Thursday was a warm day in Berea, but as the sun blazed in the sky and the temperature rose, things were heating up on the football fields between the Browns' offensive and defensive units—some friendly competition fueling them in their final day of mandatory minicamp.
The practice began just like any other: Position groups working together in individual drills, offense and defense breaking out for group work and then some 7-on-7 action to give the players the closest look to game-action work as they can get at this point of off-season workouts.
After some productive work in regular 7-on-7 drills, some plays that saw quarterback Deshaun Watson showing off the progress in his shoulder rehab as he took some deep passes downfield, the Browns moved into red zone drills.
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It was in the red zone action that players decided to turn up the heat a bit and really bring some competition.
According to safety Juan Thornhill, the chirping began with a little trash talk from Watson to the defense he was facing in the 7-on-7s.
"I didn't actually start it today," Thornhill said, a player who has, on more than one occasion, taken the lead on firing up the competition. "I think it was Deshaun that might have started it. I think he was yelling to the sideline, 'Are y'all going to work today' or something like that. And then once he said that I had to keep it going, talk a little bit more trash. I had to flip that switch a little bit, get the defense going."
That's exactly what Thornhill and his defensive teammates did. Locking down Watson's targets, the Browns defense put on a 7-on-7 masterclass.
"They couldn't get in the end zone if I'm being completely honest," Thornhill said after practice, smiling. "So they can start it all they want, but we're going to always finish it."
That confidence rang out across the fields after every play the defense made.
From cornerback MJ Emerson breaking up a perfectly placed pass from Watson to tight end David Njoku to another pass breakup from Thornhill as Watson hit the sweet spot in a pass to tight end Jordan Akins, the defense let nothing by.
Emerson pressured wide receiver Cedric Tillman out of bounds before he could complete a pass to him in the end zone. Cornerback Greg Newsome II locked Tillman down on the next play to force another incomplete pass.
And Thornhill was there each time to yell a little friendly trash across the field to the offense. So was linebacker Jordan Hicks. And cornerback Greg Newsome II. And linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The whole defense got involved. Handshakes and celebrations followed, too.
"Bottom line is you need energizer guys like that. You need energy people, and he brings it, he’s got a sense of pride to himself, he’s competitive, he has an edge, and he brings that to our group and he walks that way, he thinks that way. And those people, like, they affect everybody around them in their circle. So, it’s nice to feel that again, to hear Juan’s voice," said safeties coach Ephraim Banda. "It’s infectious and it catches fire, and everyone feeds off of it.”
Throughout Watson's red zone session, the defense allowed nothing past them—even with some perfectly placed passes in the mix.
It wasn't just Watson the defense targeted during the red zone session. Cornerback Ronnie Hickman Jr. broke up a pass from Jameis Winston to wide receiver Jalen Camp. Wide receiver Jamari Thrash couldn't bring in the pass that came his way from Winston with pressure behind him. Cornerback Tony Brown II was there to stop wide receiver David Bell from getting into the end zone after a short pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Tyler Huntley found tight end Treyton Welch and Akins for touchdowns—and that was that.
The trash talk was never hostile. It was never too heated. Just enough to boost the confidence within the defense while pushing the offense to work harder for plays in the 7-on-7s. That's exactly what the defense is all about, Banda assured.
"Jim promotes that, he really pushes that in his scheme and his system, the swagger we play with. We want to lead the league in that category, really having, playing with passion and making sure fans and people see that, but also their teammates," Banda said. "‘No celebration loafs' is what we call it. Jim really pushes that and I think the guys take to that. Even if that’s not who they are, they become that, and that’s part of building this culture.”
The culture aims to foster personality and confidence and drive forward competition, which is important early into off-season work as the Browns prepare for the 2024 season.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said players fueling the competition between themselves is something that can ultimately help them as they get closer to taking on actual opponents.
“It’s outstanding. Yeah, we love it. And part of it is, one of the core things we’re built on is competing. And you can compete in a 7-on-7. Now, we don’t want any collisions, but you can compete like crazy. I saw the guys competing like crazy," Stefanski said. "And listen, we whistle while we work. We want to have fun out here. So, when it’s coming from both sides. And to me, it just elevates the level of competition. And when you do that, it’s the old iron sharpens iron, and that’s what it is. When you're good versus good, you’re trying to make each other better. And if you got to talk a little trash along the way, that’s fine, too.”
Thursday's practice wrapped up the mandatory minicamp for the Browns, who now get a break from offseason work until they head down to the Greenbrier in West Virginia for the start of training camp in July.
But just because minicamp is over, don't expect the heat to be turned down or the motivational trash talk to stop anytime soon, with the summer workload just around the corner.
"Just know when we get to the camp it's not going to stop, it's not going to stop. We're going to keep this thing going. It's going to be super exciting. Bring the energy every day. We got to keep it going into the season as well," Thornhill said.
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