Cleveland Browns: Studs and duds in Week 14 win over Carolina
By Randy Gurzi
Stud: Damarious Randall, Free Safety
Last season, the Cleveland Browns waited until the second round to go for a quarterback — which was a mistake. Sure, in the end, it all worked out as they have Baker Mayfield now and he’s the new king of Cleveland. But we can still look at how 2017 unfolded and admit it was done wrong.
They passed on a couple of options like Deshaun Watson and ended up taking Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer on day two. The scouting report on Kizer was that he had plenty of skill, but was also very raw. He played just two seasons for the Irish, but former head coach Hue Jackson still inserted him as the day one starter. Unsurprisingly, it was a disaster.
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Now, onto the good news in regard to that move. John Dorsey sent Kizer away and in return, the Browns landed defensive back Damarious Randall. A former first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers, Randall proved to be a ball hawk at corner in the NFL, but Cleveland liked him at free safety, which was the position he played collegially at Arizona State University.
That proved to be a great move. Randall is still the same ball hawk he was in Green Bay, but he’s also just a better overall player sitting back as a centerfielder. Not only that, but he’s helped Jabrill Peppers improve as he moved to strong safety.
This week, Randall again stepped up and found himself involved in several plays. He finished with nine tackles and a pass deflection, but it was the last defensive play that stood out. With a six-point lead, Carolina was trying to get the win late, but Randall stepped up and picked the pass off to seal the win.