Community Convo: Who gets the green dot on defense?

One of the best things about the Cleveland Browns is the community that they create around the team. Whether it is in the Dawg Pound, with neighbors, a Backers Club around the world or on the world wide web, Browns fans are top tier.

We’ve had community conversations here over the last week that has led to some great back and forths. July 4th menu planning had some interesting choices while the discussion of who should return punts focused mostly on Jakeem Grant.

There is a lot of cautious excitement in Cleveland about the 2023 NFL season. That cautious excitement, after last year’s struggles, is due to the improved Browns roster and the additions of DC Jim Schwartz and special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone.

Cleveland’s roster upgrades really focused on the defensive line. After DC Joe Woods’ failures, it is assumed that anything would be better. Given Schwartz’s pedigree, it should be much better.

While there are still questions on the roster, one that we haven’t seen discussed much is who would be the player responsible for calling the defense on the field. The “green dot” was a discussion the last two seasons with LB Anthony Walker Jr. and safety John Johnson III considered for the role.

Due to injuries, a lot of players held the green dot in 2022.

Who should get the role in 2023?

• Anthony Walker Jr. - Coming back from injury, Walker would seem to be the front runner as the team’s middle linebacker but is he ready to play right away, is his starting job guaranteed and does he have any kind of future after this season?
• Juan Thornhill - Replacing JJ3, we add Thornhill to this discussion as safeties are generally on the field a vast majority of snaps. While linebackers normally hold the play-calling duties, Thornhill, like Johnson, could be the exception.
• Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah - Unlike Walker, JOK is healthy going into the season, is guaranteed to start and is an important part of the defense. Generally, middle linebackers get the call but Owusu-Koramoah will rarely come off the field and could take control of the defense.
• Sione Takitaki - Adding a fourth option in Takitaki who some wonder if he could compete for the starting MLB job even though he’s been a SAM his entire pro career, basically. Unfortunately for Takitaki, his ACL tear occurred in December making it highly unlikely he starts the season on the 53-man roster much less calling plays.

Who do you think should get the green dot honors this season for Jim Schwartz’s Browns defense? Scroll down to our comment section and see what the other DBN community members think and join the conversation.