Browns free agency decision: CB Kevin Johnson – performance and potential upgrades

The Browns could keep Johnson but also have other options presented here

When the Cleveland Browns signed CB Kevin Johnson to a one-year deal worth $3.5M, they were hoping to get the 2019 Buffalo Bills version of Johnson. They didn’t. Johnson was brought in to fill the nickel cornerback position. He missed most of the Browns truncated training camp due to a lacerated liver, but was able to get on the field by Week 3 of the regular season.

Performance

Johnson was occasionally forced to play outside due to the absence of Greedy Williams and the ongoing roster shuffle of players on and off of the Covid-19/Reserve list. He played 225 snaps out wide and 338 in the slot according to Pro Football Focus. 

Overall, Johnson was inconsistent at best as the former 1st round pick’s performance remained disappointing compared to where he was drafted and what he has shown on tape at times in his career. In Johnson’s second season in the league, he posted his best PFF grade of 81.2 for the Houston Texans which he followed up with consecutive seasons of grades below 50 (46.1, 38.6). In 2019, he signed on with the Buffalo Bills and showed he could potentially be what the Texans thought they were getting when they drafted him 16th overall, posting a grade of 71.9.

Unfortunately, he failed to sustain that level of play with the Browns in 2020, posting an overall grade of 51.4 and a coverage grade of 52.6. He finished ranked 96th out of 121 eligible cornerbacks per PFF.

Potential Upgrades

The Browns should be looking to upgrade multiple positions on the defense in 2021 and this should be one of them. Having a good nickel cornerback is vital in today’s game and it’s consistently increasing emphasis on the pass game.

There are a number of players the Browns will likely look to acquire in free agency that specialize at playing in the slot and would make the defense better. A nickel corner that would make sense is CB Mike Hilton of the Pittsburgh Steelers who has played almost exclusively in the slot. Hilton has been terrific in both man and zone coverage, defending the run and when blitzing.

CB Troy Hill of the Los Angeles Rams has spent his share of time as an outside corner, but he excelled when moved into the slot after they acquired Jalen Ramsey. Hill is very versatile and could play either in the slot or outside but is probably best suited to go against smaller wide receivers in the slot.

CB Brian Poole of the New York Jets, fits in nicely as NFL nickel cornerback at 5-9, 215 lbs. Poole has emerged as one of the best slot corners in the game over the last two years, only allowing one touchdown and holding the opponent’s quarterback passer rating under 70 when targeting him during that time. He has been incredibly consistent and will be valued in free agency.

The Browns would do well to come away with any of these players. The nickel corner position is often undervalued in the NFL which does suppress their value on the free agent market somewhat. Depending on the currently fluid salary cap situation for the 2021 season, I would expect all of three players to command somewhere between $4M-$6M per year, which is not bad considering they paid $3.5M for Kevin Johnson.

Johnson will likely catch on somewhere for just over the veterans minimum with some incentives included as a way to make some of his value back. I would be surprised if the Browns brought him back for next season.

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