Cleveland Browns Second-Year Linebackers Have Opportunity to Increase Roles
The competition at linebacker for the Cleveland Browns is pretty wide open beyond the starters. For the pair of undrafted rookies the team signed last year, Mohamoud Diabate and Charlie Thomas III, that presents an opportunity to earn a role in their second season.
Perhaps the least settled position on the Cleveland Browns roster is linebacker. Jordan Hicks and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are the team’s projected starters and the Browns are likely to give rookie Bookie Watson every opportunity to become the team’s SAM. After that, it’s pretty wide open. Two of the potential options are the undrafted free agents they signed last year after the year’s draft, Mohamoud Diabate and Charlie Thomas III.
At the start of the team’s organized team activities (OTAs), the Browns opened with nine linebackers on the roster. The team will likely carry five on the regular season roster with a few spares on the practice squad. Especially for linebacker, the Browns actively use the practice squad as an extension of the roster.
The team has traditionally relied heavily on their linebackers coach Jason Tarver to make their defense work. The linebacker position gets little investment in terms of draft or financial capital, opting to use that to use that towards the defensive line and secondary. The better the defensive line, the more effective the linebackers can be. But even when the defensive line was miserable and the linebackers were depleted by injuries, Tarver was able to guide his position group to solid play.
This is familiar territory for Tarver. The twist this year is that special teams coach Bubba Ventrone is also looking for answers. Last year, the team signed Matthew Adams and Jordan Kunaszyk specifically to function in special teams roles. Adams is now a member of the New York Giants and Kunaszyk is currently a free agent. Perhaps an option they may revisit, the team is looking for answers in the group they have on the team.
Mohamoud Diabate, who was present but did not participate in Wednesday’s session, was one of two undrafted rookies to make the opening day roster in 2023. The other was safety Ronnie Hickman. In his rookie campaign, Diabate only played 26 defensive snaps, most of which came in the glorified exhibition against the Cincinnati Bengals in week 18. Most of his impact came on special teams where he totaled 314 snaps.
Undoubtedly, the Browns hope Diabate can continue to develop on defense, but the contributions on special teams are important. Adams played 459 special teams snaps last year. Kunaszyk was only able to contribute 150 as he spent much of the year on injured reserve with a knee injury. Either way, the Browns are still looking to replace a combined 609 snaps from linebackers on special teams.
In terms of his body type, Thomas blurs the line between linebacker and safety. 216 pounds coming out of college, Thomas is strong but lean. He was a super productive player at Georgia Tech, playing both off-ball linebacker and operating in the slot, playing a downhill, aggressive style of football. That led to some fun moments in the preseason, but Thomas never saw any regular season snaps on defense. He was activated for a three games to fill in on special teams, totaling 40 plays.
To this point, the Browns have been utilizing Thomas as a true linebacker, though his build and athletic profile are well suited for special teams. Ventrone may be hoping that he can help fill the void left by Adams and Kunaszyk.
Both Diabate and Thomas were brought in after Ventrone and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz were hired. They’ve had a year in their respective systems. Now it’s time for these two to start showing how they can make an impact in order to make the strongest case to make the team’s opening day roster.
They are part of a competition that includes a plethora of linebackers without a ton of experience. Outside of their free agent signings of Jordan Hicks and Devin Bush, JOK and Tony Fields II have the most NFL experience. Both of them are entering the final year of their rookie contracts. The 26 snaps Diabate saw on defense last year are 26 more than everyone else in that position group, which includes Thomas, Caleb Johnson and rookies Winston Reid and Bookie Watson.
That translates into plenty of coaching and teaching from Tarver as well as Hicks and JOK, two guys expected to be leaders on the defense. That also means getting every rep possible, whether it’s in these OTAs or when the Browns open up training camp. It should come as no surprise that every linebacker is in attendance, trying to get better.
Especially if they plan to extend JOK, the Browns want to get lower cost players, hoping to develop talent within the organization. But since the Browns are entering year two with Schwartz and Ventrone, everyone is on a relatively even playing field outside of the two rookies. For Diabate and Thomas, that could be the perfect situation to grow their role and earn a spot on the active roster.