Cleveland Browns: Anonymous position battle at free safety

The Cleveland Browns have a few positions that are up for grabs this season, but far and away the least is known about those competing to start at free safety.

Whether it was in free agency or more likely the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns were expected to make a move to bring in an obvious, starting caliber safety. It’s not as if they didn’t mean to or have interest, reportedly willing to take Malik Hooker from Ohio State with the 12th pick of the draft had they not traded down and had Gregg Williams not been making a case for Obi Melifonwu of Connecticut in the second round. But when the dust finally settled and the draft was over, the Browns picked 10 players with only a single defensive back, and that was corner Howard Wilson.

Based on last season, the incumbent starter would be Ed Reynolds. Reynolds actually played a decent amount of snaps at the end of last season under then defensive coordinator Ray Horton, but it was in tandem with Tramon Williams, who made the move from corner. Reynolds would play on running downs and Williams would come in for obvious passing downs.

To his credit, Reynolds was a good run defender. He takes excellent angles to the ball carrier and does his job effectively in that capacity. Obviously, Gregg Williams is hoping to have someone who can make plays on the ball and potentially cause turnovers.

The acquisition of Reynolds was pretty non-descript. Reynolds was a star at Stanford. In his redshirt sophomore season, Reynolds picked off five passes and returned three of them for touchdowns. He declared after a less impactful junior year. The Philadelphia Eagles grabbed him in Round 4 of the 2014 NFL Draft. He was up and down from the practice squad before he was released right before the 2016 season started and the Browns put him on their practice squad before ultimately activating him.

It remains to be seen what Gregg Williams thinks of Reynolds as a fit for his defense, but it makes sense for them to see what Reynolds can do in camp and although it won’t mean a whole lot, he may well be out there taking the first reps.

At the end of the 2016 season, the Browns grabbed former Buckeye Tyvis Powell off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks. Powell signed with the Seahawks last year as an undrafted free agent. He only played special teams last year and was only active for about half of their games. The Seahawks cut Powell so they could add Devin Hester to try to spark their return game in the playoffs.

Obviously many Browns fans are the most familiar with Powell because of his time playing at Ohio State. And not surprisingly, some of them believe Powell was brought in to start. This, despite the fact that Powell was undrafted and, in terms of the Ohio State team he was drafted from, he was not terribly highly regarded.

Joey Bosa, Eli Apple, Darron Lee, Von Bell, Adolphus Washington, Joshua Perry were all Buckeyes drafted in that class just from that defense in 2016. So, in effect, the NFL viewed Powell at best the seventh best prospect from that defense that was eligible for the draft that year.

Jan 30, 2016; Mobile, AL, USA; North squad safety Tyvis Powell of Ohio State (23) in the second quarter of the Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

It’s a dream come true for Powell, who grew up rooting for the Browns and hoped one day he could suit up for them. It’s also a worthwhile shot to take for the Browns, because Powell is a great athlete.

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Height: 6-2.75
Weight: 211 lbs
40-Yard Dash: 4.46s
Vertical Jump: 34.5″
Broad Jump: 10′
3-Cone: 7.03s
Short Shuttle: 4.25s
Bench Reps: 15

Now 23, Powell has tremendous size and is the biggest free safety on the team. His explosion is great with plenty of raw speed. His agility isn’t elite but he’s more than quick enough to do the job.

The issue for Powell at Ohio State was production. He had plenty of solo tackles and had eight interceptions in three years, but when he wasn’t intercepting the ball, he really wasn’t making many plays on it. The challenge for him in the NFL is to improve that area of his game.

Though they did not draft a free safety, the Browns have been active in adding free safety prospects from this class. In an incredibly deep class, it was somewhat disappointing that the Browns did not add one of the top talents in the class, but the depth of the class also made it so a few talented options were available after the draft.

The first the Browns added is Kai Nacua of BYU. Nacua was good enough to be drafted, but the Browns were able to sign him as an undrafted free agent. Nacua was a productive safety for all three years as a starter at BYU.

He had a good solo tackle market share for his career, made enough plays on the ball and as it pertains to Gregg Williams, he’s a ballhawk. Nacua intercepted 14 passes over the past three years including six in each of the past two seasons. He also returned two of those for touchdowns.

Nov 21, 2015; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars defensive back Kai Nacua (12) runs after an interception in the fourth quarter against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Athletically, Nacua is no less impressive.

