One Browns Player Who Could Be Playing Himself Into a Bigger Role After Week 3

Widespread belief after Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft was that the Cleveland Browns had snatched not one but two first round prospects in the second round.

Denzel Boston is already showing flashes of Pro Bowl potential as the Browns top wideout option, but the other second-round choice for Cleveland hasn’t made that big of an impact -- yet.

Safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren has played a total of 44 defensive snaps over the course of the first three weeks, playing behind starters Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman.

However, defensive personnel usage might point towards more McNeil-Warren over the next few weeks. The Toledo product has gone from participating in 25 percent of defense snaps in Week 1 to 15 percent in Week 2, to 26 percent in Week 3.

He’s mostly played deep, but the Browns have deployed him near the box on occasion, which is where many saw him finding a niche in the NFL before the draft.

Why Emmanuel McNeil-Warren will likely see more action in the upcoming matchups

The Browns went from using three linebackers on a handful of Week 1 defensive plays to none during the last two games, relying exclusively on Carson Schwesinger and Quincy Williams at the position. While Cleveland is loving nickel packages with Myles Harden and Mehki Blackmon to go along with Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell -- inactive during Week 3 -- putting a hard hitting safety in the box will usually be more helpful against the run.

Free agent acquisition Daniel Thomas has done next to nothing for the Browns so far, with one defensive snap all season long. While it’s pretty obvious that McNeil-Warren is the next man up in the safety rotation, it’s also important to note that he has virtually no competition. The other safety on Cleveland’s roster, Donovan McMillon has logged zero snaps on defense.

Coupled that with the fact that linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold has not logged a defensive snap since Week 1, it’s easy to see why McNeil-Warren would be the first choice on defense to add another defender in the box for run support, while staying with five defensive backs on the field.

Leaving personnel aside, McNeil-Warren has been making the most out of his limited opportunities. For example, against the Panthers on Sunday, McNeil-Warren was credited with a 75.0 defensive grade by PFF, third-best on defense. He also received a 65.1 coverage grade, also third-best, according to PFF.

Meanwhile, Delpit was handed a 40.0 overall defensive grade, lowest among all Browns defenders, and a 41.0 in pass coverage, also worst among all Browns’ defenders. Blackmon had the second-worst pass coverage grade according to PFF, with a 49.9, and third-worst overall defensive grade at 45. Finally, Blackmon and Harden had the two worst run defense grades for Cleveland, at 30.0 and 39.2, respectively.

Initial PFF grades for the Browns from their win over the Panthers. pic.twitter.com/ZqWmyBlhuv
— Brandon Little (@BrandonLittleBL) September 28, 2026

Even if you don’t fully trust PFF’s grading system, it's pretty obvious that there’s ample opportunity for McNeil-Warren to leave a mark on defense.

Next up for the Browns is another home game, against division rivals Steelers. Pittsburgh is currently using 11 personnel (1RB, 1TE, 3WR) on around two-thirds of their offensive plays, so putting McNeil-Warren in might be a challenge in those situations, unless a run play is highly anticipated. However, if the Steelers decide to pivot towards more 2TE sets with Darnell Washington making plays early in the season, then the rookie will surely get a healthy dose of reps on defense.

McNeil-Warren isn’t ready to take over Delpit’s or Hickman’s starting spot, but the Browns will be wise to find more work for him after seeing other defensive backs struggling after the first three games.

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