Denzel Ward has led the NFL in pass breakups since he joined the Browns in 2018. He'd take INTs over PBUs any day, and is driven to do so. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is an analyst on the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
If there was an offseason player-of-the-year award on the Browns, it would go to Denzel Ward.
Not that the Macedonia native and Nordonia HS product needs some cockamamie, made-up award to place in his trophy room.
I mean, Ward has achieved far more meaningful honors in his seven seasons with the Browns – four Pro Bowls, a $100 million contract, defensive co-captain (which he treasures), and the club’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nomination last year.
But that’s just it. Ward’s accomplishments should earn him a pass on participating in the drudgery of the famously voluntary portion of the offseason program. Yet there was Ward again, for the second year in a row, scoring perfect attendance in the program that began in mid-April and concluded in last week’s mandatory minicamp.
“It's just setting an example,” Ward said last week of the importance of participating in each phase of the offseason program, not just in the OTA practices. “That's part of being a great leader and setting an example for these guys.
“I mean, we're trying to build something special. A lot of people count us out, but this is where it starts -- right here. So we've got to believe in ourselves first and just continue to come out here and work and be with the guys and the coaches and everything, and just get better each day.”
Some players have bonuses written in their contracts as extra incentive to attend the voluntary workouts.
Myles Garrett’s record-shattering, $160 million contract included a $1 million workout bonus for participating in an undisclosed percentage of voluntary days in each spring through 2030. Nevertheless, Garrett hardly participated in the voluntary portion this year. When you’ve been guaranteed $123 million, as Garrett was, one million is pocket change, I guess.
Conversely, Ward earned the same $315 per diem prescribed in the collective bargaining agreement as any undrafted free agent for attending the voluntary sessions.
And he was there. Every day of the program.
“I take a lot of pride in it,” Ward said.
Turning PBUs into INTs
On the field, Ward’s spring season picked up from where he left off in 2024, which he considered his finest season with the Browns. Now, that’s both a good thing and bad thing.
In the five practices open to media – two OTAs and three in minicamp – Ward bedeviled Browns QBs with pass breakups (PBUs), but he failed to secure at least four would-be interceptions.
This became an annoying and regrettable earmark of Ward’s game last season, and over his entire career.
Since entering the NFL from Ohio State in 2018, Ward leads all defensive backs with 95 pass breakups. He has 17 interceptions in that time, never getting more than three in a season.
Last year, Ward led the NFL with 19 PBUs. But I counted about six dropped or mishandled interceptions. Ward had two interceptions, but the missed opportunities were the difference, said defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, in Pro Bowl berth v. All-Pro honors.
“Denzel got his hands on a lot of passes last year, and we need to convert more of those to interceptions,” Schwartz said. “And that’s the difference between Pro Bowl and All-Pro. The game-changing plays. The PBU is big for us, but we need to get more of the INTs and he’s made a big push to convert those to INTs and we need that to the show on the field.”
Let’s look how Ward fared among the best DBs in the NFL last year.
For this exercise, let’s award one point for a PBU and two points for an INT.
Ward’s 19 PBUs led the NFL. Houston’s Derek Stingley Jr. had 18 and Carolina’s Mike Jackson and Tampa Bay’s Zyon McCullom were next with 17.
But if you follow our scoring system and give two points for an interception, the rankings among DBs, including safeties, change.
Ward’s 19 PBUs + two interceptions (two times two) give him a total of 23 points.
Detroit safety Brian Branch had 16 PBU + four interceptions for 24 points.
Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey had 16 PBU + five interceptions (one TD) for 26 points.
Minnesota cornerback Byron Murphy had 14 PBU + six interceptions for 26 points.
Stingley had 18 PBUs + five interceptions for 28 points.
And the leader in this exercise was Detroit’s other safety, Kerby Joseph, who had 12 PBUs + nine interceptions (one TD) for 30 points.
Stingley and Joseph were named first-team All-Pros by the Associated Press 50-person panel.
(Inexplicably, Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain, who had 11 PBUs + four interceptions for 19 points, not only was named first-team All-Pro but also defensive player-of-the-year. Surtain was on the field, of course, when Jerry Jeudy riddled his former team for nine receptions, 235 yards and one touchdown.)
The next step
Despite his well-earned accolades, I don’t think Ward has received the love he deserves locally and nationally.
Browns fans constantly complain about his missed games, particularly due to concussions – reportedly, six in his career.
In truth, Ward has missed 20 games out of 115 in his career due to injuries. So that 82.6 percent availability rate is pretty high. Last year, he started 16 of 17 games.
His dropped interceptions have become more of an irritant than his availability.
Cornerbacks coach Brandon Lynch said Browns DBs are intent on holding each other accountable for making more takeaways. The Browns had four interceptions as a team last season.
Lynch said that the “eight to 10” DBs who followed Ward’s example and attended the bulk of the offseason program averaged 50 reps a day catching balls from the automatic dispensing JUGS machine.
“A lot of [last year’s interception drops] were contested,” Ward said. “But, you know, I feel I'm good enough where I could come and take those balls away. I just have to find a way to get two hands on the ball and finish the play.
“You know, that's the biggest thing, and that's going to be my focus this year. And I'm going to take it away. I'm going to take it away this year.”