Cleveland Browns Garrett, Chubb, Johnson named to PFF Top 50 list

John Johnson at No. 41

If you have not been paying attention this off-season, you may not be aware that the Browns signed John Johnson III as a free agent this offseason. Johnson is kind of a hybrid who can play in the box at strong safety, at slot corner, or at free safety.

In the Browns 4-2-5, he will often take on the roles that used to be assigned to a linebacker. In a very real sense, he is the man who replaces Joe Schobert. He is a run-stuffing safety who can slow down the new breed of monster tight ends that seem to be proliferating in the NFL these days.

Pro Football Focus is not prejudiced against the Cleveland Browns per se, but they do have their own players who they seem to like more than the rest of the NFL community. Johnson would fit into that category, as he has never been voted to a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but he consistently rates highly in the PFF grading system. If anything, you could build a case that PFF is prejudiced in favor of our guy this time.

PFF tries to explain their intentions in setting up their grading system to measure each player’s effectiveness in carrying out each play of every NFL game. They are not really trying to evaluate the ability of the player, just the success — or lack of it — that the player has in carrying out the play.

Anyway, the point is that Johnson consistently generated fantastic grades while playing in the Rams defense in a variety of roles. He had 105 tackles last year with only eight misses. Those numbers are comparable to what might normally be expected from a linebacker.

However, the PFF50 is not primarily based on grading, it is based on truly being an outstanding player. So, you could argue at least hypothetically that maybe Johnson’s assignments were not the toughest, and that allowed him to get high grades. But that is not what PFF50 means. PFF is saying that Johnson is truly an outstanding player, regardless of what position you want to assign him to.

It’s understandable why he doesn’t make the All-Pro team at any one position. He is not a “true” strong safety, not a “true” free safety, not a “true” linebacker. He morphs into whatever is needed for the specific play, and for that reason he probably fits PFF50 better than any of the positional honors.

For the Cleveland Browns, Johnson will replace Andrew Sendejo, who really got an unfair rap from the fans in 2020. Sendejo was supposed to be an extra defensive back. He was not supposed to be the starter at all, Grant Delpit was. But Delpit suffered a season-ending injury and the Browns had to start a backup player.

If Sendejo played like a backup, it was because he was, in fact, a backup, and a bit past his prime. He gave100 percent and that is all we had a right to ask from him. Nevertheless, Johnson is a very significant upgrade. Think of Joe Schobert with a turbocharged Porsche engine.

The awards are nice. It means that some of the smartest, most savvy evaluators are looking at the Browns and seeing some serious talent now. Of course, that and $2.00 will get you a cup of coffee. It does not take the place of winning, but if it inspires some confidence among the fans, it is a good thing.

This fan does not believe in curses, but I do believe in complexes, and even the fan base needs to have confidence in the team because it is contagious. Confidence is the one thing that can destroy the loser’s complex.

Myles, Nick, and JJ have talent, confidence, and swag, and it is cool that PFF sees it too.