The Cleveland Browns are urged to make a bold move to bolster their defense during the 2026 NFL season.
Cleveland’s defense is already one of the best in the NFL, but the Browns did trade away Myles Garrett. Yet, the Browns were able to acquire Jared Verse in that trade to bolster their pass rush.
Cleveland is set to open its 2026 NFL season on Sept. 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Cleveland Browns Urged to Acquire Bud Dupree
The Browns already have a solid defense, but they still could look to bring in more help on the defensive line.
NFL analyst Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report believes the Browns could look at the trade market to bolster the defensive line.
“Because replacing Myles Garrett is hard. It became even harder when Alex Wright, fresh off a three-year, $33 million contract extension in November, suffered a ruptured Achilles in practice. The Browns have since added Derek Barnett and Sam Williams off waivers. That isn’t likely to be enough to get them through the season with a viable pass rush,” Ballentine wrote.
If Cleveland does look to acquire a pass rusher, Ballentine believes they should take a flier on Bud Dupree, who’s entering his 12th NFL season.
“The Browns shouldn’t be taking too big of a swing here. There’s still money invested in Wright and they’ll have to hope he can come back from a devastating injury next season,” Ballentine added. “A 33-year-old veteran like Bud Dupree shouldn’t cost too much and the Chargers might want to clear more snaps for rookie Akheem Mesidor.”
Despite Dupree being 33-years-old, he’s still an effective pass rusher. He recorded 16 tackles and 2 sacks last season, but he should be good for around 6 sacks a year, which would bolster Cleveland’s defense.
Todd Monken Likes Cleveland’s Defense
The Browns defense has been one of the best in the NFL over the past couple of seasons, and that is expected to continue here.
Despite trading Garrett to the Rams, the Browns defense is still solid. Ahead of Week 1 against the Jaguars, Browns head coach Todd Monken believes the team’s defense is looking very good.
“I think we have a pretty good idea. We probably have more of an idea in terms of our personnel, per se, because we still go against each other. I think we’re pretty good on defense, we win against the Bills,” Monken said on Sept. 2.
“We have a little bit better idea of where we are personnel-wise, but until we actually play, until we actually see it come together. I’m not sure we’re there yet, but I like where we are at. I don’t mean that as a negative, I just mean we haven’t really played a game with our ones for 60-plus snaps and all the situations and the games within the game. So, we’ll find out in less than 12 days.”
The Browns are 7.5-point underdogs against the Jaguars in Week 1.
Browns Urged to Acquire 12-Year Veteran Pass Rusher to Bolster Defense