BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Ronnie Harrison and Grant Delpit are viewed as two key cogs in Joe Woods' defensive scheme.
Whether it be in the base defense, nickel or dime package, the two safeties are expected to make big plays this season.
“I’m waiting on the day that we’re all healthy, that’s the main thing, getting through camp healthy,” Delpit said prior to practice Wednesday. “I know people might be frustrated that we’re not out there practicing one day, but the main goal is getting ready for Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs.”
Unfortunately for Delpit, his words foreshadowed a setback.
Delpit aggravated the same hamstring that sidelined him early in practice Wednesday defending a deep ball to up and coming young receiver Davion Davis.
To Delpit’s point, the defense is yet to be whole for most of camp.
Defensive ends Myles Garrett has been slowed by a hamstring injury while Jadeveon Clowney who is being rested with no specific injury cited by the team.
Getting the speed, athleticism and big-playmaking ability of Harrison and Delpit back is a positive step towards becoming whole.
“Good to see them out there,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Obviously we’re not going to have them run 60-plus plays, so [we’re] still being smart about how we’ll do that but they look good to me. Both Grant and Ronnie have a good understanding of what we’re doing schematically.”
Collectively, the Browns, who could have as many as nine new starters on the defensive side of the ball, should be vastly improved, provided they are healthy.
“I think it's tremendous potential,” Harrison said. “We've got a lot of guys with talent, every position, we're stacked, a bunch of playmakers, a bunch of guys that love to play football, that love the game of football. It's going to be special when we put it all together and head in one direction.”
The hamstring injury was a temporary setback for Delpit, who missed his rookie season after suffering a torn Achilles in training camp last August.
“It’s a part of the game. It could be worse,” Delpit said. “It definitely could be worse. I definitely have a new-found respect for people that deal with having just one leg maybe or have gone through terrible injuries and are stuck with it for life, so I was able to experience that for one year and I leaned on my family as my support system so it was a learning experience.”
The expectations for Delpit, selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of LSU, are almost as high for fans as they have for the team.
“I’ve been dealing with pressure my whole life. It’s just something that comes with football,” Delpit said. “It comes with being an NFL player or college player, so it’s nothing to me but I like the fact that people believe in me, and I can do that, so I’m hoping to show and prove that this year.”
Harrison was also sidelined with a hamstring injury that forced him to join Delpit in the trainer’s room, bikes and sidelines.
“These guys do a good job taking care of us,” Harrison said, “the training staff, and they just wanted to make sure I was OK getting back out there, didn’t want to be dealing with this going into the season.”
Harrison also is in his second season with the Browns following a trade last September 3 from Jacksonville for a fifth-round pick this year.
“It was a big shock, I ain’t going to lie, especially just because of the timing right before the season,” Harrison said. “But coming up here, coach Woods did a good job making everything transparent for me and allowing me to come in and play and show what I could do. It was just a good transition for me. A big shock at first, but it was a smooth transition.”
Harrison hasn’t been here a full calendar year but made himself a dependable piece defensively.
“It was a testament to him that he was able to come in and learn,” Stefanski said. “And it was a similar scheme that he was coming from in Jacksonville but he really took it upon himself to understand what we were doing and grow his role.”