We’ll be breaking down all the major and minor moves for NFL Free Agency with grades and analysis. You can find the comprehensive list of moves and grades here.
Reported deal: Three years/$33.75 million with $24 million guaranteed
Over the past few seasons, John Johnson III has emerged as one of the league’s best safeties. He had so much trust in the Los Angeles Rams defense that he had the green dot for the defense to make the calls because he never came off the field. That’s typically reserved for the team’s middle linebacker.
Johnson allowed the Rams to disguise their looks between single-high and two-deep looks because he had the ability to play all over the field and adapt. Over the past four seasons, Johnson has 32 passes defensed, which ranks 23rd among defenders in that time. Tyrann Mathieu, Malcolm Jenkins, and Justin Simmons are the only safeties on that list above him.
While much of the league has tried to devalue the safety market, the Browns have made big investments at the position. Do-it-all safeties can be among the most valuable defenders in the league.
Cleveland already has an impressive safety duo with Rodney Harrison (acquired by trade last season) and second-round pick Grant Delpit, who suffered a torn Achilles in training camp. With Johnson in the fold, the Browns could use more three-safety looks in Joe Woods’s defense. It could also allow them to play more dime defense to cover up some deficiencies at linebacker with corners Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams on the outside.
While dealing with injuries at safety and linebacker last season, the Browns used nicked on 68% of their defensive snaps with dime on just 3%. That left them with 26% in base defense. That’s not what a modern defense wants to do.
Johnson’s signing completely alters how the Browns could potentially run the defense and it should be for the better in 2021.
Grade: A-
