Juan Thornhill maybe wasn't on most Cleveland Browns fan's radars when the free agency frenzy started this past week, but he's a young free safety formally of the Kansas City Chiefs and he has a lot of attributes that should help his new team a lot in the upcoming 2023 season.
Two seasons ago, the Browns thought they had signed that long-term answer at free safety when they picked up John Johnson III. However, that blew up their faces after he caused more issues within the locker room than expected.
He often called out his coaches and even his teammates and was criticized by fans for his lack of effort which was often showcased on Sundays. In the end, the Browns cut Johnson before the 2023 season officially began.
While anything is possible, I don't expect to see the same scenarios panning out as they did with Johnson. Thornhill is entering his fifth season and is a two-time Super Bowl champ. He's considered by many to be a team player and very supportive of his teammates and coaches.
Beyond that, he's an excellent football player and is only getting better. With that as the backdrop, let's take a look more closely at three areas that Thornhill could help the team the most as the team gets ready for 2023.
No. 3: Browns secondary is now vastly improved
The Browns secondary was supposed to get better this past season but it didn't. There were ongoing problems mostly due to a lack of communication that exposed the team's troubles. There was enough finger-pointing that eventually the Browns fired former defensive coordinator Joe Woods.
They now have hired veteran coach Jim Schwartz for the same job. The hope is that these talented players, like cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome and strong safety Grant Delpit can come together as a unit and play to their potential.
Thornhill can be that last line of defense that his teammates should be able to count on much more than they had John Johnson in the past. Thornhill has been improving each season and he'll be ready to help his teammates. This past season he recorded 71 tackles, had nine pass breakups and had three interceptions.
As for his talent, he was ranked as one of the best this past season. He graded out at a 72.7 overall defensive mark by Pro Football Focus. That put him as the 20th-best safety in the league. And when the pressure was greatest, from Week 16 and into the playoffs through to the Super Bowl he graded out at a 90.3 score which was the best mark for safety in the league.
No. 2: Browns landed a durable player for the secondary
Thornhilll has been very durable for the majority of his career. This past season he was on the field 95% of all defensive plays. He has been out there almost every play defensively for four straight seasons. He's only missed one game regular season game due to injury and despite missing the playoffs due to a torn ACL in 2019, he never missed a snap the following year.
That's a far cry from what we're used to hearing when we start talking about the Browns secondary in the past. Cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome have both struggled to stay on the field due to injuries or concussions. Cleveland's strong safety Grant Delpit missed an entire season due to a major leg injury to start his NFL career.
A great example of how injuries can affect your time on the field is when we look at Ward's defensive snap counts playing five seasons, he's played in 3,968 snaps. You take a look at Thornhill's numbers and he's played in 3,654 snaps defensively. That's only a little more than 300 snaps, so while Ward has an extra season, Thornhill practically has the same amount of experience based on the time on the field by play count.
Will Thornhill be able to keep up his impressive durability? I'm sure the Browns will be counting on that as we enter the season. Just knowing that you have a player on the back line of defense that will be there on every play and help a secondary that has struggled at times to keep themselves healthy is a promising thing moving forward.
No. 1: Thornhill gives the Browns Super Bowl experience
The Browns are trying hard to build a Super Bowl-contending team and what better way to do that than by getting players that have had experience in Super Bowls? Thornhill has two Super Bowl rings from playing on the Chiefs for the past four seasons. He's played in nine playoff games over that time.
He was actually on the injury-reserved list in his rookie year when the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl. Two seasons ago, he played in the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals so even when he hasn't won it all, he's played in big-time games.
In that loss to Cincy, Thornhill played a good game recording six tackles. This past postseason, he was back at it again combining for 13 tackles, including a tackle for a loss (which occurred in the Super Bowl), having three pass deflections, and generally being everywhere.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski acknowledged Thornhill's worth to the team when addressing the local media after the signing of this new member of the Cleveland secondary.
#Browns HC Kevin Stefanski: “Juan is a talented young player, who brings a ton of experience from a winning environment. He has great instincts and is always around the ball. He will be a good addition to our defense."
— Brad Stainbrook (@StainbrookNFL) March 16, 2023
Thornhill shared his excitement about joining his new team and the Dawg Pound a little bit later in the day when he was interviewed by the press as well.
S Juan Thornhill on joining the #Browns: "I can't wait to get on the field and show Cleveland what I have," Thornhill said. "Having the chance to play on this defense is going to be special and I'm thankful to have the opportunity. Let's go Dawg Pound."
— Fred Greetham (@FredGreetham9) March 16, 2023
Experience matters, especially in football. The Browns have never been to a Super Bowl and part of that has to do with the fact that they haven't had many players in the past that had played on Super Bowl teams.
That's starting to change and adding Thornhill is a prime example of that. Hopefully, as the team continues to learn how to win more consistently, more players will want to come to play in Cleveland.