Cleveland Browns: 2018 Cornerback preview

The Cleveland Browns cornerback position should be improved in 2018 by virtue of the fact it can’t really be worse than in 2017.

In 2017, the Cleveland Browns cornerbacks played better than expected for much of the year. A unit that had next to nothing entering the year and was just a question of just how poorly they would play. They were played conservatively in an attempt to avoid getting gouged deep and instead suffered a death by a thousand cuts. The Browns have made a significant effort to improve the group from top to bottom, which should improve the defense overall.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams did not trust his secondary whatsoever and his corners in particular. If he could’ve figured out how to play defense with less than two corners on the field, he likely would have. Jason McCourty, now with the New England Patriots, played admirably for about 10 to 12 weeks of the season while Jamar Taylor had his share of struggles, mostly because of his lack of tackling.

The star of the corner group was Briean Boddy-Calhoun, the team’s slot corner and the one starting player that was retained to this year. Mike Jordan is also still here, having the ability to help at corner or free safety and played well in limited appearances last year. And with another unfortunate season ending injury to Howard Wilson, this time to his patellar tendon, everyone else is new among the corners.

The Browns signed T.J. Carrie from the Oakland Raiders, Terrance Mitchell from the Kansas City Chiefs and E.J. Gaines, mostly recently with the Buffalo Bills. Had the Browns opted to, this could have been enough to get through the 2018 season, but they made their biggest acquisition when they drafted Denzel Ward fourth overall in the draft. They also drafted Simeon Thomas in the sixth round.

Calhoun should be the favorite to be the slot on this team, but the competition for every spot will be pretty fierce. The free agents were all signed on what are effectively one-year deals. Carrie and Mitchell have longer deals, but they can be cut after this season without issue. Gaines, meanwhile, will be a free agent.

Calhoun had an outstanding sophomore campaign, but he did leave some plays on the field. He had a handful of interceptions he dropped. If he’s able to have the same type of year in terms of his ability in coverage and making tackles while adding in more of those impact plays, he will get far more recognition outside of Northeast Ohio.

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Before the pick of Ward, it seemed like these three would be fighting for a pair of starting jobs on the perimeter. Now, with Ward likely to take one of those boundary corner spots, it’s three players competing for one spot with the second place finisher becoming the team’s dime back and third place effectively buried on the bench, short of injuries.

Everyone the Browns added to the corner group tackles. This was a reason why it was no surprise the Browns were willing to part ways with Jamar Taylor for a future sixth round pick. The design of the defense is to play softer and tackle receivers. That didn’t happen last year and short receptions went for chunk plays, often at Taylor’s expense.

Carrie is the best tackler of the group and does make the most money. That doesn’t guarantee him anything, but make him the favorite to play opposite of Ward. He is coming off a really productive season for the Raiders, his first as a full-time boundary defender. Indicative of the Raiders overall defensive struggles, Carrie had a nice year and led the Raiders in solo tackles as pass deflections and chipped in his share of tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

For what the Browns are looking for, this is pretty ideal. Carrie is a big, physical corner that is a reliable tackler. He hasn’t caused much in terms of turnovers, but he’s not likely to let many plays get past him, giving them a willing run defender on one side. The Browns are hoping that last season was an indication of what’s to come on Carrie and he’s only going to get better. Should he fail, they can release him after the season without any harm done.

The Browns are making a similar bet on Terrance Mitchell. 2017 was the first where he played as a starter and he was an extremely productive player in terms of making plays on the ball, leading the team with 17 pass deflections and intercepting four. He was also someone who was willing to tackle, but the Browns have insured themselves against

E.J. Gaines is similar in that he’s an extremely physical corner, who throws his body around and gives everything he has. That’s why he has a good reputation with fans and coaches both liking how he plays, but that’s also why he tends to get knicked up. When Gaines is on the field, he’s a really productive player but chances are he’s going to miss some time with injuries.

