In the fifth round, the Cleveland Browns went back-to-back Alabama Crimson Tide players, and they got themselves a very tough player with their selection of Justin Jefferson.
He’s not quite that Justin Jefferson, but he might be exactly what this team needs as it looks to build depth at the off-ball linebacker position to give Carson Schwesinger everything he needs to be as successful as he possibly can be. Jefferson is a very unique prospect who is going to add a lot of toughness to the Cleveland Browns.
Here are three things to know about the newest Cleveland linebacker that the Browns got in the fifth round on Saturday.
1. Special teams ace
In the fifth round, all players had better be ready to contribute to two of the three phases of the game. Whether they play offense by trade or defense by trade, they’d better be ready for a little bit of special teams. Jefferson is not scared at all of committing to special teams. When asked about it, he answered:
“Oh, I have a big passion for special teams. I love special teams.”
That’s the energy that Cleveland needs as they try to pick themselves up from having one of the worst special teams units in the NFL last season.
2. More than just a linebacker
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reported Jefferson’s positional snaps in his Alabama career, and he did a little bit of everything for the Tide. He spent the majority of his snaps as an interior off-ball linebacker while also tallying several snaps as an outside linebacker and even played snaps as a “slot cornerback.”
This is a differentiator for Andrew Berry. Several times, he mentioned that they view the second and third levels of defense as “positionless” and that those players need to be able to do a lot of different things. They need to be able to tackle in the box as well as cover a slot receiver. Jefferson has shown the ability to do just that.
3. Undersized but freakishly athletic
Change the record if you have now read this a couple of times, but like the rest of Cleveland’s draft, they prioritized athleticism and did so again with this pick. Jefferson is definitely on the lighter side for off-ball linebackers, but he is absolutely on the faster side. He clocked a 4.53 forty-yard dash, a 38.5″ vertical, and a 10.5′ broad jump. He has explosion and speed to make up for his lack of size.
Cleveland again got their hands on a really athletic player in the fifth round on Saturday evening. They may have reached for him just a little bit, but what they got is a guy who knows the importance of special teams, can play in the box as a linebacker, and can cover receivers.
He checks a lot of boxes for the Browns.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns NFL Draft: 3 things to know about new LB Justin Jefferson
Reporting by Anthony Moeglin, Browns Wire / Browns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
