Cleveland Browns free agency 2019: Top 5 targets

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 28: Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright (50) waits for the play during a regular season game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Detroit Lions on October 28, 2018 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 30: Houston Texans Defensive End Christian Covington (95) warms up before the football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans on December 30, 2018 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

4. Christian Covington, defensive end

Stopping the run will be critical to the Browns’ success in 2019 and while some free agents like Grady Jarrett could quickly get too expensive for the team’s liking, Houston’s Christian Covington could represent a cost-effective solution.

Covington has served primarily as a rotational player since being selected in the seventh round out of Rice in 2015, bt offers plenty of upside to help solve Cleveland’s problems on the defensive interior.

With an impending draft class that is loaded with talent on the defensive front, John Dorsey could very well choose to stock the defensive line with more value than paying a massive contract to a player like the aforementioned Jarrett. The team has done an excellent job at identifying talent on the edge, but the same hasn’t been true for disruptive players on the interior.

Per Football Outsiders, Cleveland ranked 26th in the NFL in team rush defense and Covington is a big body in the middle who also offers some upside as a pass rusher. He won’t turn 26 until midway through next season, so pairing Covington with Larry Ogunjobi as a cost-effective interior solution will allow them the flexibility to pad other roster holes or through the draft.

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