You may not have heard about him before,but thanks to Odell Beckham Jr. and Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns corner back Briean Boddy-Calhoun is a name on everyone’s lips.
A second-year defensive back out of Minnesota, the former undrafted free agent blossomed into one of the most surprising—and good players—on Cleveland’s defense last year. In 16 games, the 24-year-old Boddy-Calhoun had 43 combined tackles, one sack, three interceptions and one pick-six for a touchdown.
During the pre-season, Boddy-Calhoun would continue his strong play in both nickel and dime packages.It wouldn’t be until his questionable hit to Beckham’s knee during a nationally televised pre-season game vs. the New York Giants that he would gain national attention.
Despite the hit, Boddy-Calhoun would not be flagged—or fined—as he appears to be a diamond in the making in playing in defensive coordinator Gregg Williams aggressive attacking defense. With former Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden now in Pittsburgh, Boddy-Calhoun—along with Jamar Taylor, Calvin Pryor, Derrick Kindred, Jabrill Peppers and Jason McCourty—will all band together to form on of the league’s most improved secondary’s.
While some may say that Haden lost a step or two,and had a tendency for getting burned by opposing WR’s on a regular basis,one thing that Boddy-Calhoun does very well is lock up and jam opposing wideouts, and plays strong man-to-man defense on the outside.
Cleveland will need those skills in a division that has Ben Roethlisberger, Andy Dalton and Joe Flacco. If he can continue his strong play from his rookie campaign, don’t be showed to see a potential Pro Bowl or two in his future and Cleveland contending for a .500 mark or making a playoff push.
With a nose for the ball,along with not afraid of being physical, look for the 5’9 193-pounder to make an impact on a sleeper Cleveland defense in 2017.
Umm! I love the optimism! I’m not sure how much of an upgrade B-C will be over J.Hadden. I’m not sure how much J.Mac has left in the tank. C. Pryor is now looking for another team. D.Kindred or K.Nacua as safety along with Dr.Pepper….We’ll see there too! Over all with experience as a cohesive unit as the year progress,’ I do believe that this season’s secondary will be an upgrade over previous years. We’ll see how much of a upgrade or even downgrade they will be. Go Browns! Woof,Woof! Oh! Gotta love those Indians! Running away with the division! Go Tribe!
Duke, thanks for taking the time to respond. Yeah, it sucks seeing Haden gone and Pryor cut, but it is what it is. I like Nacua a lot actually, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see him play alongside Dr. Pepper. BBC plays better man coverage than Haden in my opinion, plus CLE wouldn’t just let JH walk unless they felt that had an upgrade already on the roster. Personally, this is a sleeper secondary with lots of talent and skill that will surprise many. Thanks again and yes…those Windians tho….