Cleveland Browns need Trevon Coley to come up big in more appropriate role

In the course of two seasons, Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Trevon Coley went from nice, young defensive tackle pick up that didn't cost anything to overwhelmed and underproductive starter. Coley didn't really change that much, but the situation around him certainly did.

Coley was brought in to see if he could contribute on the defensive line and found snaps, ultimately leading the defensive tackle position in 2017. He looked the part of someone who had some potential and might evolve into a solid contributor. In 2018, the Browns had far less defensive tackle depth and less help, leaving Coley to be exposed and revealing a massive weakness at the 3-tech defensive tackle position.

The Browns responded by going out and signing Sheldon Richardson to start there. Now, Coley finds himself in a position competing for a roster spot, but in a situation that's far more suited to his abilities.

The biggest thing that works in Coley's favor to make the Browns this year and be the primary 3-tech is his experience. The past two seasons, Coley has played a combined 1,270 snaps. After Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi, the other four defensive tackles on the Browns roster have combined for 687 career snaps and 301 of those are from Carl Davis as a member of the Baltimore Ravens in 2017.

In that sense, despite being only 25 years old, Coley feels like a savvy veteran and the hope is that moving to more of a rotational role and continued development, Coley will thrive.

He does have the athletic makeup to be an effective penetrater in Steve Wilks' defensive scheme, but he needs to play and produce better after having just half a sack and half a tackle for loss in 2018.

The Browns need Coley to look good in training camp because as the roster is currently constituted, any meaningful help is likely to come from another team. And the backup defensive tackle position is one of the most concerning areas on the team as a whole. Obviously, with substantially more talent and the expectations that come with them, the areas of weakness stand out and are more difficult to overlook.

Coley is seemingly set up to have a far better 2019, but he needs to go out and justify their faith in him, so they don't need to be chasing back end help on the cusp of the season.