The Cleveland Browns have built Strong Secondary Depth
By Jon Dove
The Cleveland Browns recent signing of E.J. Gaines added to what is becoming a very deep secondary group.
E.J. Gaines absolutely didn’t expect to have such a slow free agent market. However, his pain was a gain for the Cleveland Browns. Gaines brings starter experience and stretches where he played well above average.
The addition to Gaines gives the Browns plenty of depth in the secondary. He will be battling for a starting job against the likes of Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Terrance Mitchell, Travis Carrie and Howard Wilson.
It appears that Jamar Taylor has one of the starting jobs locked up and it’s likely that Carrie spends the majority of his time in the slot.
Cleveland also has some versatile pieces at the safety position that could help in coverage. Damarious Randall spent most of his NFL career playing cornerback but is making a transition back to safety this year.
The one concern here for the Browns is that none of the cornerbacks on the roster can be considered a No. 1 corner. This is a group of solid contributors who can hold their own. However, none of them will be able to lock down the opponents top offensive weapon.
This fact will impact how they attack the draft. Cleveland would jump at a chance to land someone with potential. Ohio State’s Denzel Ward would be a consideration in the 1st round, but not at pick No. 1 or No. 4.
Ward would come into play if the Browns moved down the 1st round. He would give them someone with the potential to be among the upper echelon of cornebacks in the league.