Seth DeValve is mixing in some fullback as he fights for Browns roster spot
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/08...oster-spot.htmlBEREA, Ohio -- Seth DeValve, who has been dabbling at fullback lately, might have taken offense when it was brought up on Tuesday that guys that play that position are just different dudes.
“I'm not one of those dudes?” he asked.
OK, he wasn’t really offended. But there was a bigger point here.
“Look, I can hit somebody,” he said, “and I'll do it full speed and, hey, man, I'll let you guys be the judge.”
The four snaps that DeValve took at fullback didn’t mark the first time he lined up there. He filled in for former Browns fullback Orson Charles in 2018 when Charles was injured and has been working there, along with others, during camp.
The reason those snaps might matter is simple roster math. There are 53 spots. DeValve, for the second year in a row, is fighting for one of those 53 spots. He managed to get one last season, even with a quad injury keeping him sidelined in training camp. This year, he suffered a concussion early on and missed the first two preseason games.
DeValve is very much on the bubble and, when you’re in that position, versatility helps. Charles was waived on August 11. Joe Kerridge, the lone fullback on the roster, has been sidelined with a concussion. That created an opportunity for DeValve.
“It's one of those things where the more you can do, the better your chances are,” head coach Freddie Kitchens said. “I think he's recognized that, and he's worked on that aspect of his game.”
Kitchens said the Browns plan to have a tight end who can fill both roles and DeValve’s advantage comes in the fact that he, as Kitchens put it, looks the part.
“He's got the body type,” Kitchens said. “He's got the athletic ability to get through the hole, and sometimes when guys are 6-5, 6-6, they struggle to get down low enough to get their pads up under somebody else.”
DeValve, for the record, measures in at 6-foot-3.
Still, doesn’t fullback come with a little bit of a different mentality?
“To hit somebody in the face? Yeah. It’s something I’ve been doing my whole career, even when I was playing wideout at college in Princeton,” DeValve said. “It’s football, man. It kind of comes with it.”
For DeValve, it dates back to when he was playing quarterback in high school, running a spread that involved read option plays. He says he had as many rushing yards as passing yards his senior season.
“Our coaches didn't care in high school,” he said. “We'd line up in practice in full speed tackling drills, running back, linebacker meet in the hole between the two cones, I was doing that back then.”
Yes, even as a quarterback.
“Coaches want to find out who really wants to tackle,” DeValve said. “I played quarterback doing this kind of stuff. It's what got me here.”
As did his versatility. He wanted to play quarterback at Princeton. Nope. He played receiver. Then he got to the NFL, where he became a tight end.
Now? He’s adding a little fullback to his repertoire.
“I think it's just being a good teammate,” DeValve said. “This team isn't necessarily about me, it's about the team and what the team needs as long as I'm on this team. It's expected of me to be flexible.”
And when he’s called upon to lead the way for a running back, it’s pretty simple.
“I just buckle up my chinstrap,” he said, “get angry and go downhill and hit somebody.”