Dawgs By Nature
The defensive backfield has always been such a pet project for Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry. He played cornerback in college, and so far, has done everything in his power to provide both the corner and safety positions with good talent, plus depth players.
And the cornerback room was viewed as a group of strength going into this year’s training camp. Then one thing happened: starting cornerback M.J. Emerson snapped his Achilles tendon on a non-contact play.
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And that was all it took to push that last tight Jenga piece, because it toppled. Badly.
Emerson’s injury forced DC Jim Schwartz to move slot corner Greg Newsome back to the outside, and then insert a new body to play Newsome’s vacant spot. The winner ended up as Cam Mitchell, although youngster Myles Harden would get plenty of reps here as well.
It was thought that after the loss to Emerson, Berry would bring in a seasoned veteran to replace him. But that never happened. It was either Mitchell, Harden, veteran Nik Needham, or rookie undrafted free agent Dom Jones. But both Needham and Jones were eventually released, with Jones now listed on the practice squad.
Schwartz requires his cornerbacks to play man coverage, with occasional help from a safety over the top. This works great if you have an abundance of talent like Denzel Ward, who starts on the left side. Ward had a great college career and, as a senior, was named Consensus All-American plus First Team All-Big 10, so his pedigree was well-known. Then the Browns selected fourth overall in the 2018 NFL draft, and now he has four Pro Bowls in seven seasons.
But Mitchell has been a project. He received a lot of playing time last year, with 372 snaps, which accounted for 34.32% of all defensive plays. Granted, the last four games he was inserted into the defensive lineup quite a bit after the season was deemed lost, but still, he played. And developed.
Harden made the final roster, but his rookie season was basically a wash when he was placed on IR with a shin injury he suffered in practice while preparing for the Week 2 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was activated on December 14 with just four games remaining.
Neither Mitchell nor Harden is ready to take on a starting role. They certainly aren’t seasoned enough to cover a receiver in man coverage in a live game.
Against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 this past weekend, their offense picked on both players and scored at will.
The Ravens scored four passing touchdowns:
Quarter 2 – 11:13, WR Tylan Wallace 15 yards; Coverage: Mitchell
Quarter 3 – 10:09, WR Tylan Wallace 2 yards; Coverage: Mitchell
Quarter 4 – 13:26, WR Devontez Walker 24 yards; Coverage: Harden
Quarter 4 – 4:43, WR DeAndre Hopkins 23 yards; Coverage: Mitchell
Out of all these touchdown passes, S Ronnie Hickman was late getting over on two scores while...
