New defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire will be tasked with keeping the D-line dominant in the important games at the end of the season. (Getty Images)
Browns positional review: Defensive line
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
(One in a series of position recaps as Browns head into the 2024 player transaction season.)
Position group: Defensive line.
Players under contract: Myles Garrett, 28, (through 2026); Dalvin Tomlinson, 29, (2026); Ogbo Okoronkwo, 28, (2025); Alex Wright, 23, (2025); Siaki Ika, 23, (2026); Isaiah McGuire, 22, (2026); Chris Williams, 25, (2024); Isaiah Thomas, 25, (2024); Lonnie Phelps, 23, (2024).
Players not under contract: Za’Darius Smith, 31; Shelby Harris, 32; Maurice Hurst, 28; Jordan Elliott, 26; Sam Kamara, 26.
Position coach: Jacques Cesaire (first year).
Overview: This group is the heartbeat of the defense. Keeping it ticking at a high pitch will always be the top priority of the team under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The problem in 2023 was it ran out of steam down the stretch. If you substitute the Houston wild-card game for the Cincinnati game, in which the Browns played only substitutes, the Browns’ defense had only 16 sacks over the last eight games – 13 turned in by defensive linemen. Of those 13, Garrett had only three, and didn’t record a sack in six of his last seven games. The goal expressed by Schwartz early on was to reduce Garrett’s snap counts to keep him fresh in the important games in December and beyond. It turned out that Garrett played on 81 percent of the team’s total defensive snaps, which matched the second-highest percentage of Garrett’s seven seasons. Part of that was due to Okoronkwo’s pectoral muscle injury which rendered him ineffective over the last month of the season. But Wright stepped into that No. 3 edge rusher role and produced four sacks in the last four regular-season games, including Cincinnati. The D-line was much improved in the first year of Schwartz’s system, but it is undeniable that it was not nearly as dominant in the all-important late games of the season.
Issues: Smith figures to be a high-priority target to re-sign. His production as the complementary end to Garrett should merit a return. A short-term deal seems like a mutual goal. That move alone would secure the defensive end positions and promote the prospect of Wright and McGuire continuing their development under Schwartz in rotational roles. The tackle situation is foggy with Elliott, Hurst and Harris unsigned. Elliott was the only one drafted by the Browns. Hurst and Harris were productive when on the field. Their injury histories should discourage much activity in the free agent market. Bringing back one, or both, would be a good idea.
