Cleveland Browns: Howard Wilson injury opens door for Channing Stribling
Cleveland Browns cornerback Howard Wilson suffered a serious injury in rookie camp — however, another rookie could be ready to step up.
The Cleveland Browns have had, at least on paper, a pretty solid offseason to this point. They rebuilt the offensive line by bringing in J.C. Tretter and Kevin Zeitler. They added a stacked draft class led by first-round picks Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers and David Njoku. All the pieces were in place for at least a sizable step forward in 2017.
That was particularly the case on defense. Not only did they have the two first-rounders in Garrett and Peppers, but other young pieces throughout the draft. What's more they've been adding solid young players on that side of the ball as well.
Unfortunately, this weekend's rookie minicamp brought with it a step back in the form of an injury to fourth-round pick Howard Wilson:
Now, the loss of a fourth-round corner isn't likely to phase many fans when the team had 10 total draft selections and five in the first three rounds. However, the reality is that Wilson is a player with the talent to make immediate contributions for the team.
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Wilson is a physical 6-1, 184-pound corner who was rated 27th overall among all cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus (PFF College) last season. He should have been able to compete immediately for playing time. Unfortunately, the Browns expect Wilson to miss significant time, likely a large portion of the regular season.
"It's unfortunate, he'll be out for a while, significant time," Browns coach Hue Jackson said, per Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 the Fan. "We'll deal with it accordingly but his spirits are high. He understands it and he understands what he's dealing with. He's already started the process of getting his mind beyond that so he can get back as soon as he can"
It obviously hurts when a talent-starved team like Cleveland loses and bit of talent, but it's especially rough when that team is counting on the influx of rookie talent to improve. The silver lining to Wilson's injury is that it could open the door for undrafted free agent Channing Stribling. The Browns signed him shortly after the draft.
Pro Football Focus rated Stribling the eighth-best prospect available after the end of the draft. Moreover, Bleacher Report draft analyst Matt Miller wrote the following of Stribling:
He is an effort player with the toughness to get involved in the running game and the hands to make plays on the ball in coverage. Stribling was rarely out of position and understands how to play smart assignment football. He has a penchant for being in the right place at the right time. He's a high-character player with a track record of playing hurt when needed.
The Browns cannot count on Wilson to bring rookie fresh talent to the defensive backs room this offseason. However, the team has a player in Stribling they can now turn to. We'll learn over the next couple months if Stribling has the talent to give Cleveland what it was hoping to get out of Wilson early on.
