Mack Wilson was the best player in the entire NFL in the first preseason week. No, really; the Browns rookie linebacker earned the top score of anyone in the league from Pro Football Focus for his stellar debut against the Washington Redskins. He’s been routinely lighting it up in pass defense in training camp, too.
It made everyone wonder how the lithe Wilson could possibly have fallen all the way to the fifth round in April’s draft. Saturday’s performance in the second preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts helped illustrate why.
Wilson had a rough outing in his second game. One series in particular stood out for the wrong reason.
Run defense has always been a question for Wilson going back to his days at Alabama. Being in position to make the play is not the same as making the play, and No. 51 found that out the hard way when he let Marlon Mack slip through his grasp and turn what should have been a 2-yard loss into a gain.
On a nicely timed pass rush, Wilson blew through the Colts line almost untouched. He had QB Jacoby Brissett dead to rights…and ran right past him.
They weren’t awful plays or poor effort. Wilson put himself into opportunistic situations, but failed to seal the deal. In between those reps he did have a nice run stop. That’s part of the growth curve.
Later in the game, the rookie made a mistake with an obvious roughing the passer infraction. On another rep, he failed to get enough depth to stick with the tight end in coverage and ceded a completion.
It’s a learning experience for a fifth-round rookie. That’s what the preseason is all about. It’s likely why Freddie Kitchens left Wilson out there for 57 plays, nearly the entire game.
Wilson has shown he has can be awesome. Now the rookie gets a chance to show how he overcomes adversity and a not-so-good outing.
