4 Cleveland Browns who will make or break 2023 season

3. Juan Thornhill, S

It's hard to tell that Juan Thornhill isn't a lifelong Cleveland Brown because he came in fired up. One of their top free-agent signings this year, Thornhill has been all-in. He's become a vocal leader for the team, has been able to throw out the first pitch at a Guardians game, and even wound up with a Brownie the Elf tattoo.

All of that has been fun to see but the best part of Thornhill's addition is two-fold. One, he brings in a winning attitude after picking up two Super Bowl rings during four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. The second part is his fit with this defense.

Cleveland brought in Thornhill to replace John Johnson III who struggled to play in deep coverage. Without a true centerfield-type safety, the Browns defense was susceptible to the deep ball and even saw some big leads disappear because of this.

Thornhill gives them a true free safety and while they also added Rodney McLeod, Thornhill is expected to be the one playing deep more often.

Each player ranked very high in coverage according to PFF, with Thornhill coming in at No. 12 and McLeod second among safeties. Even so, McLeod knows this defense better than most players due to his history with Jim Schwartz and will be moved around like a chess piece. That doesn't mean Thornhill is less valuable because his ability to protect the deep ball will have a tremendous impact on the team's overall success.