Stay or Go? Way too early look at 2020 Browns’ roster: Defensive backfield

Now we get into the heart of the defense and an area that before the 2019 season was considered a strong unit, yet had its issues. The DBN writers have gotten together and will attempt to see which of these athletes the Browns will keep, or allow to play somewhere else.

Do you agree or disagree wih our predictions? Leave a comment.

Here is our “Stay” or “Go” predictions:

Cornerbacks

Denzel Ward

Thomas Moore: It may not have been as spectacular as his rookie campaign when he made the Pro Bowl, but the 2019 season was still good to cornerback Denzel Ward. He overcame a hamstring injury that cost him four games to finish the season with the team’s top coverage grade (72.7 per Pro Football Focus), nine passes defensed and an interception. Ward also allowed the lowest completion percentage (44.9 percent) of any qualifying cornerback, per Pro Football Focus, and finished at No. 8 in lowest passer rating allowed at 58. STAY

Greedy Williams

Matt Wood: A kid who is in desperate need of some real coaching. For the majority of the season his biggest draft knock (tackling) wasn’t an issue. He had some serious bad moments against the Bengals, but who didn’t? Kid has talent but needs someone to teach him the finer points of playing CB. I’m much more bullish on Greedy than maybe some others but I’m excited for him. STAY

Photo by: 2019 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Terrance Mitchell

Chris Pokorny: This is where personal bias comes into play: I am still a big fan of Terrance Mitchell. I thought it was a shame that unless a player was injured, Steve Wilks couldn’t find a gameday role for him. He has some of the better ball instincts on the team, has a knack for stripping the football, and challenges receivers well. Even though I understood the need to get Greedy Williams some experience, I would have started Mitchell for much of the season, and I think he should stay for the final year of his deal in 2020 too so the team doesn’t have to worry about their backup depth at cornerback. STAY

T.J. Carrie

Barry Shuck: A seasoned veteran who didn’t see the field as much as was projected. They wanted Carrie to pair with Ward, but that never materialized. Decent depth, but not worth the paycheck. GO

Tavierre Thomas

Jesse Kuroiwa: Versatile ST player, but I thought he was not good enough as a ST player to make me really want to keep him. He’s cheap, but he is also cheap to cut. ST players are underrated in general, but this is a coin flip for me. GO

Safeties

Damarious Randall

Thomas Moore: The good: Finished the season with Cleveland’s top tackling grade (79.8 per Pro Football Focus) and was fourth on the Browns with 60 tackles. The bad: Missed two games early in the season with a concussion that may not have been a concussion, three games in the middle of the season with a hamstring injury, and the second game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after being left home for undisclosed reasons. Randall is fine when he is on the field, but a new coaching staff may not believe he is worth the hassle. You hate to see the Browns create more holes, but this could be a case of addition by subtraction. GO

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Juston Burris

Matt Wood: Another guy who was tossed into the fire and wasn’t terrible. I would love the idea of Burris being the 4^th safety for the Browns and that may be where he ends up next season. He is a UFA so some other team may give him more money or more PT, but I hope he makes it back. STAY

Eric Murray

Chris Pokorny: Even if Emmanuel Ogbah had underachieved, I still can’t believe that he was traded for Eric Murray. Murray was in the final year of his rookie deal coming over from the Chiefs, and will be an unrestricted free agent. The team should let him walk. GO

Sheldrick Redwine

Barry Shuck: If you go by his tackling skills, he would be gone. However, he is a young guy drafted pretty high and I assume that the coaching staff will give him time to develop. His cover skills are iffy each game, and then he will “wow” you with several plays. STAY

Photo by: 2019 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

J.T. Hassell

Jesse Kuroiwa: His 2020 cap number is 4-5x his 2019 cap number and he costs nothing to cut. On a team ravaged by DB injuries he didn’t really make an impact. GO