5 players who Browns need to be great in 2019

1. Olivier Vernon, Edge

In his first four years in the NFL, Olivier Vernon gathered 29 sacks in 64 games for the Miami Dolphins. He cashed that out as a free agent and inked a five-year deal worth $85 million with the New York Giants in 2016.

Vernon proved that worth in his first year with the Giants. He had 8.5 sacks in 16 games for a team that went to the playoffs. He was a force all season as a speed rusher off the edge.

After that, Vernon only played in 23 games in two years, but he did rack up 13.5 sacks in that time. Last season when he was healthy enough to play he was undisciplined in games, which led to a lot of penalties.

Dave Gettleman wanted to move on and rid of his contract this offseason, but he thought he would have to release him due to the amount of money left on his deal. Dorsey proved that theory wrong as he called up Gettleman and cut a deal to bring Vernon to Cleveland.

There are a lot of contingencies for the Browns and their defense this year. Ward and his ability to build off his rookie year and Richardson solidifying the interior defensive line are two of those contingencies that have already been discussed.

Ultimately, Vernon is the biggest contingency of all. The Browns had 37 team sacks last season, which tied them with a few teams at 22nd in the league. Garrett had 13.5 of those.

If Vernon sets the edge and provides the type pressure he did when he was healthy a few years ago, the Browns defense can absolutely take off. Offensive coordinators will lose sleep attempting to find ways to stop both Vernon and Garrett if Vernon holds up his end of the bargain.