Predicting the Cleveland Browns biggest moves in 2019 NFL Free Agency
By Randy Gurzi
Dorsey brings in Steven Nelson at cornerback
A product of Oregon State, cornerback Steven Nelson was selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by none other than John Dorsey. At the time, Dorsey was the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs and he liked the upside Nelson had. As a rookie, Nelson was a healthy scratch early as he was unable to win a backup job with Kansas City. He ended up playing in 12 games but was credited with just one tackle.
He then made some big strides the following offseason. Nelson moved into the starting lineup and had 64 tackles with a career-high 16 pass breakups. He was unable to expand upon that big season in 2017 as he missed seven games due to a neck injury. However, he came back better than ever last year as he started all 16 games for the Chiefs and recorded his first four career interceptions.
Now a free agent, it would be unsurprising to see Dorsey target someone he’s as familiar with as Nelson. He already did so in 2018 when he signed Terrance Mitchell who had a big season of his own in 2017 with the Chiefs. Like Nelson, Mitchell had a career-high four picks before hitting the open market and joining the Browns.
In Cleveland, Nelson should be able to start alongside Denzel Ward with Mitchell serving as the third corner in the rotation. This would be an improvement on their lineup from a season ago and makes an awful lot of sense.