Height: 6-0.75
Weight: 205 lbs
40-Yard Dash: 4.49s
Vertical Jump: 39″
Broad Jump: 10’7″
3-Cone: 6.87s
Short Shuttle: 4.14s
Bench Reps: 15

From explosion to raw speed to agility, Nacua has everything needed to succeed physically. And he looks it on tape, especially when he has the ball in his hands. He’s dangerous and aggressive when he is able to cause a turnover.

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BYU plays a ton of Cover-3, which has Nacua end up playing the deep middle quite a bit. They also liked to show Cover-2 presnap and have either a corner play the flat or one safety come down while the other drops back, leaving three defenders to drop into the deep zone. As a result, Nacua has a ton of experience playing centerfield. But he’s also played down, man coverage as BYU’s defense exposes them to a little of everything while keeping some base concepts that fit with what Gregg Williams likes to do.

Williams likes to play Cover-1 and Cover-3 quite a bit with a free safety who can cover a ton of ground and make plays on the ball, whether the corners play man or drop into zone. Nacua was able to do that for the Cougars and has the capability to do that in the NFL, so he should have the opportunity to stand out in training camp.

If there’s an issue with Nacua, it’s that he will occasionally get caught out of position and he occasionally loses his temper. The most famous example was in BYU’s bowl game in 2014 when Nacua attempted to punch a member of Memphis’s team. At BYU, the issue was serious enough there was some thought he might expelled for the altercation.

Nacua has not had any other issues that high-profile in his career, on the field or off of it, but if his anger boils over, he may be someone that could pick up the occasional personal foul. It’s one of those things that seems to serve him well in terms of being aggressive as a football player, but obviously can go too far and get him in trouble.

The last challenger for the free safety job was just signed after the team’s rookie minicamp, which was also a tryout for some players including Donte Carey from Grand Valley State. If his name looks familiar, it’s because his older brother, Don Carey, was a sixth round pick of the Cleveland Browns out of Norfolk State in 2009. Carey was not with the Browns very long before he was released, but has made it work and is heading into his eighth NFL season, the last six of which have been as a Detroit Lion.

Donte is a fine prospect in his own right. He’s coming off of a nice senior season for the Lakers where he recorded 36 solo tackles (7.2 percent of team’s total), 10 pass deflections (10.3 percent) and six of the team’s 19 interceptions with 156 return yards.

As with Nacua, Carey spent most of his time playing the deep middle for GVSU. The difference is that the Lakers run far more of a mix between Cover-3 and Cover-1 than BYU does. His responsibility is the same regardless, but it’s worth noting.

Athletically, Carey is pretty solid too.

Height: 5-11.75
Weight: 199 lbs
40-Yard Dash: 4.59s
Vertical Jump: 32.5″
Broad Jump: 10’1″
3-Cone: 6.87s
Short Shuttle: 4.13s
Bench Reps: 14

2016 Second Team All-GLIAC

Sr. DB Donte Carey pic.twitter.com/Fhi2qJJBX3
— GVSU Football (@gvsufootball) November 15, 2016

Carey is not explosive as Nacua or Powell, but he’s got enough of it and does have excellent agility for the position.

The situation is still fluid and the Browns can and almost certainly will be actively looking for other options, be it on the waiver wire or perhaps a trade. Nevertheless, these are the four guys on the roster that are slated to compete for the job in training camp.

Three undrafted free agent and a former fourth-round draft pick that has been up and down from the practice squad. It should not be lost on anyone that the three undrafted free agents they brought in have shown a knack for causing turnovers. Nacua had 14 career interceptions, Powell eight and Carey with seven. Reynolds was inherited, but in the two seasons he played for Stanford, he had seven interceptions.

This is something that both Williams and Hue Jackson want and have stressed. When Jackson hired Williams, he said he wanted to be more aggressive and cause more turnovers. Williams puts a lot of emphasis on the free safety position, so while this is probably not the situation he hoped to be in entering camp, the team has interesting options even if they are relative unknowns both in their name recognition and what they can do for the Browns defense.

The other part of this that’s interesting is that it’s pretty much impossible to forecast who will win the starting job. I’m inclined to bet on Nacua but that’s based on nothing but the fact that I liked his college tape, production and athletic potential. The fact is that it would not be terribly surprising if any of these players were to win the starting job in training camp and preseason. It also wouldn’t be a big surprise if none of them do and the Browns bring in additional help to do the job.

For as bad as the Browns have been and might still be in the standings, the defense is going to feature Myles Garrett, Danny Shelton, Jamie Collins, Joe Haden and Jabrill Peppers among others. When the Browns take the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sept. 10, it’s also likely to feature a free safety that few have ever heard of, let alone know what to expect from this season (save for those reading this).