Browns want to have all hands ready for KC
Whenever a defense encounters superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, it needs all the help it can get.
So safety Grant Delpit, cornerback Greedy Williams and linebacker Sione Takitaki returning from soft-tissue injuries and participating in Browns practice has provided hope the defense could be close to full strength when it faces Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Sept. 12 regularseason opener.
“Everybody’s progressing,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said.
All three were hurt in late August. Delpit had aggravated a right hamstring injury. Williams was working his way back after injuring his groin. And Takitaki had tweaked a hamstring.
Delpit and Williams, both of whom are second-round draft picks from LSU, didn’t play last season because of injuries they suffered on the same day. Delpit suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and Williams suffered nerve damage in a shoulder on Aug. 24, 2020
Defensive coordinator Joe Woods has expressed optimism Delpit and Williams would be ready when the season kicks off.
“I definitely want them to be involved,” Woods said. “When you have the ability to put more speed on the field and create the matchups you want to create, that’s what those guys give us.
“Greedy can play either corner position, but he’ll allow us to create some different matchups inside with other guys. With Grant, he can play all of the safety positions, and he can play the dime position. Coming out of LSU, he showed us coverage skills. There’s a lot of flexibility and there are a lot of different things I can do within the package. It’s just really getting the guys back healthy.”
Woods wants to use Ronnie Harrison, John Johnson and Delpit at the same time in a dime package. The viability of the three-safety look, though, hinges largely on Delpit’s health.
“We’re going to have a dime package,” Woods said. “We may have to get to it maybe a little bit later in terms of the whole package, but we (were) repping it in training camp. We’re keeping alive, but once (Delpit) gets back, there are some other things I’ll be able to do.”