CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey has bolstered the roster with talented players at multiple positions over his 18 months on the job, and for the second consecutive year, he spent a top-50 pick in the NFL Draft on a cornerback.
One year after selecting Denzel Ward out of The Ohio State University with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Dorsey chose former LSU cornerback Greedy Williams with the No. 46 selection last month.
“I was real excited about the pick of Greedy,” Ward said after Wednesday’s OTA practice in Berea. “Me and Greedy, we were actually talking before he got drafted, going through his draft process again together and training and everything.
“I had called him that night, just telling him how it’s funny how life works and he ends up getting drafted by the Browns. We just had some talks about being, like you said, being a tandem and just ready to get to work.”
After trading away their first-round pick to acquire Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. five weeks before the 2019 NFL Draft, the Browns moved up in the second round to select Williams. Then, the Browns continued to bolster the defense by taking linebacker Sione Takitaki in the third round.
Over 24 career games in just two years at LSU, Williams registered 71 total tackles, including 49 solo stops and 22 assists, with 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, as well as eight interceptions and 19 passes defended.
Williams burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2017 when he collected six interceptions and 10 passes defended along with 26 solo stops, 12 assists and 38 total tackles.
Those six interceptions ranked first in the Southeastern Conference and fourth in the NCAA, which is part of the reason why the Browns traded the Nos. 49 and 144 selections to the Indianapolis Colts in order to move up to No. 46 and select Williams.
“He’s a physical player, he has good footwork,” Ward said. “Him, like all of us, got a lot of stuff we’ve still got to work on. It’s still early in the process, so we’re still just working. A lot of work to do.”
A two-time Pepsi Rookie of the Week (Weeks 1 and 5) and one-time AFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 5) during the 2018 season, Ward was among the AFC leaders with three interceptions last season.
Among first-year players, Ward ranked tied for second in interceptions and passes defended, tied for ninth in forced fumbles and tied for first with two fumble recoveries.
In 13 games with the Browns this past season, Ward registered 53 total tackles, 41 solo stops and 12 assists along with 11 passes defended, one forced fumble, two recoveries and three interceptions, which he returned for 26 yards.
With Williams’ selection, some have started to compare him and Ward to another well-known tandem of Browns cornerbacks, Pro Bowl standouts Frank Minnifield and Hanford Dixon.
“That's definitely something that I envision with me and Greedy or whatever corner they put on the other side,” Ward said. “But just being a tandem and being two guys that can lock down players on our sides of the field, it’s exciting.
“We have a lot of talented players here with the Browns -- a lot of guys they brought in like Morgan (Burnett). We still have Damarious (Randall) and a lot of players around here competing, just trying to win a spot on the field. Just have to win the day.”