A new look for the defense

If there is one certainty about the Browns’ defense this season, it is this: It will not lead the National Football League in missed tackles.

General Manager John Dorsey substantially addressed that malady in the offseason. It had to absolutely frustrate the former linebacker, who saw his club repeatedly miss open tackles and/or fail to bring down the ball carrier at the spot of contact.

Gone are linebacker Jamie Collins and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, among others, from last season. The fact Dorsey grabbed linebackers Sione Takitaki and Mack Wilson in the college draft was a blatant sign that position has been upgraded.

Middle linebacker Joe Schobert racked up another triple-digit combined-tackle season, but was among the league leaders for the second straight season in missed tackles. The return of outside backer Christian Kirksey, who missed the final seven games with an injury last season, helps.

The defensive line, which gave up infantry yardage last season in massive chunks and made life easier for opposing quarterbacks (with the exception of the exceptional Myles Garrett), has been fixed with the arrival of Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson, a couple of young veterans.

No longer will the Browns look more like a sieve when they don’t own the football. No longer will the secondary have to stay with receivers for way too much time while the defensive line flails in attempt to drop the quarterback.

New defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, a much better coordinator than head coach, should have no problem with a defense that will be much faster and quicker than the last few seasons.

Wilks loves to blitz. His Arizona Cardinals last season were one of the blitzingest teams in the league. All of which means last season’s sack total of 37 (13½ by Garrett) is in all likelihood going to matched by as early as the 12^th game of the season and no later than game 14.

Wilks’ exotic approach to blitzing (lots of disguising) involves just about everyone on defense. The pressure is likely to come from just about anywhere.

Richardson is an upgrade at tackle over Trevon Coley, who drops back and strengthens the bench. Larry Ogunjobi, who will benefit most from his new partner, was stout all season despite an arm injury, registering 5½ sacks. That number will grow this season.

Vernon, who checks in with 51 career sacks, will be counted heavily to provide the kind of protection on the edge opposite Garrett, ostensibly giving his new teammate more opportunities to harass quarterbacks.

Wilks favors a 4-3 look for his base defense, but appears to be flexible enough to combat what has become a pass happy NFL with more one- and two-linebacker packages, taking advantage of a solid secondary.

Dorsey has loaded the training camp roster with 19 bodies in the secondary (12 cornerbacks and seven safeties) in an effort to give Wilks ample opportunity to put together arguably the best secondary the club has had in a generation. As many as nine or 10 defensive backs could make the final 53.

DEFENSE

Ends (8): Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, Genard Avery (hybrid DE/OLB), Chris Smith, Chad Thomas, Wyatt Ray, Anthony Zettel, Jerrell Owens

Makes final cut: Garrett, Vernon, Avery, Smith, Zettel

On the bubble: Thomas (a huge disappointment as a rookie last season), Ray

Cut: Owens

Overview: A distinct improvement over last season. The acquisition of Vernon from the Giants and moving Avery to the edge for the most part means Garrett no longer will draw double and triple teams. It wouldn’t surprise to see Garrett sometimes line up inside with Avery and Vernon on the edges.

Tackles (7): Larry Ogunjobi, Sheldon Richardson, Trevon Coley, Carl Davis, Daniel Ekuale, Devaroe Lawrence, Brian Price

Makes final cut: Ogunjobi, Richardson, Coley, Davis

On the bubble: Price

Cut: Lawrence, Ekuale

Overview: Another vast improvement. The presence of the veteran Richardson will have a profound impact on Ogunjobi’s continued improvement. Coley, who disappointed last season, drops back to a fill-in role, which should help his production.

Outside linebackers (6): Christian Kirksey, Sione Takitaki, Ray Ray Armstrong, Adarius Taylor, Genard Avery, Anthony Stubbs

Makes final cut: Kirksey, Takitaki, Taylor, Armstrong, Avery (see above)

Cut: Stubbs

Overview: A lot depends on how much Wilks utilizes his linebackers in the pass-happy NFL. It wouldn’t surprise to see him operate with a 4-2-5 base defense with multiple variations and sub packages. That means Kirksey, who missed significant time last season, will see lots of snaps. If he can stay healthy and the rookie Takitaki lives up his advanced billing, this should not be an area of concern. The addition of the veteran Taylor provides added quality depth.

Inside linebackers (4): Joe Schobert, Mack Wilson, Willie Harvey, Dedrick Young II

Makes final cut: Schobert, Wilson

Cut: Harvey, Young

Overview: Schobert, who also missed time last season, needs to improve his tackle game. He needs to make tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage, not five or more yards downfield. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the rookie Wilson, who played his college ball under Nick Saban at Alabama and is fundamentally stronger than Schobert, make it interesting.

Cornerbacks (12): Denzel Ward, Terrance Mitchell, Greedy Williams, Phillip Gaines, Robert Jackson, Tavierre Thomas, Juston Burris, Donnie Lewis Jr., JT Hassell, T. J. Carrie, Lenzy Pipkins, Jhavonte Dean

Makes final cut: Ward, Mitchell, Williams, Gaines, Burris, Carrie

On the bubble: Thomas, Jackson

Cut: Lewis, Hassell, Pipkins, Dean

Overview: Too many ifs to get excited about here. For example, if Ward stays healthy (he already has suffered two concussions) and learns how to tackle, he will be an All-Pro. If the rookie Williams, who will probably beat out Mitchell for the starting job opposite Ward, overcomes his reputation of limiting his talents to just defending against passes and supports the run, he will be just fine. Quality depth at the position will enable Wilks to be creative with his packages.

Free safeties (3): Damarious Randall, Sheldrick Redwine, Tigie Sankoh

Makes final cut: Randall, Redwine

Cut: Sankoh

Overview: Randall is one of the best free safeties in the conference, if not the entire NFL. Great nose for the ball. A contract problem might be the only negative here. It might affect his play. The rookie Redwine lends toughness to the position.

Strong safeties (4): Morgan Burnett, Jermaine Whitehead, Eric Murray, Jermaine Ponder

Makes final cut: Burnett, Whitehead, Murray

Cut: Ponder

Overview: Burnett most likely wins the job. He’s bigger, stronger and savvier than Whitehead, the hot offseason pick to surprise in training camp. Misused last season as a part-time linebacker (box safety) in Pittsburgh last season. Whitehead and Murray provide solid backup. The X-factor is whether Dorsey gambles and invites Eric Berry to camp. The veteran has played only a handful of games the last two seasons with Kansas City because of injuries.