Lest we believe that Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry is only focused on offense, he made a defensive move today.
The Browns have agreed to terms with defensive tackle Taven Bryan on a one-year deal, as reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
The #Browns have agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth up to $5 million on DT Taven Bryan, according to his agents at @SPORTSTARSNYC. The former #Jaguars first-round pick is headed to Cleveland.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 14, 2022
Who Is Taven Bryan?
Bryan is a former first-round draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He was the No. 29 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Bryan played four seasons with the Jaguars; however, the team declined his fifth-year option making him a free agent at the end of the 2021 season.
He is a 6′ 5″ 295-pound defensive tackle originally from Casper, Wyoming.
Bryan played college football at the University of Florida.
For the Jaguars, he played in 63 career games.
He had 51 tackles, 25 quarterback hits, 15 tackles for a loss, and 5.5 sacks.
Every year Andrew Berry finds another former first round pick to take a shot on. Taven Bryan is a lottery ticket with no downside.
Love this move.
— Nick Karns (@karnsies817) March 14, 2022
What Happened In Jacksonville?
Bryan struggled to find his footing.
He was in jeopardy of not making the 53 man roster in 2021 due to an unspecified “off the field accident” that caused him to fail his physical last July.
Last season, the Jags defensive line coach talked about Bryan’s talent.
“The guy’s got extreme explosive attributes to him from an athletic standpoint. What we need to do is get him focused, confident of where he needs to align, assign and execute.”
Conclusion
With a one-year deal, Bryan sounds like a work-in-progress for Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin.
He is a former first-round pick so the Jaguars invested a lot in him throughout his career thus far.
#Browns Taven Bryan is a former first round pick that had a Relative Athletic Score of 9.91 (@MathBomb ). One could say he's underperformed relative to his draft stock thus far with 60 QB pressures on 821 pass-rush snaps and 48 defensive stops.
Fits the AB model.
— Cody Suek (@CodySuek) March 14, 2022
Now it is up to Kiffin to take it from there and make Bryan a superstar for the Browns.
This is just one hole on the defensive side of the ball that the Browns need to fill so there could be more free agents signed, or the team may wait for the NFL Draft to add more players.
NEXT: Report: Browns Have Interest In WR Allen Robinson
