Cleveland Browns rookie defenders understand 'a lot of expectations' they 'have to meet'
BEREA — Nathaniel Watson deserves some credit for honesty. The Cleveland Browns sixth-round draft pick didn't hide what was the part of the transition from college to the NFL concerns him the most.
"I probably just say really just being out there with guys that I watched growing up and being star-struck for a while," the former Mississippi State linebacker said on Friday's opening day of rookie minicamp. "So yeah, that probably going to be my biggest emphasis getting over. Because Myles Garrett, I see Myles Garrett, I'm going to be like, I'm really on his team. I'm really on their team. So yeah, that's probably going to be the biggest thing. So yeah, I look forward to it though."
Watson was one of the six draft picks who are among the 27 players — 14 defensive and 13 offensive — going through the three-day orientation program. That number also includes six players with a year of NFL experience who have been on the Browns' practice squad previously.
Those rookies, whether they were drafted, free agents or tryout players, come into an organization which is coming off a year in which its defense finished the regular season ranked No. 1 overall. With that, naturally, comes a level of understanding of what they're walking into in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's scheme.
Part of that understanding is schematic related, especially for those used to playing in a completely different one.
“It’s just really big for me coming from a freaking lateral, passive-type defense, to be able to really just pin my ears back and go, I’ve never really had the chance," defensive tackle Jowon Briggs, a seventh-round pick, said. "… You know, if you’re a well-coached player, you do what the scheme dictates, and that’s what I like to do to help my team win and help my team be great. But finally, you know, I get a chance to kind of play at what I think would be my strengths, and that’s attacking a guy in front of me and just really getting upfield and, you know, letting my strength play its part.”
However, those new defensive players also understand the legitimate weight of expectations that comes directly from Schwartz.
"He’s a great coach," second-round pick Michael Hall Jr. said. "He’s very demanding, so we have a lot of expectations that we have to meet. That’s good for me.”
What may also be good for Hall, and the other defensive players in this weekend's minicamp, is the lack of urgency with their development. Unlike past years, the Browns are hoping the number of rookies — on either side of the football, really — who, in a perfect world, are going to be thrown into the fire as critical contributors is minimal.
The Browns boast a veteran-laden roster, especially on defense. That should allow for a certain level of patience with development.
That patience doesn't extend to the players themselves. Again, allow Watson to have the most blunt answer to the question of what he's asking the most as he's going through the adjustment.
"Just how I can get on the field quicker, how I can learn faster," Watson said. "Really, like you said, just taking everything in. Be a sponge. Ask the coaches why they're doing this, why this, why that? Just ask the question why. That's really what I was taught throughout my draft process. Just ask why behind every question."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns rookie defensive players embracing 'expectations'
