4 ‘cheap’ free agent safeties Cleveland Browns could target
By Josh Brown
2. Keanu Neal
Keanu Neal is another former first-round pick that has dealt with injuries. Neal played in only four games in 2018 and 2019 before coming back and playing in 15 games in 2020. Neal excelled for Dan Quinn’s defense before the injuries started.
He flew all over making plays and making a pro bowl. Neal was taken 17th overall out of Florida by the Falcons for a reason. The talent is clearly there to make a difference at the safety position. After a solid 2020 season, Neal has the potential to be a huge steal if he is fully back to his old self in 2021.
In 2020 Neal was targeted 66 times and gave up just one touchdown placing the quarterback rating against him at 98.3. He also had a career-high nine tackles for loss, an interception, and two passes defended. Not bad for a player coming off only 203 snaps over the previous two seasons.
Neal makes sense for the Browns because they use concepts from the defense Neal was most successful in. Unless someone goes crazy, you will not need to overpay for him and could get a really high-end return. Neal also provides a wealth of experience and is still only 25 years old, so he falls into the analytics wheelhouse for players you want to sign.
Andrew Berry should at least make the call and see what it would take to turn this dirty bird into part of the dawg pound.
Contract Prediction: Two years $10 million with $6 million guaranteed