Berea, OH (92.3 The Fan) – Denzel Ward is coming home.
The Ohio State cornerback was selected fourth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns where he'll get a chance to be a cornerstone in helping to resurrect his hometown team.
"To go back to my hometown, it's a blessing," Ward said Thurday night.
Ward becomes the latest in a long list of defensive backs from Ohio State to be drafted – the seventh taken in the first round since 2014 and the 19th DB in school history to go in round 1.
Columbus has become DB-U, a badge of honor Ward is proud to wear.
"Being at Ohio State, that's the goal, to be a first round draft pick, win championships there and leave early to go to the league," Ward said. "That's kind of our motto there and I wanted to uphold that."
The selection of Ward came as a shock with NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb sitting on the board at 4 but general manager John Dorsey went with the Buckeye.
"I think Denzel Ward's a really good player," Dorsey said. "I like the ability of him being able to play in this defense where we need shutdown corners. He's got the speed, quickness, ball skills."
The Denver Broncos took Chubb with the very next pick, fifth overall.
The 5-fot-10 corner totaled 67 tackles – 47 solo – with 2.0 tackles for loss, 24 passes defensed and a pair of interceptions over 3 seasons for the Buckeyes.
Dorsey made upgrading Cleveland’s secondary a priority this offseason and it is expected Ward, a Macedonia, Ohio native and Nordonia High School graduate, will be called on to step in immediately.
"He has the speed. He has the athleticism. He has the quickness. He has the ball skills," Dorsey said. "The way they were teaching him, I believe, at Ohio State they were sometimes teaching him to play the man instead of vertically tracking the ball. Once he gets that understanding, he is going to be a really, really good football player.”
Ward wasn't the only player picked by Dorsey that turned some heads. The Browns selected Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall.
