When the Cleveland Browns signed Sheldon Brown last season and drafted Joe Haden, many fans speculated that perhaps Brown could move to one of the starting safety positions. To start the 2010 campaign, Brown and Eric Wright were named the starting cornerbacks with Haden coming in off the bench. A combination of Wright struggling and suffering an injury during the season forced the Browns to start Haden, who made the most of his opportunity.
While it seems like Cleveland will be targeting a defensive lineman in the first round of April's draft, selecting a defensive back would not be out of the question for Tom Heckert. With that said, when it comes to the thought of Brown moving to safety in 2011, don't count on it:
"He's staying at corner," Browns General Manager Tom Heckert said in a recent interview. Heckert said Brown may end his career playing as a safety, "but that's a ways off."
The secondary will definitely consist of Haden and T.J. Ward next season, but Wright and Abram Elam will both be free agents. With the other needs Cleveland has, it seems like the team will probably lean toward starting Brown and not re-signing Wright. Cleveland will need to address some issues when it comes to depth at the defensive back position, something they lacked at the safety position this past year by having to play Ray Ventrone in some situations.