DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Denzel Ward Promoted to 1st Team CB

Denzel Ward promoted to 1st team cornerback in final week of Browns OTAs
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2018/06/denzel_ward_promoted_to_1st_te.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It looks like No. 4 overall pick Denzel Ward won't have to wait as long to start as a rookie as his predecessor Joe Haden did.

Ward, who had an excellent day in the open OTA last week, was promoted to first team defense Tuesday opposite T.J. Carrie. Last week, it was Carrie and free-agent pickup Terrance Mitchell.

If the Ohio State product keeps up this way, he'll be starting opening day against Antonio Brown and the Steelers. For Haden, he had to wait until week nine to become a full-time starter.

"Ward being out there is because he's earning it,'' said coach Hue Jackson after practice. "He's working at it. He plays a position that we've been needing a guy to step up. We see him improving each and every day and doing the things that we're asking. He needs to continue to do that to continue to be out there but we know he's very talented. That's why we drafted him. He's displayed that since he's been here.''

In practice last week, the Macedonia, Ohio native broke up a fade to the much-taller Josh Gordon in the end zone. Plays such as that helped earn him the promotion.

"Every day, I see him getting a little bit better," Jackson said then. "The speed of the game is not too big for him. The stage is not too big for him. He is out there making plays."

For Ward, toiling against Gordon, Jarvis Landry and Corey Coleman will prepare him for the big-name wideouts he'll face this season.

"For Ward, it's just all of the different things we do and the different type of receivers because that changes from play to play who he has to go up against, and learning a complicated system that we have on defense,'' said Jackson. "I think he's handled that pretty well.''

Good news but not surprising. Ward has elite measurables (His 40, vertical and broad were all better than Marshone Lattimore) and skills, it would be more of a story if any of those other bums were outperforming him.

Good news this is.

Pulling for a Buckeye to give us some pop on defense!

Carrie said Gregg has been moving everyone around the depth chart and etc. Seeing how they handle the 3's, 2's and 1's. Called it an "unorthodox" style. We'll see if Ward stays there and to be blunt about it, I definitely seeing him remaining with 1s.

Reading and hearing nothing but good things with him and camp so far. OSU homerism aside, it would be great to see our first round picks being that... first round picks and worth it.

Bums?

Have you seen Carrie and Gaines play the last three years?

I don't think you have.

Ever hear of Judas Priest?

Cause "You Got Another Thing Comin'."

Good to hear a top pick is performing well.

pretty quick ... hopefully it's warranted and he's done well

I'm not surprised. The guy has mad skills in coverage. Ohio State produces quality DBs every year and this guy's coverage ranks near the top.

Lattimore was Defensive Rookie of the Year this past season and I think Ward is even more solid in coverage, if not as spectacular.

I like Ward's closing ability and knack for making plays. Not the ideal size, but was always in the right position.

I'll take another Lattimore

This isn’t allowed on a Browns team, I’m sure he’ll have a season ending injury soon.

@ScottPetrak

#Browns CB TJ Carrie said DC Gregg Williams has "unorthodox" style. Changes up depth chart often to mess with players, see how they react. Carrie, an expected starter, has already had it happen to him.

J/c

If Mr. Ward is not a day 1 starter with this crop of DB’s we made a BIG MISTAKE ... he not only needs to start he needs to be our best CB from day 1 ...

He’ll make mistakes and thats OK ... but he needs to be our best corner from day 1 and then improve from there with experience ...

Carrie’s not bad but he’s not all that ...

I am predicting that Ward will indeed be our number 1 corner. I also like Gaines a bit more than Carrie.

I think Gaines has had some injury history which led to his shorter contract.

He does have some injury history, but I just think he can cover a bit better than Carrie. But, it's early............my observations are just from watching these dudes w/other teams and that is not extensive.

Did anyone see the TJ Carrie interview? Was he upset about the depth chart? Tough to tell based on those comments

Why would he be upset? He's still starting opposite Ward. He was starting last week too I think.

