Danny Shelton, Jamar Taylor

Browns nose tackle Danny Shelton (55) has started to find his NFL footing in his second season with Cleveland.

(Ron Schwane, Associated Press)

BEREA, Ohio - The Browns had high hopes for second-year nose tackle Danny Shelton coming into the 2015 season. That hasn't changed now that Shelton is starting to show some signs he could be the player envisioned when he was picked No. 12 overall in the 2015 draft.

"When we came in, we asked him to make some changes to his game, his body and him to be a better player and we think he can be a Pro Bowl, dominant player," defensive coordinator Ray Horton said on Friday. "I don't want to put an undue burden on him, but that's what we feel. We're pushing him to be that."

Much was made this off-season of Shelton losing somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 pounds. Coaches and teammates raved about the difference. That difference has started to show up on the field, too, especially in the run game. Pro Football Focus tweeted out after the Browns' loss in Tennessee that Shelton "leads the NFL in run stop percentage at 15.8 percent and has the most run stops (23)." He was key to the Browns keeping Titans running back DeMarco Murray under wraps for most of Sunday's game.

"The run game is my priority," Shelton said. "I was drafted here to stop the run, so it's time for me to continue to do that."

Shelton credited Horton with changing his mentality, too, week-to-week.

"Going into this season one of my goals was to play every game like a Pro Bowler," he said. "So continue to strive to be a Pro Bowler, and one of the things I wrote early in training camp was to play every game, practice every practice like a first-rounder and be the first-round pick that 32 teams are going after."

"He has played extremely well the last three weeks and is getting better every day," head coach Hue Jackson said. "He understands the demand of his position and what is expected and starting to meet those demands. He is doing well."

"He is taking steps and becoming a leader," Horton said. "He's a very smart player. He works hard. He's got intensity. He's got range. We just want to see him continue that, not just be a guy that's up and down like a roller coaster but really be one of the best players."

Of course, all the Pro Bowl talk is nice, but the reality is that Shelton, for as well as he's played, still has a ways to go. He collected his first career sack on Sunday. He set a goal of five sacks coming into this season.

Horton said there needs to be more consistency from Shelton.

"There's ebbs and flows in games," Horton said, "and maybe it's the opponent that you're playing against that maybe gives you a blocking scheme or a double or maybe the guy, like a Pouncey or something like that, but for us to get where we want, we have to be very consistent."

"It's just a day-by-day thing," Shelton said. "You got to continue to have it in your game plan to be consistent."

"We're going to drive him for more," Horton said. "Is he playing better or is he playing well? Yes. Can he play better? I think the answer is, yes, he can play better, and that's what we're pushing him to do is be more dominant, more consistent."

If Shelton can become the player the Browns want him to be, though, it could be a game-changer for their defense.

"The way (a defense has) to block things is different," Jackson said. "He will force double teams where normally you wouldn't have to double team. He has been very disruptive in the middle of the line. He needs to continue to do so."

"If you can be a stud defensive nose in the AFC North," Horton said, "you can be a stud defensive nose in the NFL. That's what we're trying to push him to be."