Browns rookie CB Justin Gilbert continues to struggle
By Peter Smith
The Cleveland Browns selected Justin Gilbert with the 8th pick of the NFL Draft after trading down from 4th pick to 9th pick and then swapping picks to move up a slot. To this point, Gilbert has struggled. From preseason to now three weeks into the regular season, Gilbert has been routinely picked on by opposing teams and looked awful in the process.
Gilbert was the most physically talented corner in this year’s draft class at almost 6’1″ with a great build and spectacular measurables. He also showed he could cause turnovers with the ability to score with the ball in his hands, which caused a large amount of the draft community to rate him as their top corner; some suggesting he was an elite prospect.
The problem for Gilbert is his technique was never particularly good even in the defense optional Big XII conference. As this scouting report lays out, Gilbert has a difficult time with giving up too much space to opposing wide receivers underneath, allowing himself to give up receptions. He tends to be overly aggressive and attempt to jump routes going for the big play, counting on his speed to make up the difference. Gilbert is also a terrible tackler, opting to avoid the issue whenever possible.
As his career has started in the NFL, he physical superiority now largely erased, opponents are feasting on technical mistakes and beating him underneath as well as over the top. At times, Gilbert is beaten off of the line and is grabbing the receiver for the penalty to try to minimize the damage.
The good news is that while Gilbert’s confidence may be shaken, the team now enters its bye week and has two weeks to focus on technique and getting his confidence back as the Browns prepare for the Tennessee Titans. The bad news is that Gilbert has looked so lost, he may need much longer than that to address his issues. In many ways, he is actually learning the position much like Buster Skrine had been his first two years in the league.
Skrine was a fourth round pick out of Chattanooga with outstanding physical measurables, but no real clue as to what he was doing, much like Gilbert. It took two full seasons and a few games he’d like to forget before finally developing into an effective corner for the Browns. Skrine does his best work in the slot and is a willing tackler who can support against the run.
Considering the investment in Gilbert, the Browns have to hope they can get him on the right track much faster than that. At worst, they may be looking at the 2015 season to get a big boost from Gilbert. Much like they did with the pick of Barkevious Mingo in 2013 with the 6th overall pick, the Browns may have planned on getting a bigger impact the following season with both Justin Gilbert and their second first round pick, Johnny Manziel.
The rest of the 2014 draft class featured more polished players ready to contribute now and aside from Pierre Desir, their other rookie corner, they are getting significant contributions from the rest of their class, including a few undrafted free agents. Joel Bitonio is the starting left guard and been effective as a rookie while Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell have formed an effective duo at running back. Chris Kirksey is largely used as a coverage linebacker while they have gotten a little boost from undrafted receiver Taylor Gabriel. It is important they have gotten this type of production from these players or there might be a bigger outcry as to why both first round picks are struggling to get acclimated to the NFL.
The Browns are certainly not going to give up on Gilbert, nor should they, but the early results have been more than a little concerning and really hurt the team in a few key spots. The two weeks off could be very important for a young team and especially a rookie corner in Gilbert, which may give him a little bit of a boost for the rest of the year. It just would not be a huge surprise if it took Gilbert longer to figure things out, assuming he ever does. His measurables are outstanding and he has the the potential to be a star at the position, but he is increasingly becoming a massive liability on the Browns defense.