Pick #4 Denzel Ward | Page 4 |

Pick #4 Denzel Ward

Whatever Ward's arms measured at, he doest play with length. He can get beat by height and physicality, which is why I'm not a fan of him so high. There's little room left for physical growth without sacrificing speed and movement. He can be a starter, I just don't want to see him on someone who plays strong.
 
twizbuck said:
Ward is going to get smacked by bigger receivers. Fast, physical, doesn't quit, but he doesn't have size or length. We seem to have a thing for the scrappy, undersized guy this draft.
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Forget the size thing. Can the guy play? The answer is yes! Best corner in the draft. I heard a couple say he's as good at corner as Chubb is at his position. Great pick. Took a great player and a position of need ;)
 
It's an expectations thing, as Sobleski put it. He had Mayfield as his clear QB1 and gave Ward to the Browns in his last mock.

His point: If you were told in December that the Browns would select their QB1 at 1 and the clear-cut best CB in the draft, a consensus top 10 pick, at 4... you'd think that made perfect sense.

Because it does.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">☑️ Ohio born<br>☑️ Ohio developed<br>☑️ Ohio pro<br><br>What does continuing his football career in the great state of Ohio mean to the <a href="https://twitter.com/Browns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Browns</a>' <a href="https://twitter.com/denzelward?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@denzelward</a>?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoBucks?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoBucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DevelopedHere?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DevelopedHere</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DawgPound?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DawgPound</a> <a href="https://t.co/rW6wYPBSsS">pic.twitter.com/rW6wYPBSsS</a></p>— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/OhioStateFB/status/990303891433631746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Whoa!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1987 draft <a href="https://twitter.com/RodWoodson26?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RodWoodson26</a>.<br><br>40 time 4.33 , vert 36, ( average vert of nba 2015 class was 35.5), bj 125, shuttle 3.98. (4.33 would be second fastest corner in 2018 draft behind 4.32 Denzel Ward )<a href="https://twitter.com/denzelward?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@denzelward</a> 4.32, vert 39, bj 136.<br><br>2nd top corner Joshua Jackson 4.56<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nfl?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nfl</a> <a href="https://t.co/in3VXV3K54">pic.twitter.com/in3VXV3K54</a></p>— Martin Brian Ansah (@DaAnsahonSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaAnsahonSports/status/988932773921673216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Denzel Ward is just a flat out beast of an athlete and a born lockdown corner. Great pick, love that they didn't let anybody outside the room decide for them.

This offseason has to go down in history, between trades, f/a, and draft. The sheer number of upgrades all over the field... I just can't recall anything like it.
 
Reminds me of when we drafted Joe Haden to be honest and I think he is better than Joe was coming out of college. Here's how they both measured up (after a brief google canvas of course for reference).

- Similar measurables: Haden was about 10lbs heavier, has an extra inch-ish reach, and larger hands for those who care :P
- Considered 'high end' on the athletic spectrum
- Praised for positioning and fluidity to handle NFL route trees.
- Both considered 'active' run defenders
- Both considered strong man-coverage defenders
- Both considered strong at reading passes and getting to the ball

Frankly remembering Haden and how happy we were to draft him, I can't help but acknowledge that I feel virtually the same with the pick of Ward. It will be tough not to compare Ward to Haden in terms of how quickly you can measure their impact. Another trait they share is that they both entered relatively mediocre secondary groups. Hadens talent showed pretty much right away and he established that was a starter and our best CB by the end of his rookie year. I would say that's not unreasonable expectations for Ward.
 
Yesterday I watched the full 2017 game of OU vs OSU. It was weird being happy for Baker and not for OSU! Anyway...while watching Baker, I kept looking for Ward to see how well he was playing. But I didn't see him. Ward was assigned to cover OU game-breaking WR Marquise "Hollywood" Brown who didn't record a single statistic in that game. No catches. No drops. Nothing. Ward blanketed Hollywood.

That's why I didn't see Ward in that game. Baker never even threw his way.

Oh, and of course, Baker still won.
 
GGG explains:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...y-they-picked-denzel-ward-over-bradley-chubb/

"The reason is our need for a press cover cornerback," Williams told Peter King of The MMQB. "Denzel probably plays that position as well as anyone I've seen in college football in some time. We probably play the most press of any team in the league."
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GGG needs to play press so he can blitz his SS...and not leave the field open...

"There's another reason. I've got a video of 28 snaps of Myles Garrett pass-rushes last year where he gets within two steps or less of the quarterback when the ball comes out," Williams said. "Basically, we aren't covering long enough to let him get to the quarterback. Myles and others -- especially [defensive end] Emmanuel Ogbah -- will get more chances because of Denzel."
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So...Chubb may have gotten us another 10 sacks...but with Ward back there Garrett 'himself' may pick that many up...and that is not even counting having a healthy Ogbah on the other side and both of them being a year more experienced.
 
Loved what Gregg said about Ogbah, that he's a special player waiting to happen, literally said he could BE their Bradley Chubb.

So yes, Ogbah had a very real effect on the Browns decision to take Ward instead of Chubb. While they had not one but two excellent young defensive ends they did NOT have a lockdown #1 corner... and there was one sitting there at #4.

Just always made so much sense to me. If Denzel Ward didn't exist? Different conversation.
 
Shep said:
Loved what Gregg said about Ogbah, that he's a special player waiting to happen, literally said he could BE their Bradley Chubb.

So yes, Ogbah had a very real effect on the Browns decision to take Ward instead of Chubb. While they had not one but two excellent young defensive ends they did NOT have a lockdown #1 corner... and there was one sitting there at #4.

Just always made so much sense to me. If Denzel Ward didn't exist? Different conversation.
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This year will tell alot about Ogbah. If he can stay healthy, I think he's already shown he can play.
 
Stray Dawg said:
This year will tell alot about Ogbah. If he can stay healthy, I think he's already shown he can play.
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While I wanted Chubb I see how the Ward pick is the proper choice to build the D. We got Garrett as the #1 DE and Ogbah on the other side. Adding Ward fulfills the top two positions, DE and lock down CB with very high end talents and Ogbah has a ton of talent too.

Like you said. He's got to stay healthy cause when he and Garrett are on the field together this defense gets after it.
 
jaydog said:
While I wanted Chubb I see how the Ward pick is the proper choice to build the D. We got Garrett as the #1 DE and Ogbah on the other side. Adding Ward fulfills the top two positions, DE and lock down CB with very high end talents and Ogbah has a ton of talent too.

Like you said. He's got to stay healthy cause when he and Garrett are on the field together this defense gets after it.
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Well that's a whole nuther issue. Some say Garrett is a China doll ;)

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KJP said:
So you got 40% off the article too!
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Lol
 
It's true of all players... but if Garrett and Ogbah both stay healthy, they're potentially the best set of young DEs in the NFL. The sample size is small but very encouraging.

Smith, Genard, and the Chiefs dude are nice additions as situational pass rushers. Same is true of Schobert and Peppers. I've recently read that Collins should be a good pass rusher but really isn't (Pete Smith).
 
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