Dawgs By Nature
Cleveland needs help with depth at safety, so there could be a path for Donovan McMillon to find a roster spot.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry addressed the defense with the team’s first two selections in the 2025 NFL Draft before turning his attention solely to the offensive side of the ball.
That was an understandable strategy after the 2024 season, during which the Browns fielded some of the worst quarterback play in NFL history.
Related: Browns Roster: 4 UDFAs who could make the roster in 2025
Still, the defense needs to perform even with an improved offense. And one of the biggest question marks on the defensive side of the ball is at safety.
Grant Delpit, who is somehow already entering his sixth season with the Browns, has been a solid, if not necessarily spectacular, player at one safety position.
Opposite Delpit is Ronnie Hickman, who, since signing with the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2023, has slowly worked his way onto the field more and more.
Behind Delpit and Hickman is not much else at the moment, which is why Donovan McMillon, part of this year’s undrafted free agent class, could be a player to watch this summer, according to Nick Baumgardner at The Athletic:
Another big safety, McMillon (6-2, 203) played both safety spots and in the slot the last two years for Pitt, after spending time at Florida. He ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash with a 35-inch vertical and a 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump. An aggressive coverage player, McMillon broke up five passes and forced six incompletions last year.
McMillon has the size to play the position at the NFL level, but also has “inconsistent instincts and execution” and is a player who will need “better consistency as a run stopper and tackler in the open field,” according to his draft profile at NFL.com.
He did rank high in Relative Athletic Score, however, with a grade that placed him at No. 99 out of 1,228 strong safeties from 1987 to 2025.
According to Dawg By Nature's Damon Wolfe, that level of testing makes McMillon the exact type of undrafted free agent the Browns covet.
This isn’t to suggest that McMillon is a lock to make the roster, but given Cleveland’s lack of depth at the safety position, if he is willing to work hard on special teams, there could be a path for McMillon to see the field this fall.
