Defensive ends: Solid, disruptive group going into training camp
BEREA — Training camp is fast approaching for the Browns.
Rookies report Monday, veterans Tuesday. The Browns will then head to the Greenbrier in West Virginia on July 25 for the first of seven practices over nine days there before returning to Berea for the remainder of camp.
Leading up to the start of camp, each Browns position group is getting its moment in the spotlight. Today, the defensive ends take center stage.
On the roster
Myles Garrett, Za’Darius Smith, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Alex Wright, Isaiah McGuire, Isaiah Thomas, Sam Kamara
Projected starters: Garrett (right), Smith (left)
The Browns, in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s scheme, could even go with a third defensive end, which would be Okoronkwo, in certain packages. However, at its base, Schwartz is working with is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in Garrett and a player in Smith who has recorded double-digit sacks three times in the last five seasons. After back-toback franchise-record 16-sack seasons, Garrett had 14 sacks a year ago.
He was still a havoc-wreaker in so many other ways as he finished, according to Pro Football Focus, with a career-best 89 pressures. Smith, meanwhile, is coming off his lowest sack season — in a year in which he at least played double-digit games — since 2017 with just 5.5 sacks. The veteran still made an impact with 40 hurries and 15 quarterback hits, all while adjusting to playing with his hand on the ground in an even front for the first time in his pro career.
Watch: Okoronkwo
This could have been the thirdyear pro Alex Wright, who came