Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. is no stranger to Northeast Ohio. He spent time in Akron, where his father went to high school and still has extended family. The playmaking safety went to high school in Houston, but he’s got no problem playing in front of that extended family in the Cleveland area.
Winfield talked about the importance of that family connection and why it would make him enthusiastic about joining the Browns in the 2020 NFL Draft.
“It would be a blessing to go back up to Ohio. That’s where all my family’s from,” Winfield said at his combine podium on Friday. “So it would be fun to go up there and play for them.”
His father was a Pro Bowler for Buffalo and Minnesota, which endeared the young Winfield to cold weather. While some players want to avoid the cold, Winfield Jr. would embrace it in Cleveland.
“I like playing in the cold,” he said with an earnest smile.
Winfield has a chance to be the first safety drafted, but it’s more likely his injury history and lack of outstanding size relegates him to the second round. That might make the Browns, who pick No. 41 overall and have a pressing need for a safety of his particular set of skills, very happy.