LSU Safety Grant Delpit Joins a Talented Group of Tigers in Cleveland, Here's How He Fits With the Browns

If the last two years have proven anything it's that the Cleveland Browns have become the NFL landing spot for former LSU Tigers. First there were the separate trades that brought receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. to town.

In 2019, it was the second round selection of cornerback Greedy Williams, a player once viewed as a top-10 pick that ultimately slipped in the draft. The 2020 NFL Draft played out similarly for the Browns as another Tiger slid into the second round after once being a projected top-10 pick.

Safety Grant Delpit fell to the Browns with the No. 44 pick, and will now join his former teammate Williams as the two try to become the core of an NFL secondary.

"We go back all the way back to practice 2017. I miss my dude. It is going to be great to play with him again," Delpit said of Williams. "It is going to be great to have one of the best secondaries in the NFL also. I am looking forward to it. Excited to be a Dawg and join my LSU brothers there already."

Like Williams, there was a reason Delpit saw his draft stock slide so much. A high ankle injury suffered midway through the season affected his play on the field as he went through a rough patch, particularly against Ole Miss, that saw some tackling issues crop up.

Delpit was asked about those tackling inconsistencies down the stretch, saying at times it was difficult to even walk on his injured leg.

"I'm so tired of hearing that I can't tackle. I had a high-ankle sprain in the middle of the season around Week 7 or Week 8. It was tough," Delpit said. "On Sunday mornings, I could barely walk, but I wanted to be there for my team. I think that me being hurt was something that I wasn't worried about. I came to LSU with my dream. I was not going to let a sprained ankle keep me from off the field when we were trying to win a National Championship."

With hopefully all of those injury concerns behind him, Delpit hopes to turn a new leaf in Cleveland, getting back to the player that recorded 74 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, five sacks and five interceptions in 2018. BrownsDigest publisher Pete Smith says the 2019 Jim Thorpe Award winner will immediately compete for the free safety spot but will also be utilized close to the line of scrimmage as well.

The Cleveland Browns drafted Grant Delpit to be their free safety. It's just a question whether he takes the job as a rookie or if happens in his sophomore campaign. Even if he's not starting, he will see the field. The Browns praised his intelligence and versatility. In the system Joe Woods wants to play, they could move him around just like LSU did, playing him deep or potentially in the slot. They could have three safeties on the field quite a bit and want to try to disguise their roles to catch offenses by surprise.

That three safety look is nothing new for Delpit, who was asked to play deep in 2019 after Todd Harris' injury and JaCoby Stevens natural fit at the line of scrimmage. With the possibility of a little more depth on the Browns, extra freedom to play closer to the line of scrimmage should do wonders for Delpit's development.

However, he is comfortable playing any role the team asks of him because of that experience playing free safety in 2019.

"I did play a lot of free safety this year. It was just showing that I could do it and showing my versatility on defense," Delpit said. "It worked out. Me as a person, I have 100 percent confidence that I am the best player on the defense at all times – this was in college and even as a kid growing up. I always said that, and I showed it."

The team signed Andrew Sendejo in free agency, who head coach Kevin Stefanski knows well as the two spent the last decade together with the Minnesota Vikings. Sendejo is approaching the end of his career, but he's been a solid player, even this past season when he split time with the Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles. That is who Delpit will be going against for the right to start at free safety. And if Delpit can pick up the defense as quick as he's capable, he could play free full time or operate out of the slot, do some blitzing and all of the other little things that made Delpit such a problem for offenses to counter.

If Delpit can win the starting job, he'll not only be playing alongside some former Tigers, but will frequently face a few former teammates as well. Lying in the same division as quarterback Joe Burrow, Delpit joked it'll be great to go against his former quarterback for this one reason.

"I'm very excited to pick Joe off twice a year, three times a year, however many times we meet," Delpit said.

A player who is never short on confidence, Delpit believes with the talent in the secondary that already exists with Williams and Denzel Ward, his insertion could be the missing piece to an elite secondary.

"We are coming in with that swagger, with that mentality and really a dog mentality – pun intended," Delpit said. "I think that we are going to have the best secondary in the NFL with Greedy, (CB) Denzel (Ward). I am coming in with that mentality and win as a team and defense."