Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
The defensive back room has several jobs up for grabs
Take a glance at the
Cleveland Browns’ safety room. Satisfied with what you see?
After last year,
this group was in big trouble. Only two safeties remained on the roster after Rodney McLeod retired after 13 seasons, D’Anthony Bell wasn’t given an extension and signed with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, practice squad safety Trey Dean wasn’t re-signed, and GM Andrew Berry
released Juan Thornhill with one more year remaining on his three-year deal.
RELATED: IS THIS UDFA ONE TO WATCH?
All that remained was starting strong safety Grant Delpit and the first sub off the bench in Ronnie Hickman. Yep, that was it.
It was assumed that Berry would select a young safety in this year’s NFL draft. The second-best safety prospect, Nick Emmanwori of South Carolina, was available when the Browns were on the clock at pick #33, which was the first pick in Round 2. Penn State’s Kevin Winston, Jr. was also on the board at pick #67, and again, Berry selected another player. Winston was ranked as the third-best safety in this year’s class.
RELATED: DAMONTAE KAZEE INTERVIEW
Luckily, Berry later inked three veterans: Damontae Kazee of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rayshawn Jenkins from the Seattle Seahawks, and practice squad player Chris Edmonds. The veterans offer leadership, but they demonstrate different things for the back end of the defense.
Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images
After the draft concluded, Berry signed a safety that wasn’t selected: Donovan McMillon from Pittsburgh. And guess what? McMillon could very well make this roster.
Beginnings
McMillon is a Pennsylvania kid. He grew up in McMurray, just 22 miles south of Pittsburgh. He attended Peters Township High School, which has a total enrollment of just over 1,200 students for all four grades. He was a wrestler and played safety on the football squad.
As a member of the wrestling team, McMillon was the WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A runner-up at 182 pounds. He had more success playing football for a school that went 20-3 in his final two years.
In his senior season, McMillon became one of the WPIAL’s most sought-after players. Rated a four-star recruit by
Rivals.com, he was ranked as the nation’s #6 safety and sixth-overall athlete in the State of Pennsylvania. The
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette puts out a “Fabulous 22” after each football season, which covers a large region, and McMillon was listed as one of the safeties.
His X handle is @donovanmcmillo3 while his Instagram is @donovan_mcmillon3.
I’ve loved every minute of this recruiting process...one step closer today...thank you coaches for allowing me to enjoy it. Recruitment Still Open...
#TOP15 !
pic.twitter.com/VjVH9A8AiV
— Donovan McMillon (@donovanmcmillo3)
March 27, 2020
The schools who attempted to recruit McMillon and either contacted him or made him an offer is a laundry list: Florida, Georgia, Miami of Ohio,
LSU, Oregon, Liberty, Miami,
Texas A&M, Air Force, Marshall, Oklahoma, Central Michigan,
Notre Dame,
Ole Miss, Coastal Carolina, Army, Michigan, Penn State, Old Dominion, Iowa, Eastern Michigan, Tennessee, Maryland, Kentucky, Arizona State,
Rutgers, Pitt, Bowling Green, Virginia, UMass, Kent State,
Georgia Tech, Louisville, Stanford, Akron, Northwestern, Boston College, Indiana, Harvard,
Michigan State, Cincinnati, Duke, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Toledo, Purdue, Buffalo, Penn, and Lehigh.
Even though there were plenty of colleges within a 50-mile radius of his hometown, he chose Florida and the SEC.
Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Despite his success at the high school level, McMillon played mainly on special teams in his first two seasons at Florida but contributed in 25 games. He was listed as a backup safety, but played minimally on the standard defense. Aggravated that his playing time was in a limited role,
he entered the transfer portal. He was the 15th player from the Florida roster to leave that year.
He did leave
a note for his former team:
“From day one, I gave this program everything in me to earn the opportunity to help this team. In order to obtain all of my goals and aspirations, my family and I have decided it’s best for me to enter the transfer portal. First and foremost, I want to thank my teammates. Loved competing with you guys at the highest level, and I’ll never forget the blood, sweat, and tears we went through. I also want to thank Coach Dan Mullen and his assistant coach, Ron English, for recruiting this tough-nosed wrestler out of Pennsylvania. I absolutely loved throwing my body all over the field the last two years for this program. I’d like to thank head coach Napier, DC coach Toney, and his staff and wish them the best in their future endeavors.”
Just like coming out of high school, McMillon was highly recruited as a portal prospect and once again had his pick of colleges. In the end, he chose to return to his roots and attend Pitt, where the year before their defense was ranked in the Top 20.
