Jabrill Peppers starting to get his mojo working

Cleveland Browns safety Jabrill Peppers has gotten off to a slow start, but a solid day of practice may have been enough for him to get his mojo back.

The Cleveland Browns selected safety Jabrill Peppers in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft with the idea that he would impact the secondary the same way fellow first-round selection Myles Garrett would transform the defensive line.

Garrett has lived up to his end of the bargain so far, but the going has been a bit slower for Peppers, who was on the field for just 16 defensive snaps in the preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints.

That taste of the field appears to have been enough for Peppers to get his mojo back, however, as he has been the talk of practice on Monday after laying a big hit on wide receiver Rannell Hall and picking off a pass from quarterback Brock Osweiler.

As his time with the first-team defense increases, Peppers is doing what he can to interject some spice into a Browns team that is in desperate need of an identity, according to clevelandbrowns.com:

"“I just wanted to bring some juice and help the guys get going on both sides of the ball. It’s all competition, but at the end of the day, we’re a team. (The offense is) going to feed off of us and we feed off them. That was just my main thing was just try to be in the right spots at the right time and play fast. Coach always says good things happen when you play fast. That was just my main objective.”"

The Browns released their unofficial depth chart on Tuesday for next week’s preseason game against the New York Giants, and while Peppers is still listed behind Derrick Kindred at one of the safety positions, his versatility will not keep him on the sidelines for long, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams told the team’s website:

"“Do you know the definition of what kind of position he is playing? He is a football player. He can play football. He has been a joy to be around, too. He has been really focused in the meetings. He has been really focused in practice. He is starting to take advantage of a few snaps with guys who are going to be kept in the league. Every day is an interview now. If we have a setback before we ever come out here, then they will stand by me and wait until it starts getting right again.”"

It has taken Peppers a few weeks to get his game going, but now that he is starting to show what he can do there may be no holding him back.

Next: The battle for right tackle is over

And if Monday’s practice is any indication, Peppers may have a few highlight plays in store for the Giants come Monday night.