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Browns CB Joe Haden Ranked No. 23 on the NFL's Top 100 List

By Chris Pokorny
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

""Whenever a top receiver faces the Browns, he faces his new shadow. In 2014, Haden drew the assignment of A.J. Green in both games against the Bengals. Green, who was targeted 21 times in those games, only caught a combined 8 passes for 72 yards and 0 touchdowns." -Narrator, NFL Top 100

Congratulations to Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden, who was ranked at No. 23 on the list of the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2015. After being snubbed in 2013, Haden made the list at No. 39 overall in 2014. Although he got off to a bit of a slow start last season, he picked up the pace the rest of the season, and his peers recognized that. Haden is the highest-rated member of the Browns on the Top 100 list.

"Film study is all good because you'll find a couple of plays in the game when you can see from your film that you know what's coming," said Haden in the video clip. "When something happens that you've been looking for, it's the best. I would definitely call myself a lockdown corner. I take a lot of pride in that. You know who the No. 1 guy is on the opposite team. It's you vs. him, the whole field, one-on-one. You've got to be a baller."

The NFL's Top 100 list features the top one hundred players in the NFL, as chosen by fellow NFL players. The Browns have three players featured in 2015 -- FS Tashaun Gipson (No. 67), LT Joe Thomas (No. 25), and CB Joe Haden (No. 23). Here are some testimonials that Haden's teammates and players around the league offered on Haden:

"His ability to jam a receiver at the line and still run with them and still make it look real easy, it's huge. Other cornerbacks -- they can't imitate the same steps and techniques that he's using. ... Best play? I'd have to say him checking Julio Jones. He wasn't even looking, and he was trying to communicate and the ball is snapped. He just reacts (clip shows Haden making an interception). I was like, 'lord have mercy, did you just see this play?' I'm on the sideline and I've got chills. At cornerback position, Joe Haden is definitely at the top of the list right now." -ILB Karlos Dansby, Browns

"He almost has his own island out there. When offensive players are running routes, the quarterbacks need to know that mismatch and really avoid throwing it to that side because it can be a game-changing play when you throw it to his side." -TE Mychal Rivera, Raiders

"He route reads and pattern reads very well and beats guys to points. He has good ball skills -- if you throw it around him or it gets near him, he's going to catch it." -QB Josh McCown, Browns

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