Cleveland Browns: 3 trade targets in the event of a Minnesota Vikings fire sale

S Harrison Smith

Harrison Smith has been one of the league’s elite safeties for the past nine years. Like Harris, it doesn’t matter if he’s in the box helping against the run or playing single-high; Smith does it very well. He’d allow Joe Woods to get more creative with his packages and calls, knowing he has a veteran who can be relied upon not to give up big plays, and just as importantly, to make big plays for the defense.

Smith is going on 32 and will bring with him a cap hit of around $10 million in 2021 before hitting the open market in 2022. But it’s likely he’s already signed the last big contract of his career, so it’s entirely possible that he would agree to a team-friendly extension.

Having Smith and Grant Delpit as two starting safeties would do wonders for this Browns defense, and it would eliminate the need to take one early in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Browns clearly prioritize the secondary and defensive line, but there is a lack of long-term solutions at both position groups as things currently stand. Smith would help change that; he’d fill the Andrew Sendejo role, but would do it at a much higher level.