Browns absorb lessons of team’s minicamp
CLEVELAND — The final day of minicamp wrapped up early Thursday afternoon with a roughly two-hour workout inside First Energy Stadium.
"We have taxed them physically, we have taxed them mentally and really, we got a lot done," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "Are we where we need to be? No, but now is the time where we can take a break, go charge the battery and get ready to roll come July."
Training camp starts July 27, and between now and then the organization can digest the lessons of the past week.
Questions about Watson's suspension
Minicamp ended with the question of how long of a suspension, if there is one, the NFL will be handing down to Deshaun Watson for any violations of the league's personal conduct policy. At the same time, there remain questions as to how many more lawsuits will join the 24 already filed against him alleging sexual misconduct.
Watson was present throughout the offseason program and minicamp, except for the days he was talking to NFL investigators. When he was present, he took almost all of the first-team reps ahead of backup Jacoby Brissett and third-stringer Joshua Dobbs.
The Browns spent the last three months operating as if Watson would be starting Sept. 11 against Carolina. Stefanski, though, acknowledged those plans could change based on new information.
Delpit looking the part at safety
Grant Delpit played in 15 games with seven starts, making 66 tackles, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble and three tackles for loss last season.
He has carried the positive vibes forward. That included an impressive three-day minicamp.
"I feel pretty good," Delpit said. "I feel like myself. I just want to have a good season. I can't say anything more than that. I have big goals."
Bell's near-perfect offseason
When the Browns took David Bell in the third round of April's draft, it was assumed he would make an immediate impact, and the Purdue product has done nothing so far to suggest otherwise.
Bell seemed to catch everything thrown his way. No really, everything.
Following Wednesday's practice in Canton, Bell was asked about his claim of only dropping one pass to that point in OTAS or minicamp, and that drop came on the first day of rookie minicamp in May.
It's stuck with him since.
"I'm real big on myself," Bell said. "So when that does happen, it's uncharacteristic of myself to do that. I take it to heart. I try to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Every time I drop a ball, it's always one minor thing that I didn't do, whether looking it in or my hands aren't in the right place. So when I drop a pass, I know why I dropped that pass."
York's leg living up to the hype
Outside of Bell, the rookie who has drawn the most attention has been kicker Cade York. The fourth-round pick out of LSU came in boasting of the kind of big leg needed to win at the NFL level.
The rookie heads into the offseason break having shown just why that leg was so valued. During team field goal sessions over the course of the three days, York missed only three times in more than 20 attempts.
"Oh, he's unbelievable," safety John Johnson III said. "I mean it looks like, I don't know, like the ball just flies off of his foot. It could be a 30-yard kick, he's going to hit it for 60. … He's just doing what he loves doing, so I think that's the
beauty of it."
Good health means good offensive line play
Jack Conklin didn't participate in any of the on-field portions of either OTAS or minicamp. However, he was around the facility throughout the offseason as he
rehabs from a ruptured patellar tendon suffered last November.
That was about the only thing missing from an offensive line that looks to get back to being one of the best in the AFC, if not the entire league. Nick Harris worked extensively at center with the first unit as he gets the initial crack at replacing veteran J.C. Tretter.