Ward offers incredible speed and agility while demonstrating incredible discipline in man coverage. He is sticky, able to turn and run with anyone and doesn’t get caught peeking, able to play in a receiver’s face the entire way. Ward has always played physical, but his weight appears as it will always be a concern so dealing with receivers who are 210 pounds and up will be a challenge.

The flip side of that is that Ward should be pretty well equipped to cover someone like Antonio Brown, who is one of the best receivers in the NFL and one the Browns see twice per year. He’s also been someone who has absolutely dominated against the Browns, so if Ward can slow him down, likely with help, that would be valuable.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 02: Denzel Ward (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Corner is a difficult position to adjust to in the NFL because of how much better NFL receivers run routes compared to college, so it’s unfair, unrealistic to expect Ward to come out and play as well as Marshon Lattimore did as a rookie last year. If he comes anywhere close to what Lattimore did for the Saints his rookie year, the Browns will be absolutely thrilled.

Simeon Thomas is a super tall, long corner with speed. And given the sheer numbers on the roster, he’s already a long shot to make the final roster, which may have been the plan all along. Unless he becomes a revelation in training camp, he’ll be a 25 year old rookie who can likely make the practice squad without too much trouble. Should he find success, he’s got a very unique skill set to match up with taller receivers.

The problem with Thomas is that he’s been notoriously unreliable in his career. In college, he missed a ton of times because he was unable to keep himself academically eligible, which won’t be an issue in the NFL, but his play in college was wildly inconsistent. At times, he’d look like an impact player and at other times, he seemed wholly uninterested in what was going on.

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The bet the Browns are making is similar to the one they made with Caleb Brantley. They are basically going to demand he gives consistent effort all the time and the second he lets up, especially with the competition at corner, he’ll be gone with minimal investment.

Mike Jordan, the only other holdover from last year on the roster, has versatility in the secondary. He, like Gaines, has familiarity with Gregg Williams, having played for him with the Los Angeles Rams, which can only help him. And Jordan played pretty well, albeit in limited opportunities last year. He offers the Browns an ability to potentially save a roster spot, which is always valuable.

There are a handful of undrafted free agents the Browns have brought in as well. The problem is they are already find themselves with no less than seven players with more investment ahead of them that they have to beat out, which is a tall order.

There is a possibility that the Browns could opt to trade one of these corners in July or August, especially if a team suffers an injury or they are just not happy with their corner situation. Even with these free agents, the Browns can easily afford to eat the up front money if it yields them a player or draft pick.

Nevertheless, if the Browns opt to keep six corners, it sets up pretty easily at this point. Ward, Boddy-Calhoun, Carrie, Gaines, Mitchell and Jordan would be the six with Thomas being someone the Browns try to get on their practice squad. That’s a deep group, so if someone gets hurt or lets up, there’s someone constantly nipping at their heels.

There’s no question the Browns have more talent at corner this year. Now, it’s a matter of whether or not Gregg Williams trusts this group enough to let them play more aggressively as well as simply putting more of them on the field. It would be beneficial for the Browns to be able to roll with their nickel or dime packages more and feel confident in their ability to cover while bringing pressure at the quarterback.

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By virtue of the fact the group is filled with so many new faces, it may take time for them to gel and get accustomed to operating as a unit, but it should be more reliable in coverage and improve one of the worst areas for the Browns from last year — how long the quarterback held onto the ball. Opposing quarterbacks got rid of the ball earlier than anyone else in the league, which is a big reason the Browns didn’t register as many hits on the quarterback as they should have. If that improves, it should increase their putrid output of turnovers, particularly with interceptions in which the Browns only recorded seven in 2017.

This corner group could end up being a one year experiment with so many players on what amount to be one-year deals, but it cannot be as bad as it was in 2017. Chances are it will be somewhere in the middle, but even that would be a dramatic improvement and make a big impact on the defense overall. Instead of simply trying to play bend but don’t break, the Browns should be in a position to compete for the ball, cause some turnovers and simply make more plays.

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