We have reached the week of the first Browns preseason game of the 2015 season. It is finally football season in Cleveland! Over the last month or so, I previewed each of the Browns defensive and offensive positions. To wrap up the Browns preview series, I am going to take a larger view of the entire offense, defense and special teams units. We will first take a look at the talented defense of the Cleveland Browns.

2015 Browns Position Previews: Safeties | Cornerbacks | Inside Linebackers | Outside Linebackers | Defensive Line | Tight Ends/Fullbacks | Running Backs | Offensive Line | Wide Receivers | Quarterbacks

2015 Browns Unit Previews: Defense

The Defense

Key Additions

DT Danny Shelton (Draft – First Round from Washington)

DE Randy Starks (Free Agency – Miami Dolphins)

DE Xavier Cooper (Draft – Third Round from Washington State)

CB Tramon Williams (Free Agency – Green Bay Packers)

OLB Nate Orchard (Draft – Second Round from Utah)

Key Losses

DE Ahtyba Rubin (Free Agency – Seattle Seahawks)

S Jim Leonhard (Free Agency – Retirement)

CB Buster Skrine (Free Agency – New York Jets)

OLB Jabaal Sheard (Free Agency – New England Patriots)

My Projected Defensive Starting Lineup

Defensive Ends: Desmond Bryant and Randy Starks

Defensive Tackle: Danny Shelton

Outside Linebacker: Paul Kruger and Barkevious Mingo

Inside Linebackers: Karlos Dansby and Craig Robertson/Chris Kirksey (Split time)

Cornerbacks: Joe Haden and Tramon Williams

Safeties: Donte Whitner and Tashaun Gipson

Key Backups

Defensive Ends: John Hughes, Billy Winn, Xavier Cooper and Armonty Bryant (both DE/OLB)

Defensive Tackles: Phil Taylor and Ishmaa’ily Kitchen

Outside Linebackers: Armonty Bryant (both DE/OLB), Nate Orchard and Scott Solomon

Inside Linebackers: None

Cornerbacks: K’Waun Williams, Justin Gilbert and Pierre Desir

Safeties: Jordan Poyer

Breakout Player: Danny Shelton

Danny Shelton was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft to be the team’s rock in the middle of their defensive line. He is a freak athlete for a man his size at 6-foot-2, 339 pounds. His biggest role for the Browns this season will be helping seal the inside of the defensive line against the run. He can really pressure the backfield with his strength and rip away from blockers to get to the ball carrier. He can force a defense to double him, opening up opportunities for others on the defense. But, Shelton is also affective on passing downs, collapsing the pocket inside. So far this training camp, he has drawn rave reviews about his talent. I believe he will be an immediate starter and productive player who will help shore up last season’s struggling run defense. Shelton has talent to man the middle of the Browns defensive line for many years to come.

Biggest Improvement: Run Defense

One of the biggest reasons the run defense should be improved is because of the player I tabbed as the breakout player of the defense, Danny Shelton. The addition of Shelton is a huge piece to solving the porous run defense. A run stuffing nose tackle in a 3-4 defense is the biggest cog in being successful against the run. Only key to the hopeful improvement of the run defense is that the defensive line has more depth than last season and the line is healthy. The defensive line was ravaged with injuries last season, killing the depth of the line. The last part that should contribute to the improved run defense is that the team will be more acquainted with Mike Pettine’s defense in year two. The players will be more confortable, which should help the defenders play better in the system.

Biggest Strength: Secondary

The Browns secondary may be one of the best in the league with a lot of talent at every position. Last season, the Browns allowed the eighth fewest passing yards per game in the entire NFL. That was in year one of Mike Pettine’s defense and with a lot of first year secondary players contributing. This season the Browns will be more experienced in the secondary after a year in the system. Also, the swap of Buster Skrine for Tramon Williams is an improvement to the cornerback group. Williams is a better player who adds playmaking ability and experience to the secondary. I haven’t even mentioned the Pro Bowl talent of Joe Haden, Donte Whitner and Tashaun Gipson who are the backbone of the Browns secondary. The Browns have a stud corner in Joe Haden, an experienced veteran in Williams, the depth of young cornerback talent behind the starters and two Pro Bowl level safeties. These players could make the Browns defense one of the hardest to throw against in the league.

Biggest Weakness: Pass Rush

The Browns had only one real pass rushing threat last season, Paul Kruger. The team was 27th in sacks last season with Kruger leading the team with 11 sacks. Beyond Kruger, Desmond Bryant had five sacks with no other player having more than three sacks last season. The outside linebacker corp needs someone on the opposite side of Kruger to threaten the opposing team’s backfield. The pass rush was a one-man crew last season with not a lot of balance from the rest of the defense. But, the Browns did add Nate Orchard this offseason, along with Danny Shelton, Xavier Cooper and Randy Starks to give the pass rush a much-needed boost. The defense will look towards these new additions along with the returning defenders to improve on their pass rushing abilities. The excellent secondary of the Browns and the fact that they are entering year two under Pettine’s defense, should also help aid the improvement of this area.

Grade: A-

The Browns will look toward their defense to be the leading unit this coming season. With a rebuilding offense, the Browns defense will need to be strong to help win the ball games. The defense should be able to do this because of the multitude of talent throughout the defensive unit. It could be one of the best defenses the team has seen since 1999 and even one of the best defenses in the entire league.

This offseason the front office looked to fortify the Browns weakest areas on defense, the run defense and pass rush. To upgrade the run defense, the team added a run stout nose tackle in Danny Shelton along with better depth on the defensive line. To upgrade the pass rush, the Browns added Nate Orchard, Xavier Cooper, Randy Starks and Shelton. These two areas caused the defense to suffer dearly last season. If the Browns’ improvements to these areas are successful, the defense will be an incredibly tough defense to play against.

With the new additions and a year under their belt in Mike Pettine’s defense, the Browns defense should be improved over last season. The defense last season was already a solid one, so these improvements could elevate it to a very good one this season. The defense has depth throughout the roster with a lot of young talented players littered amongst the experienced veterans. It is a good combination of youth and experience. It will be fun to watch the defense come together this season and try to become one of the better defenses in the entire NFL.

All stats (unless noted otherwise) are from ESPN.com