Jermaine Whitehead, at long last, has found his place in the NFL with the Browns

Jermaine Whitehead’s NFL journey has certainly been an interesting one. He went undrafted in 2015, then spent several years bouncing around on different practice squads. It appeared he had found a home in Green Bay last season, and he even started the first game of the year.

However, he got released after a Week 9 loss to the Patriots in which he had been ejected for throwing a punch. The release might have happened anyway without the punch, but it definitely seemed like a helluva coincidence that it came after it — especially since Whitehead started the previous week in a close loss to the Rams.

Well, as they say, one team’s trash is another team’s treasure, and the Browns picked Whitehead up off waivers right after his release. He ended up being active for every one of their last seven games, but he didn’t have much of an impact, making only four tackles in that time span.

That shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise, though, considering he had to get acclimated to a new city, a new team, and a new defense almost overnight. Now that he has spent an offseason in Cleveland, I imagine that Whitehead is feeling more at home there.

It also doesn’t hurt that the Browns have a new defensive coordinator in Steve Wilks, as well as a somewhat different scheme this season. That puts Whitehead closer to being on equal footing with his teammates when it comes to knowing the defense and impressing the coaching staff.

With Jabrill Peppers traded away to the Giants, there is an opening at safety for whoever decides to lay claim to it. Additionally, Wilks likes to play his “base” 4-3 defense, with two linebackers and a third hybrid-type guy who can play the run but also cover. That third hybrid linebacker spot is where Whitehead might be able to earn some playing time.

He isn’t the biggest safety you will see at 5’11 and 195 pounds, but he is physical enough to hold his own in the box. He actually played close to the line of scrimmage some in Green Bay and did a pretty good job playing the run.

Although I didn’t see him taking on a lot of blocks, I did see him sifting through traffic to get to the ball carrier several times. He was very patient in letting the blocking develop in front of him, but he also was quick and decisive when he opted to go ahead and shoot his gun to try to make the tackle.

I didn’t see him trying to go low a lot to make tackles. He had plenty of success taking guys down tackling them up high.

I don’t know his 40 time, but Whitehead also looked quick and natural in coverage. He was physical enough to jam tight ends at the line of scrimmage and still stick to them down the field, too. He never seemed to panic, even when he was initially beat on the route, and that allowed him to recover and still be in position to make a play. From what I saw, he has potential as a blitzer as well.

Whitehead’s skill set makes him a good candidate to play strong safety or hybrid linebacker in Wilks’ defense, and it appears that he is in fact in good position to start at one of those spots. It will be interesting to see where he ends up because Whitehead just looks like a good player to me.

Like I said, I don’t know what his combine numbers were, but when I watch his film I see a guy who plays with confidence and expects to make plays. The more I think about it, that hybrid position might be perfect for him.

While getting cut in the middle of last season had to suck, it ultimately might have been the best thing to happen to Whitehead’s career. It appears that Whitehead will play a major role on the defense in Cleveland this year, and probably even start after bouncing around for so long.

Last year was his best year in the league statistically, but I would expect his production this season to blow away the 24 tackles, two passes defensed, and a sack he managed to notch in 2018. As long as he stays healthy, Whitehead should make quite a name for himself this year.

Confidence level: Moderate