3 Cleveland Browns players to watch in Preseason Week 1

Browns player to watch No. 2: A.J. Green, CB

Each and every single season, NFL teams will sign undrafted free agents, and that is the case for third-year cornerback, A.J. Green. This can often be times used as motivation as 32 teams passed on a certain player in the NFL Draft, thus leading him to be an undrafted free agent.

In his first season, Green spent most of his time on the practice squad, only appearing in two games for the Browns. In 2021, Green was able to get more playing time and really impresses the coaching staff and fans alike. He played a key role when some of the starters missed time.

This year, Green will have a good chance at making the 53-man roster and the theme of this piece is depth, and depth at the cornerback position is arguably the most important in the NFL, especially to the Browns. Cleveland has a slew of talented receivers in their own division to deal with twice a year and on the schedule for the upcoming season, so they will need all hands on deck to compete.

Green played in 12 games a season ago, making one start, and really made a difference when his number was called. He recorded an interception, broke up six passes, allowed a quarterback completion percentage of 40.9, and only surrendered two scores. He also recovered two fumbles.

He played in 176 defensive snaps (22%) and 189 special teams snaps (60%) and made the most of his opportunities. So far in training camp, Green has been impressive and is doing whatever he can to make the roster.

While he likely won’t need to start unless the likes of Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Greedy Williams, or rookie Martin Emerson miss time, he will be a key rotational player for the Browns in 2022. His play on special teams will give him another edge to make the roster and continue to maximize his minutes.

In Week 1 of the preseason, Green will likely get a chance to play a majority of the snaps and continue to get reps that will only help himself and the team moving forward.