Top Browns draft pick Greg Newsome, taken 26th overall, is trying to win a starting job from Game 1. Joe Haden, taken seventh overall in 2010, didn't make his first start until Game 11. (Cleveland Browns)
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.JACKSONVILLE, FLUrban Meyer’s NFL preseason debut as coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is a big deal down here. He wants to make a splash in an NFL market still clearly second fiddle to college football.
Meyer is more revered in bug-infested Florida than Columbus. Remember, Meyer won two national college championships at Florida – situated in Gainesville, 72 miles to the south of Jacksonville – versus one at Ohio State. Add Florida icon Tim Tebow into the mix – trying to reinvent himself as a tight end as he turns 34 on Saturday – and you can fairly label the Jaguars’ preseason opener a big event.
For the Browns, it’s almost a nuisance.
Kevin Stefanski’s conservative approach to the preseason will keep the vast majority of Browns starters on the sideline in TIAA Bank Field.
You get the impression Stefanski would rather stay home and work his regulars for two hours in the stifling heat that has sledge-hammered Berea this summer.
But there are benefits to the Browns resuming preseason games after a one-year respite caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
One is to familiarize the many newcomers, young and old, with the team protocols of air travel, a hotel stay, and basic game-day operations.
Two is to break up the monotony of camp and introduce a plethora of young players to a higher level of speed than they’ve seen on their own practice fields.
Several first- and second-year players of note are expected to receive extended playing time. These include rookies such as linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, all-purpose pepperpot Demetric Felton, offensive tackle James Hudson, defensive tackle Tommy Togiai and safety Richard LeCounte. The sophomores to watch are receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, linebacker Jacob Phillips, tight end Harrison Bryant and center Nick Harris.
But perhaps the main purpose of this first Browns preseason game is to intensify the competition of the marquee position battle of Stefanski’s second training camp – Greedy Williams v. rookie No. 1 draft pick Greg Newsome for the No. 2 cornerback spot opposite Pro Bowler Denzel Ward.
Ward is among the bystanders, so Williams and Newsome will be paired as starters against Jaguars young receivers D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault, second-round picks in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
Through 13 practices, Williams and Newsome have alternated with the No. 1 defense. Each has his own challenge.
Williams, the Browns’ second-round pick from LSU in 2019, is trying to come back from an unusual nerve ailment in his right shoulder that sidelined him for the entire 2020 season.
After missing the big franchise turn-around season in the first year of the Stefanski-Andrew Berry regime, Williams watched the new order select Newsome, of Northwestern, with the 26
th pick of the first round. Williams was not aware the team was picking a cornerback until he saw it on the television.
Newsome has been a sponge in his first training camp, soaking up the wisdom of Ward and the preachings of the coaches. Newsome is trying to defy the odds and win a starting cornerback job from Game 1. Joe Haden, who was the No. 7 overall pick in the first round in 2010, did not make his first start at cornerback for the Browns until Game 11.
“They’re both long, both have good speed, they’re able to press, both have some good zone reactions, they’re comfortable when the ball’s in the air,” defensive backs coach Jeff Howard said this week. “Greedy has a little bit more experience.
"But about Greg, I’ve been extremely impressed how he takes coaching. His ability to take information from the meeting room and out to the field. He’s a very consistent learner. I think he’s wise beyond his years. Just asks great questions. Really thoughtful about his craft. That stands out with Greg.”
As soon as he was hired by Stefanski in 2020, Howard familiarized himself with Williams’ 2019 rookie season by studying his game tape.
“As far as going back to that tape, you love his length, love his speed,” Howard said. “He’s able to match outside. When we’re playing press coverage, we’re trying to disrupt timing and space and having a long body that can run can really do that. Controlling the deep passing game, doing it from that press alignment is not something a lot of people can do. That’s what makes those corners special, and you can kind of see that with Greedy. That was something I was excited about to work with him."
Williams is 6-2 and 185 pounds. Newsome is 6-1 and 192. Williams is 23 years old. Newsome is 21.
That’s the tale of the tape.
“What I’m excited about is having a competitive room with those corners,” Howard said. “Is it games? Is it practice? I think it’s all of the above. We’re going to compete in these games and practices and we’re going to sort it out at the end of it.”
Let the battle begin.
