Ward looks to buils on rookie of week showing
Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward hopes to benefit from peer pressure.
Ward saw the success New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore had last season as a rookie and wants to match or exceed the accomplishments of one of his good friends and former Ohio State teammates.
Lattimore had five intercep-
tions and 18 passes defensed en route to earning a Pro Bowl selection and the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
“It definitely gives me motivation,” Ward said recently as the Browns (0-0-1) prepared for
today’s road game against the Saints (0-1). “Marshon, he’s a great player. He had a great season.
“It’s definitely possible [for me to make a similar impact as a rookie]. I’ve just got to go out there and com- pete every day and just work hard.”
The fourth overall pick in April’s draft, Ward is off to a phenomenal start. He compiled six tackles, two inter- ceptions and three passes defensed in last Sunday’s season-opening 21-21 tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Friday, he was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week.
“It was nice to see him make plays. It was also a big smile to my face of how comfortable he felt playing in the game,” defensive coor- dinator Gregg Williams said. “He has some things he has to continue to improve on, some things he hasn’t been asked to do before.
“But making plays at the ball, on the ball, was very good. Has to do a couple more things in the run front, a couple of other things that corners on other teams and other systems don’t have to do, but it was a very positive way for him to get started in the league and how proud he was of now knowing that he belongs or that he becomes closer to belonging.”
His teammates are con- vinced he belongs. Terrance Mitchell, the Browns’ other starting cornerback, called Ward “fearless,” and Jabrill Peppers, the starting strong safety, said he likes how Ward carries himself.
“He’s not a real talker, but he doesn’t have to,” Peppers said. “His play talks for him. As long as he keeps playing like that, he doesn’t really have to say too much.”
For the most part, Ward was pleased with his perfor- mance. Still, he lamented allowing Steelers six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Brown to make a circus catch in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown with 8:24 left in the third quarter.
“My expectation every game is to go in and take my man off the field and lock my man down,” Ward said. “I didn’t do that, so I’ve still got things I’ve got to work on.”
Williams called Brown’s touchdown reception “highly earned” Ward’s coverage and explained “was as good as you can almost be, just a small percentage point that he’s usually able to separate the ball at the very end of the play.”
The Browns need Ward to sustain his high level of play. When they visit the Super- dome, they’ll be pitted against quarterback future Drew Hall Brees of Fame and another Pro Bowler from Ohio State, receiver Michael Thomas, who had 16 catches on 17 targets for 180 yards and a touchdown last Sunday in the Saints’ 48-40 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buckeyes careers of Ward and Thomas overlapped in 2015, the year before the Saints drafted Thomas in the second round (47th overall).
“With Michael Thomas and a quarterback who’s deadly accurate who knows how to get their offense up and running, this is another challenge,” coach Hue Jackson said.
As a freshman at Ohio State, Ward covered Thomas during practices. They have kept in touch just like Ward and Lattimore have. “I’m real close with those guys,” Ward said.