BILLINGS PRO FOOTBAL SATURDAY PLUS

He also forced two fumbles.Īs noted in an earlier piece, the disruptive numbers here are what stand out. In his three seasons, Billings had 74 tackles including a whopping 30 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. For those unfamiliar with Henry, he was dubbed 'The World's Strongest Man' and competed for years in the WWE:Ĭoming out of Baylor, Billings was a massive, agile defensive lineman. The Waco, Texas native played on both sides of the line, like most high schoolers but was recruited primarily for his defense.īillings also broke Mark Henry's Texas powerlifting record while in high school.

The Browns, and their fans, are hoping for the positive for Billings.Īndrew Billings was considered a four-star prospect coming out of high school and was ranked 252 in ESPN's Top 300. Likely, some will benefit greatly while others could struggle with lingering issues after a year off. After banging on the interior in college for three years at Baylor and another three seasons in the pros (Billings missed his rookie year with a torn meniscus), a year off may have helped heal up any issues and help him be fresh for 2021.įor Billings, and others who opted out, it will be interesting to watch how the year off impacts them.

BILLINGS PRO FOOTBAL SATURDAY PLUS

On the plus side for Billings and the Browns is the year of rest that his body was able to get. For linemen, on both sides of the ball, conditioning can be difficult to maintain outside of the structure of a season. Soft tissue injuries in particular are concerning. On the field, there are always concerns when players return from missed time. While 2020 was rarely 'normal' or 'routine,' Billings' was significantly different than anything he's experienced in his adult life. While Billings may have done everything he can to keep in great shape, there is no substitute for being on the field with your teammates, working together in the weight and training rooms, and being engaged in the daily routines of NFL life. Billings was not around the team, not able to work with the training staff, and lost much of the routine that is established by most NFL players. Opting out due to COVID-19 was completely different than missing a season due to injury. Many players have missed whole seasons due to injury or suspension and returned the following season. It is important to note that Billings' year off could be significant but is a big unknown as well. That puts a lot of hope on Richardson bouncing back, the development of Elliott and Taylor as well as Billings debut/return to the team. With resources needed for cornerbacks, safeties, and edge players, as well as the possibility of adding to the linebacker spot, the interior defensive line could be ignored. In 2021, the Browns have a variety of needs on the defensive side of the ball which could lead to them rolling out a similar group of defensive tackles. In 2020, the Browns interior defensive line was the definition of middling. Ogunjobi and Elliott ranked 106 and 107, respectively, grading out at 51.4 and 51.3 while Taylor was graded at 57.0 overall but didn't have enough snaps to count in their rankings. Richardson ranked the highest with a 68.7 grade, good for 48th out of 126 interior defensive linemen. Pro Football Focus was not too high on any of the Browns players.

The two reserves combined for 27 tackles with Taylor adding 2 tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and a fumble recovery. Ogunjobi had 46 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, 6 quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. Richardson combined for 64 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, three pass deflections, and one forced fumble. Their stats didn't jump off the page in 2020. According to Pro Football Reference, Richardson led the way by playing 69% of the Browns defensive snaps while Ogunjobi took 57 percent, Elliott 27 percent, and Taylor 18 percent. Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi started while rookie Jordan Elliott and Vincent Taylor took snaps. Instead, Billings opted out of his contract due to COVID-19 concerns and the Browns went forward with the interior defensive linemen that were on the roster, for the most part. Goodson, and Kevin Johnson on one-year deals to come to Cleveland as new general manager Andrew Berry looked to buttress the defense in the short-term. Billings joined players like Karl Joseph, B.J. The Browns signed Billings away from the Cincinnati Bengals last offseason but only on a one-year deal for $3.5 million. (Photo: Courtesy of the Cleveland Browns)Īs we march through Defensive Tackle Week here at The OBR, one name continues to hover over the Cleveland Browns at that position: Andrew Billings.

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