Cleveland Browns position battles to watch in 2019 minicamp
By Shane Carter
Cornerback: Greedy Williams vs. Terrance Mitchell
Denzel Ward is the obvious No. 1 corner on this team, and will eventually be fighting for the title of best corner in the league in the coming season. However, he can’t do it alone.
Injuries hurt this team’s secondary last season and made this an obvious need in the off-season, which makes the team’s first selection of Greedy Williams all the more important.
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T.J. Carrie is a solid nickel corner, who’s under contract, and isn’t going anywhere. That leaves the only starting spot on the opposite side.
Terrance Mitchell is very good in coverage but his health could be a big factor going into 2019, despite being the favorite to win the job. Working in his favor it the glaring weakness with their second-round rookie. Tackling. If Greedy Williams can’t learn to tackle by the start of the season, this competition is over.
Kicker: Greg Joseph vs. Austin Seibert
An argument can be made that if Greg Joseph had been the kicker from day one, the team would’ve beaten Pittsburgh and New Orleans in their first two games and finish the year 9-7. Instead, Greg Joseph didn’t show until week three, the same debut as Baker Mayfield.
Over a solid rookie season, he made 17-of-20 field goals (85 percent) with a long of 51 yards but had a costly miss in the season finale against Baltimore. He was also 25-of-29 of extra points (86.2 percent).
Austin Seibert might be a simple competition draft pick but that’s unlikely. Aside from showing off his athleticism by competing in ‘American Ninja Warrior’, he is the most successful kicker in NCAA history, scoring 499 points by himself.
No one really cares about kickers until you need one so while this battle won’t wow anyone, but it’s one worth watching. This team is ready to compete for the postseason and you need a good, reliable kicker to end games in the final seconds to do so.