Cleveland Browns: Mack Wilson notices the haters

Mack Wilson is one of the most talked-about players on the Cleveland Browns roster, for better or for worse.

You can practically bet, responsibly, of course, that Wilson will send out a tweet and Browns Twitter will dissect it any which way, a lot of which is whether or not Wilson has been cut or traded. After the 2020 season, many fans wanted Wilson gone as he did not have a great season.

When it comes to Wilson, he notices all of the haters and uses it to fuel himself to get better each and every single day. He is a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and that can be both good and bad for young players.

It can be bad as that can ultimately consume them and have them lose focus on doing their jobs on the field. It can be good if a player can use it as motivation without letting it overcome them and worrying if anyone said anything bad about you on social media.

During his rookie campaign, Wilson showed promise. He played in all 16 games, starting in 14. He finished the season with one interception, a forced fumble, a sack, two quarterback hits, four tackles for losses, seven passes defensed, and 57 solo tackles.

In his sophomore campaign, Wilson took steps backward while dealing with injuries and personal issues. For the season, he was graded 41.9 defensively via Pro Football Focus, 37.7 rush defense-grade, 43.9 tackle, 72.2 pass rush, and 49.3 in coverage. He was graded the 94th out of an eligible 99 linebackers in the NFL.

That is a big reason many fans have wanted to see him be a cap casualty or dealt elsewhere. But rest assured, Wilson sees it and is striving to use to get better at the game of football for his team. He is constantly putting out videos and pictures of his workouts and his progression

On Sunday afternoon, Wilson yet again took to Twitter to get some things off his chest. One of his tweets said “I pay attention to everything,” and another said, “Love the doubt!” He even quote-tweeted a clip highlighting former Browns defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, where Wilson stuffed Titans running back Derrick Henry, saying “51 suck tho!”

https://twitter.com/5mackwilson1/status/1373723983573516288

He even tweeted out “Deaf ear to the doubters. Let’s elevate 5ive1! I’m right where I belong,” followed by a dog emoji, #RentDue, snake emoji accompanied with a highlight video of his best work with the song “Doubted Me” by Money Man playing.

https://twitter.com/5mackwilson1/status/1373787411990245380?s=20

Cleveland recently signed veteran linebacker Anthony Walker to a one-year deal. His former teammate, All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard, tweeted out a ton of praise for Walker both for his contributions on and off the field. Leonard said he wouldn’t be the player he was without Walker. Now, Wilson will get to pick the brain of Walker and apply it to his work ethic.

A good veteran presence is oftentimes exactly what a young player needs.

Wilson is only 23-years old and has plenty of time to figure things out. Wilson is beloved by half of the fanbase, but not so much by the other half. Wilson is very passionate about being a Cleveland Browns and representing the city. He gives it his all when he is between the white lines.

The former 5th round pick out of Alabama has a lot of good football ahead of him. This upcoming season could be a sink-or-swim for Wilson, but you can rest easy knowing he will continue to work until he reaches his goals, despite whatever the haters are saying.