CLEVELAND -- Over the course of the past week in training camp, Mack Wilson has had a knack for intercepting passes.
That skill has carried over into the Cleveland Browns linebacker's preseason debut.
On the second play of a second-quarter drive in his team's preseason opener against the Browns, Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins found himself searching for running back Byron Murphy from his own 32-yard line. Haskins' attempt, however, was intercepted by Wilson, who proceeded to return the ball 40 yards for a score, giving Cleveland a 14-7 lead.
Wilson's play -- both on the practice field and in Thursday night's preseason contest -- is an encouraging sign for the Browns, who used multiple resources this past offseason to bolster their linebacking corps. In addition to signing former Tampa Bay Buccaneers captain Adarius Taylor, Cleveland used two picks on linebackers in April's draft, including a third-round pick on BYU product Sione Takitaki and a fifth-round pick on Mack, who spent his college career at Alabama.
A former 5-star prospect, Wilson's natural talent hasn't been hard to find this preseason. Although he's currently listed as the backup to Christian Kirksey at WILL linebacker, the 21-year-old Wilson possesses the versatility to play multiple positions and at the very least, should find himself a capable special teams contributor in his rookie season.
But if his big preseason debut is any indication, it may not take long for the 2018 second-team SEC selection's role to grow into bigger than that.
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