The most important part of this article. He's going to be lining up against Gordon and Landry, two tremendous receivers which will help his development/preparation tremendously. Excited to see the day where talent can get better from the talent on our team (versus weekly learning lessons that lead to missed assignments on Sundays).

I think that this is one of the "hidden" benefits of having better talent on the team. Players have better players to work against every day, and those players, in turn, also have better players to work against.

I'm still sad we didn't get to see Joe against Garrett for another year or two...would have certainly made Garrett better...and maybe Joe a bit too.

I think I have tod you all that I went to school with Marshones mom and Dad and his dad was a HS teammate of mine

Marland told me that Denzel is better than Marshone and was way harder of a worker than Marshone and helped push Marshone into being the player he is today

This is very good news to read.

Absolutely is. I'm excited about Denzel Ward. Still wish we selected Bradley Chubb, but I'm definitely excited about the guy

didnt you gush over Justin Gilbert too??
he hasnt played a down yet
lets be realistic Ward will have some learning to.do.
he has to face Aj Green and Antonio Brown 4 times this year
Ward could be elite but lets wait and see before we put HOF jacket on him

lol, not once we saw his production in practice

Good, bad, or doesn’t matter? I lean towards doesn't matter with a light sprinkling of bad.

Cool story. I know it's too early to say anything definitively, but I really like Ward as a player.

Thanks for sharing.

I'm just implying some people could be jumping the gun and the move could just be Gregg changing it up and not because one has earned it.

Or Ward is a true pick, one of the top picks actually amounting to something. I'd LOVE to believe this.

In the end it only really matters once the season starts, and with Williams and the D he plays if he has the players, at least one other corner will get major playing time. Same on the defensive line. Multiple guys are going to get similar snap counts.

Good point. I remain willing to be amazed by how good he is.

i also think we do not care much about who wins us games. Nothing counts until the bullets fly, but TT should be ready and sharp.

Never read this before - but man it warms my heart to read. I hope it pans out and Marland was/is correct. . . . hard work AND talent is a tough thing to beat. Can't wait to see him play come Sundays.

I hope fans do not get on this kid when AB tears him up the FIRST week of his career. Because that is a task no one in the NFL has been up to, let alone a week 1 rookie. I like Ward, I hope he has confidence, because he is going to need it. He is going to get beat, and THAT IS OK. He just needs to keep his head up and know that.

Completely agree.

Antonio Brown has made Joe Haden look silly. The guy's very good. Ward's not going to dominate from day 1 (probably). No matter what, it'll take him time.

But, I do hope that he shows some potential.

I'm very excited as to the direction of this team

Yeah, Ward has his work cut out for him this season. Think about the WRs who he's going to face:

Antonio Brown x2
AJ Green x2
Michael Thomas
Julio Jones
Mike Evans
Demaryius Thomas
Keenan Allen
DeAndre Hopkins
Tyreek Hill
Amari Cooper

That's a hell of a tough task

As a fan, I can be patient and moan the long ball battle he will probably lose, if he tackles and is relatively flagless. God knows the way our secondary, especially corners and a part -time safety out in left field got picked on and rolled week after week. If I see his game improve this season against the elite list we see in this thread, then I am encouraged. I think he helps us despite the liabilities of youth and inexperience.

No doubt a tough task, but he is a top corner. You can look at any teams top corner and he faces as tough task. It's a tough position to play. That's why the good corners get paid a lot of money. Even decent corners get paid a lot of money.

It's one of the few positions on the field where you are pretty much on your own.

Baptism by fire ... this is going to be a test of this mans confidence ...

He is going to get SCHOOLED from week 1 ... it doesn’t get harder than that but it stays pretty damm tough ... *L* ...

I expect to see improvement throughout the year and I expect him to be much better in rnd 2 against AB ... i didn’t say good, i just said better .... *L* ...

By year two he best be a dominant shut down corner including some epic battles against AB ...

And U know what ... going against Josh and Landry everyday ,... OH BOY ... some of them Sundays that look tough could end up a picnic compared to practice ....