Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns appeared to be set at safety heading into the 2026 offseason.
At one spot was Ronnie Hickman, who moved into a full-time starter’s role in 2025 and was a restricted free agent, meaning he was going to stay in Cleveland if the Browns wanted him. And, sure enough, Hickman recently signed his one-year tender offer.
Opposite Hickman was Grant Delpit, who has been a mainstay in the secondary over the past four seasons.
But a funny thing happened on the way to training camp as general manager Andrew Berry selected safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. When asked about the selection, Berry pointed out that defenses are increasingly relying on three safeties as hybrid defenders.
No one knows how rookies will look once the games start for real, but McNeil-Warren has drawn positive reviews, with Josh Edwards of CBS Sports highlighting the safety as a rookie who could “surprise fans” this fall:
Cleveland would have taken McNeil-Warren No. 39 overall had (Denzel) Boston not been available. Instead, they were able to get him 19 picks later. At 6-foot-3.5-inches, the Browns are hoping McNeil-Warren can be for them what Kyle Hamilton and Nick Emmanwori have been for the Ravens and Seahawks, respectively.
Offenses are looking for ways to stress defenses down-in and down-out, so having a defender capable of playing down in the box or dropping into coverage and muddying pass lanes is a schematic advantage.
That sounds good, but it also raises the question of what it means for the future of Cleveland’s incumbent starting safeties.
Hickman is playing on a one-year deal, but he is also going to turn just 25 in October, so a good campaign this season could secure another deal with the Browns.
Delpit is a bit of a different situation. He is in the final year of his current contract, but will turn 28 right after the season opener. While certainly not ancient, Delpit will be one year closer to the 30-year-old mark, which can make some general managers uneasy.
Even so, Delpit was tapped by ESPN’s Aaron Schatz as a player that Berry should be looking to sign to a new deal, especially if it looks like the Browns are further along with the current rebuilding process than expected:
Delpit is still playing at a high level. It can be hard to judge safety play, whether you use statistics or scouting, but Sports Info Solutions ranked him seventh among all safeties in its “total points saved” metric last season.
However, his contract is set to void after the 2026 season. He’ll be 29 years old for the 2027 season and could still play an important role on defense if the Browns are actually more successful at rebuilding this time. He would be a good veteran to keep around for the next couple of seasons.
Delpit has not gone public with any talk about a new contract, but [he was...
