The Browns have wrapped up their offseason program, which consisted of three phases and concluded with the mandatory veteran minicamp. They will reconvene at the end of July for the beginning of training camp as they continue preparation for the 2025 season.
While the offseason continues and before training camp kicks off, we opened the mailbag and answered your questions about the state of the team.
Will the cornerbacks play improve this year and are younger players Myles Harden and Cameron Mitchell ready? – Rob M., Fairmont, West Virginia
The secondary – and specifically the cornerbacks – have high expectations for their unit during the 2025 season. As a defense, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz wants his unit to improve their third-down percentage and their number of takeaways. During the 2024 season, the Browns totaled only four interceptions, which was ranked last in the league.
And the corners play an important role in the number of takeaways as well as third down percentage. Cornerbacks coach Brandon Lynch said the corners must stay tight in coverage to allow the rushing attack and coverage to work together, as well as serve as the "nerve center" for the linebackers and safeties to rely on and communicate with in third down situations. Then, in order to increase takeaways, Lynch said they must embody their defensive mindset.
"We want to attack first," Lynch said. "We're the tip of the spear, and we want to make sure that we're forcing errors but forcing errors because we are communicating and we are executing. And when we talk about the hard and toughness, with us fighting through friction, just displaying that toughness. And then finishing for the team. Everything that we do is for the team, and those guys really work to serve. And when they are keeping the focus on that, it's going to produce."
Lynch has watched his unit put in the work during the offseason program through workouts and practices. He's noticed how his players have put an added focus on the JUGS machine, catching about 50 balls per day as a segment of their routine.
It's a unit that also has a level of depth, one that is led by Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II and Martin Emerson Jr.. They have a veteran presence with Tony Brown II and young players like Cameron Mitchell and Myles Harden – both of whom have another year of experience in the defensive system and have an opportunity to step into larger roles in the 2025-26 season. The mix of experiences in the group gives the cornerbacks a plethora of talent to rely on in the secondary and have an increased impact in 2025.
How has Dawand Jones recovered from his injuries? – Rob M., Fairmont, West Virginia
Yes, Dawand Jones was a participant in OTAs and minicamp, taking reps during both individual drills and team drills. He said he was feeling better following his recovering from the fracture in his leg that he sustained during the 2024 season and ended his season early. He also said that he made changes in the offseason, working with the Browns' Director of Performance Nutrition Kelsey Fahy to put together a plan in that offseason that would help him take care of his body better and be in the shape he wants to be in for the 2025 season.
"The recovery was long, but that was the main part," Jones said of his broken fibula. "I just put my head down. […] Definitely at times just sore, but the stuff I could control I definitely took a good approach."
Jones said one of his goals this year is to finish out an entire 17-game season. In his rookie season, Jones sustained a knee injury late in the season that required surgery and caused him to miss the remainder of the season. He played a total of 11 games his rookie season, and 10 his second year before he fractured his leg.
Now healthy, Jones could be in the conversation for the starting left tackle role, after he started three games on the left side in 2024. He also made four starts at right tackle. Jones said right tackle comes more naturally because he is right-handed, but he has been using the offseason to adjust to the angles of playing on the left side.
When the Browns return for training camp in late July, he will have more opportunities to compete for the position and make all the adjustments needed to play on the left side.
