CLEVELAND, Ohio — In total, there were eight Browns players who were the main secondary in 2024. And as a whole, compared to 2023, they regressed.
Denzel Ward was the guy, leading the NFL in passes defended (19) and earning a fourth career Pro Bowl nod.
But it didn’t fully translate through the unit.
Of those eight players from 2024, safeties Juan Thornhill and Rodney McLeod Jr. are not returning. Thornhill joined the division-rival Steelers, and McLeod retired from the NFL.
That leaves us with six remaining defensive backs: Ward, Martin Emerson Jr., Greg Newsome II, Ronnie Hickman Jr., Grant Delpit, and Cameron Mitchell.
It’s not a matter of how much they have left in the tank, but what is needed to make a collective bounce back.
That is where we come in, but from an analytical perspective, of course.
This data series will cover the strengths and flaws of eachBrowns position group.
Today, we dive into the secondary; both cornerbacks and safeties.
Below, we go by each data group and list the totals from the 2024 NFL season related to defensive backs.
Because Thornhill and McLeod are not returning, they are omitted.
This will only relate to the six remaining guys that were listed above.
Limited passing yards
As it relates to the secondary, Jim Schwartz’s defensive schemes enable his backfield to play tight man coverage, allowing for one-on-one matchups.
As a unit, they did a solid job in keeping the total passing yards down. But not the yards per attempt.
Cleveland finished 12th in passing yards allowed (212.4), but tied for last in yards allowed per completion (11.4), per TeamRankings.
This was a visible drop from 2023, where a tighter cohesion was represented in their eighth ranking in yards allowed per completion (9.5).
Tackle inefficiency
When you’re playing football as early as Pop Warner, the basics regarding making a tackle relate to going low.
The fundamentals don’t change, just the rate of sticking to them.
As for the Browns, they finished 2024 ranked 16th in missed tackles (101). Of the 101 missed tackles, 48 came from the six remaining defensive backs, per Pro Football Reference.
Of those six remaining DBs, four of them logged double-digit missed tackles, with Emerson leading the unit in this area (15), per Pro Football Focus. Ward (13), Delpit (11), and Mitchell (10) followed.
One could argue the extra missed tackles came when the season was long gone, and use Mitchell as an example. Of his 10 missed tackles, four came in the season finale loss to Baltimore, per PFF.
However, it’s still a representation of what the unit was at that time.
Yards after completion
The best rebuttal to Cleveland’s inefficient rate in tackling is limiting the yards after the completion was made.
Not only did the Browns allow the third fewest completions (316), but they also allowed the seventh fewest total yards after completions (1,830), per Pro Football Reference.
The four main guys all allowed under 300 YAC, with Delpit giving up the most within the unit (271 yards), per Pro Football Reference.
Takeaways
The one thing that Schwartz encourages his guys to do is celebrate after making a play. Within the secondary, we usually see different dance moves done after a takeaway.
In 2024, the amount of celebrations after a takeaway was low.
After tying for third in interceptions in 2023 (18), Cleveland finished 2024 last in interceptions (four).
Ward had two of them, and if not for Newsome’s interception in the Week 13 loss to Denver, Ward would’ve been the only one with an interception in the secondary.
Getting back to increasing the takeaways will help bring the unit to their prior selves.
Defensive penalties
Cleveland was pretty good in recording a low rate of defensive penalties, finishing with the fifth fewest defensive penalties (31) in the NFL, per NFLPenalties.com.
Of the 31 penalties, 14 came from the returning defensive backs. With Emerson leading all with five of his own, three of which were pass interferences.
But this shows that despite up and down play elsewhere, they’re still strict within their play and not giving up extra yards due to boneheaded plays.
Conclusion
The tools for success are still there for this unit, because they’ve done it before in 2023, which led to praise as the league’s top secondary.
And while they did receive more time on the field due to Cleveland’s inefficient offense, it doesn’t fully excuse the results.
It’s just about further strengthening their strengths, and improving in the remaining areas.
If the six remaining guys can lead this unit back to their usual selves, that’s one layer of the defense good to go.
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