Deshaun Watson shines in first Browns minicamp practice with full team on hand

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Mandatory minicamp brought the entire Browns’ roster together on the practice field for the first time, and the day was won by … Deshaun Watson.

“He looks in a bit of a better groove [than a year ago],” observed receiver Amari Cooper, who made his first practice appearance since core muscle surgery in February.

Watson had a hot hand all day firing passes to Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones (who made two toe-tap catches inside the end zone end line) and Elijah Moore.

Kevin Stefanski tapped the brakes on phoning Canton to size up a bronzed bust of Watson, however.

“I think you always have to be careful – I’m a former defensive back speaking now – 7-on-7s are geared to the offense,” he said. “You should complete balls on 7-on-7s. I’m the head coach, not the offensive head coach.”

(That was an interesting comment, by the way.)

Cooper allowed, “You have no pass rush, really, [so it’s] like pitch and catch out there. I mean, obviously the DBs make plays sometimes, but it's not a level playing field for them when we're doing 7-on-7, so it should look like that.”

True. But a week ago at a media-attended OTA practice, Watson failed three successive times to get the ball into the end zone in a spirited session dominated by the defense. This time, Watson was so dialed in that sometimes he clapped his hands after releasing the ball, knowing he was hitting his bulls-eye down the field.

“Yeah, I mean, he made a throw today … right when he released it, I said, ‘Great throw,’” Cooper said. “I didn’t even know it was a great throw, but I just felt that it was and it was right on the money. But yeah, he's definitely getting more comfortable … getting his rhythm back. Looking like Deshaun.”

Myles: ‘When I’m here I’m all in’ 

There may be no official depth charts posted by coaches yet, but when the first-team defensive front lined up for its first position drill it was what we thought it would be – Za’Darius Smith at left end, Jordan Elliott at left tackle, Dalvin Tomlinson at right tackle and Myles Garrett at right end.

It was Garrett’s first on-field practice of the offseason program after he skipped the voluntary workouts. He said the left big toe he dislocated in the Pro Bowl Games still hurts on occasion, “but it’s not gonna hold me back … I’m just going to have a sore big toe.”

Garrett said he was in constant communication with Stefanski during his stay-away so that everyone was on the same page. He also read the new defensive playbook authored by new coordinator Jim Schwartz to keep up to speed with some welcome changes in the Browns’ scheme.

“I mean, I was in communication with coach, getting on the same page about the way he wanted me here, making sure I got here early to meet with the new coaches, talking to the new guys,” Garrett said. “Make sure there was a dialogue to make sure nobody was on the wrong page. I was working on my game, taking care of myself, my health, and I think it’s all worked out.

“That’s what it means to have a true player’s coach – somebody willing to listen to his players and what they need and how they view themselves getting better.

"When I’m here, I’m all in. When I have the opportunity to get away and go and take it another notch and grow as a person and player, he’s been willing to give me that freedom.”

Garrett likes it simple on defense

As expected, Garrett is excited about what he sees and hears from Schwartz, whose “attack” mentality on defense favors pass rushers.

“There’s a lot of different skillsets we have on the D-line,” Garrett said. “A lot of guys have been waiting on this opportunity that we have, this freedom we’ve been given. I know Schwartz likes to say, ‘Take off the seat belt.’ That’s really the mindset. You get out there and you’re just letting it loose. Don’t worry about all these rules and doing all this. Soon as you know your assignment, after that, get off the ball and FSU, get to the ball.

“I think it just helps simplify things. I don’t think that’s a knock on Joe [Woods, former coordinator]. You really have to be intent on knowing your personnel and trying to tune in to what their skillsets and capabilities are. If you put too much on somebody’s plate rather than someone else’s, that can lead to disruption and really a disconnection between, sometimes, groups on the field. I think we saw that early in the season on some misreads we had in the back end.

“I think [Schwartz has] really helped break it down for some of the guys on the back end and I think he’s done the same up front, allowing us to really play free. Studying the playbook when I was gone, it’s pretty deep but it’s pretty simple.”

Cooper on D-Hop

Cooper did not take offense when told of Watson’s comments last week pining for former teammate DeAndre Hopkins to join the Browns. The free agent receiver is still looking for his next team.

“I didn't see that, but who wouldn't [want him]?” Cooper said. “DeAndre’s been a very great player in this league. Obviously, they have a lot of chemistry. If I was him, I would want the same thing.”

Cooper is undisputably the No. 1 receiver on the Browns. But Hopkins had that role with Watson in Houston. Cooper admitted his targets would stand to decrease if Hopkins were added.

“Yeah, if you add a great receiver like that's probably going to happen. There is only one ball. Everybody has to get their touches. As long as it's helping us win, I wouldn't have a problem with it,” he said.

“I mean, more than one way to get a cat. I think our skill sets are a little different, but we will get the job done. With DeAndre, he's pretty unstoppable with the way he uses his hands and his body to position himself well to make the catch, so it'll be pretty good.”

Until he finally got on the practice field on Wednesday, Cooper has spent a good deal of OTAs schooling up new receivers Moore, Marquise Goodwin and Cedric Tillman.

“The more the merrier,” he said of the suddenly-crowded receivers room. “The more guys that can make plays, the more plays that are going to be made. It's just that simple. I think that's the philosophy behind it.”

A Gregg Williams reference

Safety Rodney McLeod holds the distinction of playing for Schwartz in Philadelphia and for former Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in St. Louis.

He sees similarities in the salty D-coordinators.

McLeod lauded Schwartz’s passion, his energy and “holding everybody accountable, [he] demands the most out of you. He holds everybody to a very high standard and that’s what you need in this business to win. And so I think he’s already established that here. And you could tell he’s a culture-shifter. And so I feel like that’s what’s needed. Like I said, he’s going to demand excellence and [is] just an amazing guy.”

McLeod then brought up Gregg Williams.

“I would say he’s another one that stands out to me as being a real difference-maker as a coach and has the ability to be able to change the mindset of a group of men, and that’s hard to do,” McLeod said. “All, kind of, leading and working towards one common goal, and he possesses those qualities. And like I said, I saw the same thing in Jim, obviously, with us winning the championship [with the Eagles] and having all the success we had over the five years I was with him.”

Brownie bits

Cornerback Greg Newsome and defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey were robbed at gunpoint Monday morning around 3:30 a.m. outside a nightclub. Six men wearing masks made off with some of the players’ jewelry and Newsome’s car. Both players were unharmed and practiced with the team on Tuesday. “This is something that we take very seriously,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, our organization, our players are aware of things that we’ve got to make sure we’re doing to keep ourselves safe, but we just will continue to educate our guys. And then in this particular instance, I’m really happy those guys are okay.”

Last week Schwartz wouldn’t say who would be his starting cornerback across from Denzel Ward in the base defense. On Tuesday, it was Greg Newsome starting ahead of M.J. Emerson …

A warning from safety Grant Delpit: ‘Keep me under the radar, man. Don’t be surprised when I start popping off. Stay tuned. I’ve got big plans. I’m going to lead the way.” …

Very nice leaping catch between two receivers in the end zone by rookie Cedric Tillman from rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, his former high school teammate,  in the 7-on-7 red zone drill. “That’s his physical trait, the ability to just go body it up and go get the football,” Stefanski said. “And Dorian and he have been doing that for a long time. But I think Ced’s doing a really nice job. And like a lot of our rookies, he’s learning." ...