Denzel Ward Talks Browns Defensive Scheme Changes as PFF Ranks Corners
One of the positions the Cleveland Browns believe is a major strength is corner. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has made no secret of the fact he's counting on that group to thrive this season in order to play the defense he wants. A symbiotic relationship between the corners and the pass rush will be critical to the success of the Browns defense in 2023.
Coming out of the 2021 season, the Browns had a talented pair of starting corners in Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome, but they kept adding. Martin Emerson Jr. was drafted in the third round and immediately found a niche covering bigger receivers and freeing up Newsome to play in the slot. This year, they drafted another corner in Cameron Mitchell in the fifth round.
Ward came in ranked 14th. Given the amount of money the Browns are paying him, that's not good enough, but he's only partially to blame.
"Ward is coming off a subpar season for the Browns, but the defense as a whole collapsed and likely heavily contributed to that. Ward still had multiple elite games in 2022 and had shown a very high baseline of play before that year. With a rebuilt Browns defensive line in 2023, Ward might put himself back among the very best."
Ward had some poor games in 2022. There were some games he simply didn't look like the player the Browns signed to a lucrative contract extension. However, the rest of the defense didn't do him any favors. Outside of Myles Garrett, the Browns pass rush was a non-factor in the few obvious passing situations the defense forced. Most of the time, the defense allowed the offense to stay on schedule and keep them off balance, which put Ward in a difficult position.
Newsome is ranked 27th.
"It felt like the entire Browns secondary fell apart last season, but Newsome quietly backed up an impressive rookie season with another good campaign. He has still yet to register an interception in the NFL but has 14 pass breakups over that time and allowed just 9.8 yards per reception in 2022."
Newsome's second year demise was vastly overstated. Yes, he had some growing pains operating from the slot, but he got better over the course of the season while still being effective on the outside. Critics crushed now former defensive coordinator Joe Woods for making that move, but it was in the best interest of the team. If Newsome was going to have an awkward season, 2022 was the season to have it.
Not surprisingly, Schwartz has every intention of utilizing him in the slot. Ward has even seen some slot reps in OTAs. Wednesday, answering questions from reporters, Ward suggested that might happen more this year.
That's one of the reasons the Browns added Cameron Mitchell in the draft. He played almost exclusively outside at Northwestern, but he has athletic talent and mentality to make a smooth transition inside. That allows Schwartz to play matchups as often as he chooses, being able to match up in terms of both size as well as style with opposing receivers.
One of the other changes Ward mentioned the types of coverages the Browns planned on using this year. He was asked about communication issues from the previous year.
"Yeah, we talked about it, but I think with this new system that coach is bringing in, it’s kind of going to take out all those if, ands and those questionings. So you pretty much, you know what you’re doing and you just go do it. You don’t have to read too much out."
Under Joe Woods, the Browns ran plenty of read coverages. If the number one receiver goes vertical, this happens. If he goes underneath, this happens. With practice it's not overly complicated, but it can be difficult to do properly due to how fast the opponents are moving. When executed properly, it's dynamic and difficult to throw against, but as illustrated far too often last year, one missed read can result in a wide open touchdown.
Schwartz seems far more inclined to play straight man coverage as well as some zone looks like Cover-3. Schwartz wants his defensive backs, especially his corners to play as fast as possible. An old coaching adage argues, "if you think, you stink". Schwartz wants less thinking and more speed. That requires having high level talent to do consistently as well as making sure the pass rush can generate pressure.
If the front can't generate pressure or the corners struggle, the opposing quarterback will be able to pick the defense apart. Fortunately, the Browns have plenty of corner talent and made significant investments up front on the defensive line. Both Ward and Newsome thrive in man coverage.
When a team is loaded with talent, it's much easier to keep the gameplan simple and let players play. The past few years, the gaping holes on defense made that more difficult, forcing them to be more multiple. Everything the Browns have done this offseason put the team's corners in the best situation to succeed, especially Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome.
