The Cleveland Browns have had the opportunity to spend a few days with the reigning Super Bowl champions during a pair of joint practices against the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of their matchup in Week 2 of the preseason on Saturday.
With so many uncertainties throughout the roster, it’s no surprise that the joint practices featured plenty of ups and downs from the Browns, but one insider shared that one player looked like the “MVP” in practice for Cleveland.
Zac Jackson of The Athletic shared that cornerback Denzel Ward was outstanding in both practices and was the team’s MVP.
“Cornerback Denzel Ward’s big summer continued as he was outstanding on both joint practice days versus the Eagles,” Jackson said.
Ward has been a consistent force throughout the summer so far and needs a big year to help guide this defense and this entire organization back to relevancy after a dismal 3-14 campaign last year.
Ward had 49 tackles and two interceptions in 16 games last season, and his presence will be more important than ever now that Martin Emerson Jr. is out for the year with a torn Achilles.
Other reports from practice pointed out that while Ward was able to shut down DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, or whoever else was in front of him, the Eagles exposed the secondary on the other side and consistently attacked everyone other than Ward.
This could be an issue now that Emerson is out, as Greg Newsome will be pushed back from nickel to the outside, and somebody else will have to step up to fill in at nickel.
It’s great to hear that Ward is up to his usual antics, but this team desperately needs somebody to step up at corner alongside him.
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