One of the big lessons the Cleveland Browns learned in 2020 is that no team can ever have too much depth in the secondary. Cleveland learned that the hard way, thanks to myriad injuries from the very start of training camp, as well as some COVID-19 concerns later in the season.
The analysts at Football Outsiders tracked down the number of games lost by every team at every position group for the 2020 season. No team lost more games to defensive backs than the Browns did during the season. And it wasn’t particularly close.
From the rash of devastating injuries in training camp which wiped out the entire seasons for projected starting safety Grant Delpit and cornerback Greedy Williams and several games for slot corner Kevin Johnson to the concussion issues that hit CB Denzel Ward and safety Ronnie Harrison during the year, the Browns were constantly in scramble mode to find enough healthy defensive backs to field a team. They lost 45.8 adjusted games, as Football Outsiders explains,
Cleveland suffered more adjusted games lost in their secondary (45.8) than they did across their entire offense (31.4). The team lost its second-round draft picks from the past two seasons, Grant Delpit (16.0, Achilles) and Greedy Williams (16.0, shoulder), for the entire season. Denzel Ward (4.8, calf) and Ronnie Harrison (5.1, head and shoulder) also missed time. The Browns finished 8.6 AGL ahead of the Seahawks in second place and had more than double the total of two-thirds of the teams in the league.
Across all positions, the Browns ranked 11th out of 32 in games lost. The San Francisco 49ers, arguably the most disappointing team of 2020, had the highest total.
