BEREA, Ohio — Jadeveon Clowney looked fresh and fast in practice Thursday after getting some time off over the past few weeks to rest.
“Yeah, feel pretty good,’’ he said during his podium interview. “Getting ready to go. Part of camp, stuff happens. Have to take care of what you have to to get ready for the long season. That was the goal, not to come out here and hurt nothing. If something happened, a little strain or something, take care of it now so that it won’t linger later on.’’
Despite five knee surgeries, including one to repair a torn meniscus last season, Clowney still looks like an elite athlete when he’s executing agility drills in practice. There’s just something different about the way first-round picks move, and Clowney appears poised for a productive season.
It’s helped that the No. 1 goal of this camp has been to get starters to the season healthy.
“I mean, you know, football is definitely a 100 percent injury game,’’ he said. “It can happen any play, any time, practice, anywhere. I just take it one day at a time. If I’m feeling good, I’m going to go out there and practice. If I’m not, I’m going to let them know and hopefully they’ll deal with it accordingly.’’
Here are some other observations from Day 20.
Takk McKinley is getting acclimated
McKinley is getting comfortable after being on the practice field two straight days, and his athleticism is on display. He earned kudos from the coaches for how quick he looked in an early agility drill. He’s still hard on himself if a rep doesn’t go perfectly, but from all accounts, he’s in a good place mentally and committed to making this work. Taking it a little easier on himself would go a long way.
“That’s very nice to see him out here,’’ Clowney said. “We’ve been worried about him. he’s part of the group we’ve got and came in with us. We’ve been communicating with him, starting to get to know him just as well. He just hasn’t been here. He’s been dealing with his own issues. But that’s between him and whatever he’s got going on. We’re here for him, that’s all I can tell.’’
Anthony Schwartz returns
Schwartz, the Browns’ third-round pick, returned to some 11-on-11s Thursday after getting back on the field Wednesday. If there are no setbacks with a balky hamstring over the next 17 days, he’ll have a chance to play in Kansas City. It would be good to have his 4.26 speed available, even if for a handful of reps. It would give Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo something to prepare for, and the K.C. defensive backs something to think about on game day.
If Schwartz continues to show progress and some timing with Mayfield, the Browns can install a package of plays for him, even if some are simple go routes.
The defense is back together
In team drills, the starting defense was mostly together for one of the first times all camp. Only a few guys were still missing: Grant Delpit (hamstring), Greedy Williams (groin), Sione Takitaki (hamstring) and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (stitches in forehead).
But most of the starters in the base defense were on the field, including Myles Garrett, Clowney, Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome, John Johnson III and Ronnie Harrison. Regardless, Joe Woods isn’t concerned about the overhauled defense not practicing together much.
“It’s the nature of the NFL,’’ Woods said. “I’d love to have all 11 out there, but the thing that’s helped us is some of the young guys we want to evaluate, they got a lot of reps, whether it’s in practice, whether it was a joint practice or in the games. But I know we are talented enough to play good defense.”
JOK playing catch-up
Owusu-Koramoah was making a strong case to start in Kansas City, especially after that promising debut in Jacksonville. But he’s sitting out for a while with stitches in his forehead. It’s doubtful he’ll play in Atlanta because a helmet could aggravate the gash. In the meantime, Mack Wilson will hold down the starting weakside job, and then Koramoah can try to beat him out for Week 1. If not, he’ll come in off the bench and undoubtedly make an impact.
“I’m very excited [about his versatility], but at the same time, you just have to be careful how much you’re doing with him because he’s a rookie,’’ Woods said. “I have stuff all over the board, but you really have to look at it at Year 1 and Year 2 because you don’t want to do so much with somebody that they’re not playing fast. We’ll be smart about that in terms of how we use him.”
Huge plans remain for Grant Delpit
The Browns haven’t abandoned their big role for Delpit despite the hamstring injury that has cost him most of camp. They believe he was rebounding so well from the ruptured Achilles that he should be back in business once the hamstring heals. Woods can’t wait, because Delpit is a key part of the dime defense.
“We’re going to have a dime package,’’ Woods said. “We may have to get to it maybe a little bit later in terms of the whole package, but we’re repping it in training camp. We are keeping it alive, but once (Delpit) gets back, there are some other things I will be able to do.”
In the meantime, one of Javonte Moffatt, Sheldrick Redwine or Richard LeCounte III will fill in for Delpit.
Rashard Higgins took it easy
Higgins worked in individual drills and then had his right leg wrapped for a while and sat out the rest of practice. Young receivers such as Davion Davis, KhaDarel Hodge, JoJo Natson and Ja’Marcus Bradley got a ton of reps, which is helpful with the cuts to 53 coming on Tuesday. The battle for that final receiver spot — if they keep six — is intriguing.
John Johnson III’s INT
With most of the defensive starters back, it’s easy to see how much better the unit will be this year. On one play in 11-on-11s, Anthony Walker Jr. tipped a pass Case Keenum intended for Davis, and John Johnson III easily swiped it. The Browns are emphasizing takeaways like crazy, and will likely get more this season.
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