The Cleveland Browns may have the most underrated Secondary in the NFL. And it is weird to think they are underrated with their starting secondary making Pro-Bowl during their career. It also shows their hard work. Joe Haden and Donte Whitner were 1st round picks when drafted, but Tramon Williams and Tashaun Gipson were undrafted Free Agents. The secondary is a hard working, blue-collar group of players which personifies “The Dawg Pound” and Cleveland.
The Browns in 2014, under rookie Head Coach Mike Pettine and Rookie Defensive Coordinator Jim O’Neill ranked:
1st in the NFL in Pass Deflections with 115, 1st in opponent QB Rating 74.1, 2nd in Interceptions with 21, 9th in Opponent Points/Game 21.1, tied for 4th in yards/play 5.2, 8th in allowed Passing Yards per game 224.5, 8th in opponent passing yards 3,592, tied for 3rd in yards/Pass 6.4, and tied for 10th in opponent 3rd down percentage. And this was under 1st year coaches with a completely new defensive scheme, so there should be an improvement in 2015.
Buffalo and Cleveland were in the top 10 in all of these categories. Ironically Buffalo’s defense was coached by Pettine and O’Neill in 2013 before they came to Cleveland. Seattle is the top defense without a doubt, but they were tied for 18th in INTs. Other than Interceptions they are included with the Bills and Browns.
Browns Starting Secondary:
Joe Haden is a one of the top 5 Corners in the game. Haden is ranked the 23rd best player in 2015. He is a 2x Pro-Bowler (2013,2014) and was second team All-Pro in 2013. Haden had 73 Total Tackles, 20 Pass deflections with 3 Interceptions in 16 games. He is entering his second year of his 5 year $68 Million deal.
Tashaun Gipson has lead the AFC in Interceptions twice (2013, 2014). Gipson is ranked the 67th best player in 2015. While only playing in 11 games last year because of an MCL Sprain, Gipson had 6 INTs and 52 Tackles. He was a Pro-Bowler in 2014.
Donte Whitner in his first season with the Browns lead the team in Tackles with 106 and had 1 interception in 16 games. Whitner is a 3x Pro-Bowler (2012-2014). And is one of the veteran leaders on the defense. He is entering his 2nd year with the Browns, after signing a 4 year $28 Million deal last off-season.
Tramon Williams signed a 3 year $21 Million deal with the Browns this off-season. He will replace Buster Skrine as Starting Corner opposite of Joe Haden. Last year he played in 16 games, had 3 INTs, with 13 Pass Deflections. He was a Pro-Bowler in 2010, and won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers.
Other Notable DBs:
K’Waun Williams was an Undrafted Free Agent from Pittsburgh last year. He played in 13 games/Starting 4 in 2015. Williams had 8 Pass Deflections with 38 Tackles. Williams had a few nagging injuries last year, but he seems to be the starting Nickel Corner in 2015.
Justin Gilbert was the Browns 1st Round Pick in 2014 (8th overall). Gilbert played in 14 games/Starting 2 in 2015. He had 1 INT resulting in a TD and had 8 Pass Deflections. He had some undisclosed problems last year, which resulted in a lack of playing time.
Ibraheim Campbell was drafted in the 4th round in 2015. He is projected to replace Retired Safety Jim Leonhard. He started 45 games at Northwestern and had 11 career INTs.
The Browns’ Secondary will be the backbone of the Browns. Which will hopefully make the Browns a playoff contender team in 2015. With another year of questionable QB play, whether it is Josh McCown or Johnny Manziel, fans have to hope the secondary can Lock Down the Lake!
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