The Browns did an excellent job in both free agency and the draft addressing their roster holes, but one glaring weakness still persists.
When Cleveland’s new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg was hired, everyone was talking about the secondary and what the Browns could do to add another high-level safety or slot corner to the mix because those are vital pieces of his scheme.
Since then, the team added CB Myles Bryant and S Daniel Thomas in free agency, and then drafted Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the 2nd
round of the 2026 NFL Draft. There’s a chance that Cleveland could add another veteran slot corner at some point around roster cutdown day, but they’re most likely set in the secondary now.
Having said that, if you look at the current roster as a whole, the linebacker spot sticks out like a sore thumb.
There seems to be a very, very good chance that Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is done with football, and that’s incredibly unfortunate for the team and fanbase alike. It’s no secret that his presence at WILL is going to be hard to replace, but Quincy Williams was an excellent free agent addition to try and stem some of the bleeding at that spot.
Carson Schwesinger will likely continue to be one of the top linebackers in the league going forward, but behind those two players is a room full of special-teamers and sub-package players.
Winston Reid and Nathaniel Watson could be tasked with handling a larger workload in 2026 if they can stay healthy (for once), but most of the depth-level players are pretty underwhelming. Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and Edefuan Ulofoshio are special-teams-only types and the only other option on the team right now is Justin Jefferson, Cleveland’s 5th round selection in last week’s draft.
It’s going to be interesting to see if the Browns sign another veteran or two before the season begins simply to find some more playable depth, because right now, if something were to happen to Schwesinger or Williams, it could spell disaster for Cleveland’s defense.
