The Cleveland Browns knew if they wanted to reach their full potential in the 2023 season, changes had to be made defensively. While a lot of people were focusing on the offense and if Deshaun Watson would regain the form he showed earlier in his career with the Houston Texans, the key to this team’s success was improvement defensively.
Cleveland was active in the offseason upgrading the talent on that side of the ball. Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson was the biggest signing to shore up the middle of the defense along with edge rusher Ogbonnia Okonkwo. Linebacker Anthony Walker, cornerback Mike Ford and safeties Juan Thornhill and Rodney McLeod were also signed to fill out the unit around star Myles Garrett.
That commitment has gone a long way to improving the performance of Cleveland’s defense. But, the most impactful addition that the team made was bringing in Jim Schwartz to be the team’s defensive coordinator.
Schwartz has an impressive resume when it comes to overseeing defenses, as units turn things around almost instantly when he takes over. That has been the case for the Browns, who sport arguably the best defense in the NFL thus far in 2023.
The Browns are 9th in overall defensive grade per PFF, buoyed by an elite 90.0 pass-rushing grade, which is third in the league. Getting into the backfield and creating chaos is a good way to find success defensively and there aren’t many teams in the NFL who do it better than Cleveland.
Their dominance was on full display this past weekend when they hosted the San Francisco 49ers. There are some people who will diminish their performance since running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel both exited the game with injuries.
But this was a 49ers team that had scored 30+ points in all five games up to that point, so the Browns deserve some credit for holding them to 17. A missed kick by Jake Moody as time expired led to them pulling off the 19-17 upset win.
Calling Schwartz the best addition in the NFL this offseason wouldn’t be a stretch. The proof is in the pudding as the Browns have improved drastically across the board defensively. Some of that has to do with the infusion of talent, but Schwartz is the person who has brought it all together with an excellent scheme and game plan.
Cleveland currently ranks No. 1 in defensive efficiency according to ESPN’s Power Football Index. That is making up for their 30th-ranked offense this season. The defense is off to a historic start when it comes to yardage prevention, as the 1,002 yards they have allowed is the third least in the Super Bowl era through five games of a season.
If the Browns can figure things out offensively, they are going to be a very difficult team to face off against. This Cleveland defense is legit and is good enough to turn the team into contenders with just an average performance offensively.
