enough bodies. Brian Poole and Mike Hilton are strong options if the Browns are looking to strengthen their slot position, but versatility is the name of the game here, as we saw with Kevin Johnson’s signing last season.
Hill turns 30 before the start of the season, so this is not a long-term fit, but his ability to play outside and inside makes him valuable.
BJ Goodson, linebacker, 1 year, $ 3 million
BJ Goodson was solid for the Browns in 2020 and could be again if the Browns brought him back. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)John Kuntz, cleveland.com
The goal here was to find a devalued linebacker that didn’t cost much and may be the devalued linebacker that the Browns brought in last season that fits the bill. The Browns could potentially hand over Goodson’s duties to second year linebacker Jacob Phillips in 2021, but that would not detract from the choice of the third round, which showed flashes last year to pair with Goodson for another season.
Perhaps the Browns’ GM, Andrew Berry, will surprise us all and spend for a linebacker, but there is no indication that it will be a priority position in this defense.
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