CLEVELAND, Ohio — Winning free agency isn’t a thing the Browns are trying to do anymore. When you win games, all the offseason pageantry loses its luster.
Free agency is fun, but good teams finetune their rosters as opposed to remaking them. The draft is still an event, but picking in the 20s doesn’t exactly move the needle like the attention the top of the draft brings.
The Browns’ big splashes will come when they make decision on their own players. Extensions for Denzel Ward, Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb and others are on the table this offseason. Let teams like the Jets and Jaguars make the headlines for the next few months. The Browns are finally focused on being headline-makers from September through, hopefully, February.
All of us who are involved with our Browns coverage are revealing what we think an ideal free agency experience would look like. Today is my turn, and I’m starting – and staying – on defense. Here are the rest of the posts:
Here’s how I think the Browns can win (relatively speaking) free agency:
Trey Hendrickson, defensive end, 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 the Browns have been looking for on the other side of Myles Garrett and if they can take the money they were paying Olivier Vernon last year to brings Hendrickson to Cleveland, it’s a perfect marriage.
We’ve been over this before, but going back to the 2017 draft process, Hendrickson’s 40-time, 20-yard split and 10-yard split were all around the same as Garrett at the combine. Why does it matter? Because Hendrickson only has one year of big production, but his athletic profile tells you it’s repeatable.
In his first year as a starter, Hendrickson delivered 13.5 sacks, was second on the Saints in pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, and was the Saints’ highest-graded edge rusher.
Troy Hill, cornerback, 2 years, $6.5 million/year
Troy Hill is a versatile player in the secondary. (AP Photo, Kyusung Gong)
I suspect the Browns will address cornerback on the first two days of the draft and good news on Greedy Williams adds more options at a position where you can never have enough healthy bodies. Brian Poole and Mike Hilton are both strong options if the Browns are looking to shore up the slot position, but versatility is the name of the game here, like we saw with the signing of Kevin Johnson last season.
Hill turns 30 right before the start of the season, so this isn’t a longterm fit, but his ability to play on the outside and inside makes him valuable.
B.J. Goodson, linebacker, 1 year, $3 million
B.J. Goodson was solid for the Browns in 2020 and could be again if the Browns bring him back. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)John Kuntz, cleveland.com
The goal here was to find an undervalued linebacker who wouldn’t cost too much and it might be the undervalued linebacker the Browns brought in last season who fits the bill. The Browns could potentially hand off Goodson’s duties to second-year linebacker Jacob Phillips in 2021, but it wouldn’t hurt the third-round pick who showed flashes last year to pair with Goodson for another season.
Maybe Browns GM Andrew Berry surprises us all and spends for a linebacker, but there has been no indication it’s a priority position in this defense.
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