3 big fixes for the Cleveland Browns defense in 2023
By Greg Newland
The 2022 season was nothing less than stressful for the Cleveland Browns. On paper, they had a “loaded” roster, yet they couldn’t seem to close out games. Additionally, their star quarterback, Deshaun Watson, who cost them three first-round picks couldn’t play the first 11 games of the season and then underperformed to end the season.
Jacoby Brissett was a fantastic fill-in for the suspended Watson, but teams quickly learned they could stack the box to take away Nick Chubb and company, and this offense would sputter. Kevin Stefanski is an elite schemer, but they also had a ton of pressure to score every drive with a mediocre defense.
This defense struggled mightily at the beginning of the season and was at least competitive by the end of the year. Factors from lack of talent all the way to injuries plagued this unit the entire year.
While Andrew Berry focused on the offense the prior offense, the defense has had a ton of overhaul to get better for the 2023 season. Here are three major fixes headed into the 2023 season.
Cleveland Browns defensive fix No. 3 – A Ball Hawk Safety
Between Ronnie Harrison and John Johnson leaving the team, the Browns were definitely in the market for a high-caliber safety to improve this defense.
Berry struck quickly by bringing in Juan Thornhill from the Kansas City Chiefs. Thornhill is everything that a defensive coordinator wants in a safety, he has the ability to play man coverage when needed and can take away half of the field in deep zone coverage.
Then just two weeks ago, Berry struck again by singing the veteran, Rodney McLeod. Jim Schwartz won’t feature three safeties often, so that duo along with Grant Delpit not only brings a tremendous amount of experience, but also great depth in case an injury did occur throughout the season.