Browns' Defensive Snap Counts and Stats vs. Falcons

Below, we analyze the snap counts on defense for the Cleveland Browns' first preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Defensive Line

Danny Shelton saw some reps in the second half (beyond his first-team reps), which was a little interesting. Emmanuel Ogbah was a bit less visible this week, despite having the most snaps, but the same can't be said for Carl Nassib. Even though Nassib only had one tackle, he had several disruptive plays. He had a second sack where he was unblocked off the edge on third down, but it was wiped away due to a Justin Gilbert penalty.

Outside Linebacker

Cam Johnson has quietly put together two solid football games, including three quarterback hits against Atlanta. He's probably going to make this team, and it could be in favor of Barkevious Mingo. I'm still holding out hope for Mingo to be effectively weaponized by Ray Horton, but he seemed to have a demotion on the depth chart this week. Despite that, he had a good spurt once he did enter the game.

Inside Linebacker

Demario Davis can lay the big hit. Tank Carder saw the fewest snaps, but had a couple of nice plays, one in pursuit on a run to the edge, and the other on nearly deflecting a pass. Dominique Alexander led the team with six tackles, but he's probably still more of a practice squad candidate. It's hard to get a pulse on what the staff thinks of Scooby Wright so far.

Safety

It was a rough game for Rahim Moore. Although he brought a physical presence, he completely whiffed on a sideline run that made you go, "how did he not just shove the guy out of bounds?" The rest of the safeties looked pretty good, and I think this was the best positional unit of the game on defense.

Cornerback

Like Mingo, I keep rooting for Justin Gilbert to be better because it would salvage something after so many first-round failures. He missed a tackle on the edge on a run play, which led to a touchdown, and he had an illegal contact penalty. He also broke up a pass. We haven't seen him tested deep yet, though, which is often where he can get lost. Jamar Taylor had some good plays, but also allowed his receiver  to get a good inside track a couple of times.