Cleveland Browns: 5 biggest areas of strength going into 2022 season
By John Suchan
Cleveland Browns biggest strength No. 4: Cornerbacks
Denzel Ward recently re-signed with the Browns on a multi-year extension. You add in Greg Newsome II who was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft last season, and Greedy Williams who was quietly coming along in his second season of playing and you are establishing a core group of players that will make opposing teams’ plans to pass on them very difficult.
According to PFF, they ranked the Browns the fourth-best secondary last season. Cleveland had a 71.8 passer rating when opposing teams tried throwing at our corners. The PFF results also showed that Ward and Newsome graded in the top 10 when they were in single coverage.
With Ward’s new extension and Newsome coming back for his second season, look for this area of the team to excel even more.
Cleveland Browns biggest strength No. 3: Defensive Ends
When Jadeveon Clowney returned this past week it solidified the defensive end position for the Browns. With Clowney and Myles Garrett bookending the defensive line look for this part of the team to be one of the best on the team and in the NFL.
Cleveland drafted Alex Wright from UAB and also picked up Isaiah Thomas out of Oklahoma as well. On top of that, they traded for Chade Winovich from the New England Patriots. All these additions will make this part of the squad one of the most fun to observe.
Clowney had a resurgence to his career last season getting to play with Garrett. The two former No. 1 picks combined for 25 sacks and generally wreaked havoc in opponent’s backfields and made quarterbacks’ lives a living hell.
With motivation to return to Cleveland, look for Clowney to keep pushing Garrett to be even greater than he was last year. With the strengthening of this position, it will also help new players to the team like defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey out of Oklahoma who was just drafted by the team, to settle into his role knowing he has Garrett and Clowney on his outside.
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This projected Browns defense is looking stronger by the minute, at least on paper three months from next season’s kickoff. It may not play out like we are hoping, but it’s exciting to anticipate the potential with this unit.