Biggest winners and losers from 2019 Cleveland Browns OTA’s

Losers: Terrance Mitchell and T.J. Carrie

Last year, Terrance Mitchell and T.J. Carrie were the No. 2 and No. 3 cornerbacks on the Browns’ depth chart. And before OTA’s started, that is where it seemed like they were going to be slotted on the depth chart for the 2019 season.

However, after the two weeks of OTA’s, there is a chance both players have a significant drop in playing time for 2019. Rookie Greedy Williams started to get more work with the first-team defense, pushing both Carrie and Mitchell into having roles in sub packages.

But with Wilks wanting to play an extra defensive back on the field often and Jermaine Whitehead emerging as that player, both Carrie and Mitchell may be forced to be rotational players.

If the Browns are comfortable with Whitehead covering the slot, it does not force Cleveland to rotate another cornerback into the game for sub packages. They will already have their “nickel corner” on the field with Whitehead.

And if the Browns believe Williams has adjusted to playing against NFL wide receivers by the time the season starts, it makes sense to start him opposite of Denzel Ward. Since Williams was already with the starters, they may already be starting to get comfortable with Williams starting.

This is not to say Mitchell and Carrie will have no roles in the defense, but they are seeing their roles potentially have dramatic role changes next season.

Injuries obviously happen, especially in the secondary, so Carrie and Mitchell will not be relegated to being rotational players all year long. But after the emergence of players during OTA’s, both players could see a big change in their roles for 2019.