Despite the growing number of injuries to the Browns defensive line, Jim Schwartz is unconcerned about snap counts and rotations.

Despite the growing number of injuries to the Browns defensive line, Jim Schwartz is unconcerned about snap counts and rotations.

Jim Schwartz had anticipated this precise situation all along.

The Browns defensive coordinator’s methodical rotation of eight defensive linemen has been a major factor in his mastery of the position throughout the season.

 

Is it really so shocking that he anticipated that, should a string of

injuries occur, he would eventually need to rely more heavily on the players at the top of his depth chart?

We discussed Myles (Garrett) and some of the discipline from the beginning of the year, Schwartz said on Thursday. He took a lot of snaps in that game, but I can’t recall which one. That was prior to his shoulder injury. But as we mentioned earlier in the season, you can achieve that if you have the self-control to pace yourself occasionally. I believe we have profited from that, then. We’ve made an effort to limit their playing time, but as December and January football get closer, those players start to play better.

Cleveland is currently in this situation as a result of losing three defensive linemen in a single game.

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Maurice Hurst (pectoral) has surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle, and is out for the year. For the same reason, Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral) is probably out for the season. Jordan Elliott left Sunday’s

game and is still under concussion protocol. Not to mention that they’ve already had a scare when Garrett left the stadium in a sling after suffering a

severe injury to his left shoulder against the Broncos; he’s since returned, which is a break for everyone concerned.

Given those absences, it appears that the Browns’ best option going forward will be to increase the number of snaps that Garrett and Za’Darius Smith get.

With 628 defensive snaps this season, Garrett has played the most of any

Cleveland lineman, according to data from Pro Football Focus. That’s a pretty good job of controlling his workload

through 13 games; over the previous three seasons, he played at least 816 defensive snaps.

 

Smith, who starts opposite Garrett and Okoronkwo, who is the third edge rusher, (459 snaps) and Okoronkwo (432) are about equal.

 

This year, Alex Wright has been Schwartz’s fourth edge rusher; however, his snap total of just 199 indicates a decline.

Wright said, “I don’t look at it as I got more reps to do.” “Well, it’s your responsibility to make sure that things continue to pile up when called upon. I don’t consider it to be a lot of good things

happening to me. I simply see it as a game that we need to play and that the reps will come. I had to do what I had to

do in order to maximize each and every rep. That means I should just play each and every snap to the best of my abilities

Wright will probably get more snaps as a result, but rookie edge rusher Isaiah McGuire will probably also get more opportunities. The Missouri product has played 15 total snaps in just one game—the victory over the Cardinals—and is still active. Schwartz continues to bring up the way he bumped into quarterback Clayton Tune and forced an interception, but he did demonstrate something in that game.

On the interior, there’s an opportunity for another rookie too, in Siaki Ika — the

third-round selection who Schwartz promised during the draft that he would be a Ferrari in this system instead of a

dump truck. He hasn’t been active on any of the Browns’ 48-mangameday rosters this season with the D-line rotation set.

Ika told cleveland.com this week that he feels ready for the opportunity, and has taken as many mental reps as he can working with Hurst, Elliott, Dalvin Tomlinson and Shelby Harris.

Schwartz stated during the draft that Siaki Ika, a third-round pick, would be a Ferrari in this system rather than a dump truck. Siaki Ika presents another

rookie opportunity on the interior. With the D-line rotation locked in, he hasn’t played on any of the Browns’ 48-man gameday rosters this season.

This week, Ika told Cleveland.com that he felt prepared for the chance and that

he had put in as much mental practice as he could with Hurst, Elliott, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Shelby Harris.

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