Cleveland Browns: 3 safeties to target on Day 2
By Sam Penix
The Cleveland Browns now have a solid safety room after the addition of John Johnson III, but could still use help in Joe Woods’ defense. Here are three prospects who could be had on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Defense was general manager Andrew Berry’s priority this offseason, and so far, he’s more than delivered. The Cleveland Browns have signed John Johnson III, Troy Hill, Takk McKinley, Malik Jackson, Anthony Walker, and Jadeveon Clowney to bolster their defense, and they still have an entire draft to do even more.
Defensive coordinator Joe Woods likes to run three or more safeties on the majority of snaps, and while Johnson and Ronnie Harrison are a very good starting tandem, Grant Delpit isn’t fully recovered from his torn Achilles yet, and even if he were, it makes a lot of sense to add a quality safety on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Here are three prospects who would be great fits.
3. Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State
A torn ACL robbed Hamsah Nasirildeen of all but two games in the 2020 season, which has caused some to forget about him, which the Browns won’t be complaining about if they can land him in Round 3.
He’s a big 6-foot-3, 215 pounds with solid movement skills for his size. He plays the ROVER position, which essentially makes him a hybrid between a traditional box safety and linebacker. He can rush the passer, provide run support at the line of scrimmage, and hold his own in man coverage.
Nasirildeen is the type of positionless defender that would be used as a chess piece in Woods’ defense, providing much more impact than a standard linebacker.