Dorsey's Decisions Put Spotlight on Chad Thomas
The hatchet job done to the edge depth of the Cleveland Browns roster by general manager John Dorsey has put a spotlight on former third round pick Chad Thomas. Olivier Vernon's sprained knee kept him out of the victory against the Buffalo Bills and will at least keep him out for this short week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The hope is with another week and a half, he can return for the Miami Dolphins or at worst, the second matchup against the Steelers the week after that.
In the meantime, the Browns need Thomas to perform. In the second year of his NFL career, Thomas shown little if anything and his first career start against the Bills wasn't encouraging. Thomas got a sack in the game after Myles Garrett ran the entire arc, forcing Josh Allen into the waiting arms of Thomas for his second sack of the season. His best play of the game was a hustle play chasing a jet sweep out to his side and forcing tight end Lee Smith to commit a holding penalty.
Beyond that, he was largely a liability. Advertised as a good run defender by the Browns when he was drafted out of Miami, he wasn't able to prevent the Bills from running to his side. The pass rush was worse in that it was so ineffective, it enabled the Bills to shift their protections completely to Garrett's side, forcing him to work that much harder to impact the game. The victim of contrast, going from Vernon, who has been fantastic to Thomas, made it that much more glaring.
Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks utilized blitzes with defensive backs and stunts to try to create more from that side of the defense, which had inconsistent results. The good news for the Browns in that game is that Sheldon Richardson, often playing next to Thomas, was great.
As the Browns take on the Steelers, they need more out of Thomas. The hope is that he will be more comfortable and effective this week, having gotten his first start out of the way. If he's unable to play better, it puts the Browns in a bind.
The selection of Thomas has not been worthwhile to this point. Adding to the frustration is how Dorsey has handled the position since Thomas was drafted in 2018. Heading into that season, Dorsey opted to release Carl Nassib, who is currently a contributor for the Tampa Bay Bucs. This year, he traded Emmanuel Ogbah to the Kansas City Chiefs for Eric Murray before the season began. Ogbah was having a great season before he tore a pec in the past week and is out for the season as is likely Murray with a knee injury. Last but not least was the fact Dorsey traded Genard Avery to the Philadelphia Eagles several weeks ago.
Avery, Dorsey's own fifth round pick the same year he took Thomas, has been far better. This largely comes down to an argument about scheme versus talent, but unless Thomas plays significantly better, it won't matter that he fits the scheme if he doesn't belong on the field.
The decisions made by Dorsey over the last 18 months, getting rid of three different edge players that have been better than Thomas is hardly ideal. Adding to that, not only is the position worse off, but it's now a hole to address in the coming offseason.
Chris Smith is not likely to be back next year given his contract and his play (obviously the trauma in his personal life has been a factor), so the Browns will only be slated to have Garrett, Vernon and Thomas - two studs, one dud. They'll need to add at least one in the offseason. Ogbah will be a free agent and if he's cheap, maybe they simply bring him back but it's one more hole to address on a team that already is headed for a delicate offseason with pending free agents, the salary cap and holes the Browns will have to fill.
For now, no one will be cheering on Thomas to perform against the Steelers more than Dorsey. If Thomas can step up his play and help the Browns get a win tonight, it would take pressure off both of them as well as the team as a whole, moving them to 4-6 and keeping their dim playoff hopes alive.
