Why the Cleveland Browns Defense can be ELITE in 2021

Cleveland Browns defensive backs

Even with a talented defense front 7, The Browns secondary has a good shot at becoming the defense’s strong suit for this upcoming season.

At the safety position, the Browns added former Rams standout John Johnson this offseason which is likely the biggest move that the Browns made. Johnson was a leader and the signal-caller for the Rams dominant defense last season. At only 25 years old, he still has many really good years of football ahead of him. Being a leader at that age can do wonders for a team.

The team also has rookie Grant Delpit coming back off of an Achilles injury. Delpit was ready to make an impact right off of the bat last year before he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the early parts of training camp. He has spent a lot of time rehabbing and was ready to get back onto the field until it was revealed that he suffered a hamstring injury in practice which is pushing back his return.

Lucky for the Browns, they have another really good safety in Ronnie Harrison to fill in while Delpit is on the sideline. Harrison was traded to the Browns from the Jaguars last offseason in what seemed like a Jaguars fire sale. Of course, Andrew Berry took advantage of that and made a move for the young safety. Harrison played a pretty big role in the team’s defense last season and is expecting to have an even bigger impact this year.

Once fully healthy, the safety trio of Johnson, Harrison, and Delpit could be best in the league and opposing offenses should be scared if all three of them are on the field at the same time which is something defensive coordinator Joe Woods really wants to do.

At cornerback, the Browns added Troy Hill (a former Ram as well) to a room that was in need of some depth.

"“Hill, 29, led the NFL last season with 119 yards off interception returns. He also led the league with two interception returns for touchdowns. Hill also returned a fumble 20 yards for a score in the Rams’ Week 12 loss to the 49ers. In 16 games last season, Hill picked off three passes, broke up 10 and tallied a career-high 77 tackles. HIs play helped the Rams reach the divisional round of the playoffs after a one-year absence.” – Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports"

When you add what seems to be an already matured rookie cornerback Greg Newsome into the mix and have him learn from a star in Denzel Ward, the cornerback room seems like it can really turn a corner and shut down opposing wide receivers this season.

With a mixture of depth players, rookies who are waiting for a chance to prove themselves with sky-high potential, and standout players, the Browns can have a top defense to go along with a star-studded offense which makes a potential run at the Super Bowl more and more likely.