Defensive line works with Jacques Cesaire and other practice notes

Over the last two days with the entirety of the defensive line back on the practice field, they have gone to work as a unit. It’s the first full look in the offseason with everyone present – from veterans in DE Myles Garrett, DE Za’Darius Smith, DT Shelby Harris to the rookie DT Mike Hall Jr. and new veteran addition DT Quinton Jefferson.

“Though we have a lot of consistency, we have a couple of new guys which we feel like are making some plays and going to help them and try to develop them in this culture as much as we can,” Garrett said. “I think a lot of guys really get it and understand the kind of urgency that we’re playing with and that we’re passionate with and we’ll get along very quickly. And that consistency helps build a culture in which we’ve been wanting to build for a while now, but it also builds that hunger because it’s the same group of guys, mostly the same group of guys, and we all want it, even worse than last.”

On the second day of minicamp, the defensive line worked through sled drills, which two players competed to see who came off the sled faster. The unit also went through a 1-on-1 pass rush drill, which saw new defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire lining up across from his players. They worked on pass rush moves against the bags and ended the drills with one focused on running around a hoop, picking up and dropping tennis balls in a specific location.

While the Browns’ defensive line found success last season, serving as the engine for the defense that led the league in multiple categories, Garrett knows that they can improve as a unit for the 2024 season. The D-line plays an important role in their overall success as a defense.

“We only had one year under (Jim) Schwartz,” Garrett said. “They did a hell of a job. And him having consistency up front and with the defense, he’s going to start dialing things up a little bit more, reaching more into his bag….