CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns put a lot of faith in defensive back Denzel Ward when they selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of The Ohio State University, and despite concussions keeping him out of several games, he was a difference-making player.
But that came as no surprise to pass-game coordinator/secondary coach Joe Whitt.
“The year before Denzel came out, there were two kids that came out and I was like, ‘Who is that guy?’” Whitt recalled.
“I know I'm looking at these two guys, ‘who is that guy?’ You can tell he's special. I've been very fortunate to coach DeAngelo Hall when he was young, had Tramon (Williams) and Sam (Shields) and Charles Woodson, this guy's as gifted as any of those guys.”
Those two guys Whitt was referring to were Ohio State defensive backs Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley, both Northeast Ohio natives that were taken by the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders, respectively, in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
“I kept saying, ‘Who's this guy?’ Whitt said. “I had to go back and say, ‘this guy is just as good as these other two.’”
Ward missed game action twice during the 2018 season while working his way through the NFL Concussion Protocol, including the head injury suffered in a 26-18 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on December 23.
Ward suffered his second concussion this month when he tried to tackle Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah late in the fourth quarter. As Ward prepared to make the tackle, he lowered his head and hit Uzomah’s left shoulder and stumbled awkwardly on the sideline until teammates and medical personnel could tend to him.
Immediately, Ward was taken into the medical tent, and later, the locker room for further evaluation.
During the 2018 preseason, former interim coach/defensive coordinator Gregg Williams got on Ward for his tackling techniques after he suffered a back injury while trying to tackle Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz during an exhibition game at FirstEnergy Stadium last August.
In 13 games with the Browns this past season, Ward registered 53 total tackles, 41 solo stops and 12 assists along with three interceptions, which he returned for 26 yards, 11 passes defended, one forced fumble and two recoveries.
“He can bend,” Whitt said. “He runs with ease. He can catch the flash to the ball. He doesn't have to track it into his hands. He has the ability. He's smart.
“He has the ability to recover if he is beat. He can get out of his hips. There's nothing that he can't do. He's longer, people talk about his size. He's longer than you think he is. He's bigger than you think he is. He has the ability to be as good as anybody I've coached.”
