Cleveland Browns: Storylines to watch in Preseason Week 1
By Colin Damms
2. Joe Woods’ Defensive Debutants
The Browns defense has undergone a massive retooling. Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods has several new players to work with at all levels of the defense. Takk McKinley and Jadeveon Clowney offer something fierce to partner Myles Garrett as pass rushers, flanking some fresh faces at the heart of the front 7 as well.
Anthony Walker Jr. brings experience and leadership to a linebacker corps that also adds talented rookies Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Tony Fields II (who is currently injured). And last but far from least is the secondary, which sees new additions come in from free agency and both the 2021 and 2020 NFL Drafts.
John Johnson III was electric in his time at the Rams, and now comes in to lead a young secondary at just 25 years of age. He is joined by veteran corner and Rams teammate Troy Hill, who led the league in defensive touchdowns in 2020. Out of the draft comes 2021 first Greg Newsome, who was a shutdown corner at Northwestern and member of two teams that made it to the Big Ten Championship Game (both losses to Ohio State). Then there is the case of Grant Delpit, the 2020 2nd round pick out of the prestigious no. 7 LSU club who missed his entire rookie season due to an Achilles tear.
It is unlikely we see a ton of action, if any, from the premier talent in this new bunch, but the game time will be a nice opportunity to test so many new players and schemes in Woods’ system. The Browns struggled more than a few times to stop teams on key third downs last season, and often the offense found themselves under pressure to keep scoring. On paper, the new additions vastly improve the defense, but there’s no way to know until it’s tested on the field.