You know it is going to be a quite competitive list when Los Angeles Chargers star safety Derwin James is #13 on it.
Touchdown Wire, our sister site, has started their annual look at the top players as different positions in the NFL with the safety group. A unique and diverse group, they start the piece by noting that only five of the 11 players from last year’s list remain on the expanded list this year.
Last year, Cleveland Browns newest safety John Johnson III was ranked as the sixth-best safety in the NFL. Seen as a “major upgrade,” Johnson struggled in the first half of the season before putting things together as the year went on.
Going into 2022, Johnson misses the list despite it being expanded to 13 players.
Two AFC North safeties, Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and new Baltimore signee Marcus Williams, made the list as did both Buffalo Bills safeties.
It is at the top of the list that we find former Browns DB Jordan Poyer. Poyer was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles as a cornerback before being waived by the team after a few games. Cleveland claimed Poyer and moved him to safety.
Poyer’s three-plus years with the Browns were largely unremarkable with his career taking off after signing a four-year, $13 million deal with the Bills in 2017. With Buffalo, Poyer pairs with Micah Hyde to give the team the only pair of safeties to both make this year’s top safety list.
If Johnson has a full season like he did the second half of 2021, we can expect him to return to his rightful place on these lists. If not, Cleveland could be in some trouble.