Browns’ New Safety Rodney McLeod Sends Warning to Rest of NFL

Rodney McLeod has high expectations for the Cleveland Browns secondary after joining the squad earlier this month.

The Browns inked McLeod to a deal on May 5, giving them a strong, veteran option as a third safety alongside Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill. On top of his new gig with the Browns, McLeod is also serving as a guest host on NFL Network this week and shared his thoughts on his decision to join Cleveland.

“I’m excited to join this talented team, man,” McLeod said. “Talking about a great group of guys, Deshaun Watson at the forefront, Nick Chubb running the ball, and (defensive coordinator) Jim Schwartz man was a huge reason why I decided to go to Cleveland.”

McLeod is a believer in Cleveland’s secondary, which has a talented group of young players that he’s ready to combine forces with.

“What I’m more excited about to be honest is the defensive back group,” McLeod said. “I have the pleasure of lining up with Juan Thornhill, (a fellow) Virginia guy, Grant Delpit, and then this talented group of cornerbacks led by Denzel Ward, (Martin Emerson Jr.) and (Greg) Newsome. Man, I’m telling you — watch out.”

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Rodney McLeod Eager to Reunite With Jim Schwartz

The 32-year-old McLeod is coming off a strong year with the Indianapolis Colts. He started 15 games, notching career highs with eight pass deflections, eight tackles for losses and 96 total tackles. He also had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

A big part of what attracted McLeod to the Browns was Schwartz, who he played under with the Philadelphia Eagles, winning a Super Bowl.

“Yeah, we’re looking to bring a lot of that success that we had in Philly over to Cleveland this year,” McLeod said.

As far as new best friends in Cleveland, All-Pro pass-rusher Myles Garrett will be high on McLeod’s list. Garrett is coming off back-to-back 16-sack season and McLeod knows that the faster he can get to the quarterback, the less work his unit will have to do in coverage.

“Up front man, Myles Garrett,” he said. “As a defensive back, those are your best friends, the guys who apply pressure on the quarterback, and we take advantage of that in the back end.”

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Jim Schwartz Knows What Kind of Players He’s Looking For

Schwartz is building an attacking scheme in Cleveland and is looking to solve some glaring issues that surfaced for the Browns’ defense last season, including a very leaky run defense and some breakdowns in coverage.

Schwartz has some new pieces to work, including free agent defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, Thornhill and rookie Siaki Ika. Schwartz wasn’t asking for big names but knew exactly what he was looking for.

“There are certain skill sets we look for and a little bit of play style that maybe other people might not appreciate as much,” Schwartz said in February shortly after taking over the job. “They might use the person a little bit differently, and something that’s sort of involved in that scheme is that we can get guys going pretty quickly.

“I think that if we all work together, we can find some productive players regardless of (if they’re in) the first round, or as a high-priced free agent or anything else.”

The Browns have been open that they are still exploring all their options to improve the roster. Rookie training camp is scheduled for this weekend.

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