One move the Browns need to make to get to Superbowl LVI
By Josh Brown
![Cleveland Browns free safety Andrew Sendejo (23) intercepts a pass intended for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Collin Johnson (19) on a two-point conversion attempt during late fourth quarter action. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Cleveland Browns Sunday, November 29, 2020, at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars trailed 13 to 17 at the end of the first half, took a short-lived lead in the third quarter but lost with a final score of 25 to 27 to the Browns. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fhttps-3A-2F-2Fdawgpounddaily-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2017-2F07-2F15529848-850x560-f6c7d401c6db79ab967f6b2da1ea4209ba7861921e63a9bf12c32c317c810230.jpg "Cleveland Browns free safety Andrew Sendejo (23) intercepts a pass intended for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Collin Johnson (19) on a two-point conversion attempt during late fourth quarter action. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Cleveland Browns Sunday, November 29, 2020, at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars trailed 13 to 17 at the end of the first half, took a short-lived lead in the third quarter but lost with a final score of 25 to 27 to the Browns. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]")
It must be the secondary then, right?
If the linebackers are not the problem, it must be the secondary that needs a lift in 2021. The secondary struggled all year to stop opposing passing attacks consistently. The talent on the back end must be what needs to improve for the Browns.
We all know the type of season Andrew Sendejo had, so no need to rehash all that. Terrance Mitchell stepped in at cornerback and played valiantly but gave up a QB rating per Pro Football Reference of 105.8 and six touchdowns. He did only allow a 58.6 percent completion rate, so it was not all bad.
Injuries to Kevin Johnson, Greedy Willaims, and Denzel Ward forced Tavierre Thomas into some work at cornerback, and the results were a bit ugly. In just over 200 snaps, Thomas would allow a completion rate of 79.2 percent, giving up one touchdown and a 113.2 QB rating. While he struggled at corner, Thomas was a special teams ace for Cleveland and should be back.
Another player that spent most of the season struggling was free-agent safety, Karl Joseph. Joseph ended 2020 with an overall grade of 53.3 from Pro Football Focus, easily the lowest of his career, placing him as one of the worst graded safeties in the NFL. Joseph did show some signs of life over the final three or four games with some of his best performances. Maybe he finally found his way in Joe Woods defense and could be back. That is for another article.
The last piece to the secondary is Denzel Ward, and, aside from injuries, there is no concern when it comes to getting the job done. Ward once again graded out well and was the most consistent player next to Myles Garrett on defense. It would be nice to see a 16 game season out of the star corner before dropping a huge contract to keep him in Cleveland long term.
Based on all of this, it must be the secondary that Rosenthal points to as the problem, right? Actually, no again. I guess he sees Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit’s potential return, along with better health, as a potential fix heading into 2021. So if it is not the linebackers and not the secondary, what could the Browns need to put them over the top?
The defense was the Browns’ clear weakness in 2020. It could not be something on offense that needs to change to take this team to the next level, could it?