The past few offseasons have seen the Cleveland Browns devote a lot of resources to building up the defensive secondary. It’s paid off nicely for Cleveland already, and has the potential to soar even higher than the No. 3 ranking the Browns’ DBs earned from Pro Football Focus.
PFF’s latest rankings cover the defensive backfields. The Browns made the top tier, coming in third in the “where do offenses even attack?” subheading. It’s a valid question when facing a unit that trots out first-round CBs Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome in front of highly promising young safety combination John Johnson and Grant Delpit. With an ever-improving Greedy Williams in the slot, the Browns have rightly earned their place in the top three.
This unit not only has proven studs in Ward and Johnson, but also three ascending top-50 draft picks who have all played two or fewer NFL seasons. What this unit could be is scary to think about, as we already saw quality play from Newsome, Williams and Delpit down the stretch in 2021.
Even better, the Browns have enviable depth with the likes of Ronnie Harrison, A.J. Green and third-round rookie Martin Emerson all capable of playing bigger roles than projected.