Getty

Browns rookie safety draws comparions to Pro Bowler

The Cleveland Browns may have found a cornerstone on their defense.

Cleveland selected safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren out of Toledo in the second round to help bolster the secondary. McNeil-Warren can be a Day 1 starter for Cleveland, and as rookie camp begins, he’s already flashing his potential.

With rookie minicamp beginning, Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com said McNeil-Warren is drawing comparisons to Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James.

“The Browns were ecstatic to land McNeil-Warren with a trade up to No. 58 in the second round, and can’t wait to see him in action,” Cabot wrote. “His excellent size (6-3, 210) will immediately stand out, but his future Pro Bowl potential should also be on display. McNeil-Warren has a chance to be an enforcer over the middle. Punching the ball out, making the big hit, or grabbing an interception.

“Quarterbacks will need to be aware of “E-man” on every play. And if he’s as good as the Browns believe he is, he’ll draw comparisons to five-time Pro Bowler Derwin James of the Chargers. The Browns now have three big playmakers for their many triple-safety looks. This will soon become a strength of the team. New defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, a secondary specialist, will have a field day drawing it up for these three.”

James is a five-time Pro Bowler. So if McNeil-Warren can come close to his career, it will be a home run selection from the Browns front office.

McNeil-Warren recorded 77 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 2 interceptions at Toledo last season, as he spent all four years there.

Browns Didn’t Expect to Land McNeil-Warren

Entering the NFL Draft, McNeil-Warren was getting buzz as a player who could sneak into the first round.

However, McNeil-Warren fell to the end of the second round, which caused the Browns to trade up to select him, as Browns general manager Andrew Berry never expected the safety to be available there.

“That’s a great question, Jeff (Schudel). Honestly, it’s Eman (Emmanuel McNeil-Warren). Like, it’s Emmanuel. That’s the one that I wouldn’t have anticipated that he would have been available where we selected him,” Berry said after the draft.

Not only were the Browns glad to select McNeil-Warren, but Berry expects him to play a key role in the defense from the get-go.

Cleveland Reveals McNeil-Warren’s Role

With Cleveland trading up for McNeil-Warren, the Browns are expecting the rookie to make a difference.

After the NFL Draft, Berry said he expects McNeil-Warren to be a versatile part of the Browns’ defense.

“Emmanuel is incredibly versatile, and we’re realistic that you’re not going to put everything on his plate his rookie year,” Berry added. “But I think you really started seeing this with the safety position. Certainly with what Baltimore did with Kyle Hamilton a couple of years ago. You look across the league, and you see just the increase of three safety packages.

“You look at what Nick Emmanwori did for Seattle this past year, it just gives you a lot of flexibility where you have safeties that can play deep, they can play in the box, they can live in the linebacker world, they can live in the nickel world and they just give a lot of flexibility for a creative coordinator.”

McNeil-Warren is part of a safety room that features Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, and Daniel Thomas, among others.