Some info on new Browns...
NT Carl Davis
26 years old, 6'5", 320 lbs. Fourth year player out of Iowa. Drafted 90th overall (3rd round) in 2015 by the Ravens. Played in 13 games with 3 starts as a rookie at nose tackle, logging 237 snaps on defense and another 65 on special teams. Badly injured his ankle in the Ravens preseason finale in 2016 and missed the entire year on injured reserve. Came back in 2017 to play in 15 games with 9 starts at nose tackle, logging 301 snaps defensively with another 51 on special teams.
Davis does not appear to be that much different from former Brown Danny Shelton. A solid run stopper who provides very little in the way of a pass rush despite what appears to be good athleticism relative to his size.
According to Field Yates, Davis was the most sought after player on waivers with four teams (Cle, Wash, Mia, Cin) submitting claims.
I think it's very possible that Davis ends up "starting" for the Browns at nose tackle, but given his lack of a pass rushing presence, he's not likely to play more than 30-40% of the team's defensive snaps.
DL Ifeadi Odenigbo
24 years old, 6'3" listed 258 lbs a year ago, now listed 275 lbs. Second year player of Northwestern. Drafted 220th overall (7th round) in 2017 by the Vikings. Spent the entire 2017 season on Minnesota's practice squad.
View: https://twitter.com/AndyCarlsonShow/status/1035939249223356418
View: https://twitter.com/AndyCarlsonShow/status/1036300350427459584
View: https://twitter.com/CourtneyRCronin/status/1035941438335401984
View: https://twitter.com/PFF_Neil/status/1036311593762603008
View: https://twitter.com/CoreyWootton/status/1036000497495404544
Interestingly enough, as you can see from the tweets and weights above, the Vikings asked Odenigbo to bulk up in an effort to play more 3 technique and the results appeared to be excellent in the preseason as he logged a pair of sacks and 8 other QB hits.
He'll likely be in the mix as a backup at 3T and DE.
Since the end of last season, the Browns have pretty dramatically overhauled their defensive line.
OUT
Danny Shelton
Carl Nassib
Tyrone Holmes
Nate Orchard
Caleb Brantley
TY McGill
Jamie Meder
IN
Ifeadi Odenigbo
Carl Davis
Devaroe Lawrence
Chad Thomas
Chris Smith
LB Tanner Vallejo
23 years old, 6'1" 230 lbs. Second year player out of Boise State. Drafted 195th overall (6th round) by Buffalo in 2017. Made the Bills roster out of camp and was a special teams stalwart, logging 256 special teams snaps which was 3rd most on the team. He also played 13 snaps defensively.
https://twitter.com/LBworld44/status/1036422228018122752
Not sure if he has the chops to be anything more than the No. 6 LB defensively, but he should see plenty of snaps on special teams.
DB Tavierre Thomas
22 years old. 6'0" 205 lbs. Undrafted rookie out of Ferris State. This kid walked on at D2 Ferris State and eventually became a back-to-back two-time Division II All-American. Finished his career with 14 interceptions and 35 PBUs. Great straight line speed (4.38 forty).
Not much to know about this kid, he played some in the preseason with the Cardinals reserves. My guess is that the Browns wanted to sign him as an UDFA and the Cardinals either contacted him first or offered him slightly more money to come to their camp.
C Aaron Neary
25 years old. 6’3” 301 lbs. Third year player out of Eastern Washington. Undrafted in 2016, signed with the Broncos, but was released in final cuts. Eagles picked him up and he spent the entire 2016 season on their practice squad. Went to camp with Philly, but was let go in final cuts in 2017. The Rams claimed him and he spent the majority of the season on their practice squad before being promoted to the active roster to start in week 17 when the Rams sat most of their regulars.
Rams drafted a center in the 4th round in 2018 which pretty much put the writing on the wall for Neary's future there. He actually worked at LG some during the preseason, but it was clear he wasn't going to make it given what the Rams drafted.