McMillon discussed the move, saying
:
“It all just works because I’m a Pittsburgh guy. Being able to play in an aggressive defense and win, that’s really important to me. I just think they are a really consistent program. For my family at least, they are going to be able to get to every game now, and that’s really good as well.”
And Holy Moses did he produce. McMillon played in all 12 games with 105 total tackles, one forced fumble, one batted pass, and one tackle for loss. He demonstrated that he could be a downhill defender who was both physical and aggressive. He also had a good feel in curl-flat coverage and could play a rover or be inserted at linebacker if needed when five defensive backs were on the field.
McMillon did show that he was more of a run-support safety than a cover safety. Physicality was his calling card, with some versatility. At season’s end, he was named Honorable Mention All-ACC.
Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images
Donovan McMillon #3 of the Pittsburgh Panthers
He improved in his senior year. He totaled 13 games with 115 tackles with one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, eight batted passes, and a single interception. McMillon was voted Second Team All-ACC and led Pitt in tackles for the second straight year. Twice, he was named to the “ACC Team of the Week” roster. He totaled 11 tackles against Boston College and 15 tackles versus Cincinnati. He was then a Hula Bowl invitee.
Before the draft, the scouting report on
NFL Draft Buzz was the following:
Pros
- Can deliver the big hit and isn’t afraid to jump inside to slow the ball.
- Strong hands to make plays on the ball, effective blitzer who shows well-coached technique and awareness.
- Has the violent hands to discard receivers and smaller tight ends, and McMillon is a sure tackler. In coverage, he shows good instincts when sitting back in zone, with click-and-close ability and good ball tracking.
- He’s also very good in zone coverage, showing a great understanding of routes and the ability to close quickly.
- He’s a willing and capable hitter in run support and closes fast to make plays against quick screens.
- McMillon is aggressive in run support, with a physical mentality, but struggles to break down space and leaves production on the field.
Cons
- Despite his size, he’s not an overly physical tackler. McMillon might have to add some weight at the next level in order to become more physical.
- Lacks the quick feet to mirror underneath and is slow to transition out of his backpedal and close on the ball
- McMillon gets beat over the top too often, and McMillon tends to panic and get too handsy when running downfield.
One thing to know: McMillon is a coach’s kid. But not just a coach’s kid, but a double-decker coach’s kid. His father is a defensive coordinator, which plays into McMillon’s defensive mindset. His mother has been a basketball coach for over 30 years. Coach’s kids always bring three things: a solid work ethic, they keep their mouths shut, and there is no quit in them.
The Browns call quickly
McMillon’s (6’-2”, 203 pounds) best time in the 40 was 4.46 with 10’ 5” in the broad jump. Immediately after the draft, Berry called McMillon and offered him a training camp contract.
To show how much the Browns wanted McMillon, Berry inked him to a three-year deal worth $2,975,000, including a $10,000 signing bonus with $210,000 guaranteed. Absolutely unheard of numbers for an undrafted rookie free agent.
What does that tell you?
Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
His signing with Cleveland sparked some interest in the media. He was projected as a fifth-round pick, yet did not hear his name called. Nick Baumgardner of
The Athletic wrote an article entitled, “
NFL Draft 2025’s best undrafted free agent fits”. One player to watch on each team.”
For the Browns, Baumgardner’s selection on his list was McMillon:
“Another big safety, McMillon played both safety spots and, in the slot, the last two years for Pitt, after spending time at Florida. He ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash with a 35-inch vertical and a 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump. An aggressive coverage player, McMillon broke up five passes and forced six incompletions last year.”
McMillon is a beast in the run-stopping game but needs tutelage in certain aspects of pass coverage. That may explain his high tackling numbers, yet few passing stats. This may be attributed to him being a former wrestler and looking for body contact.
Traditionally, the Browns keep four active safeties during the Berry/Kevin Stefanski era and at least one on the practice squad. They kept five one year when Joe Woods was the DC because he played the 4-2-5 on 85% of defensive reps. Most of the time, the two linebackers were actually a linebacker and a safety, like Ronnie Harrison. Safety Richard LeCounte was the fifth player in this group that year.
Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images
Donovan McMillon #31 and Christopher Edmonds #41 of the Cleveland Browns pose for a photo
But count on just four safeties to make the final roster. Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman make up half. That leaves Kazee, Jenkins, and probably McMillon as competitors for the other two slots.
Cleveland’s lack of depth at the safety position is a serious issue. Take a glance at McMillon’s contract once again. Teams don’t cut guys who sign with those types of numbers.
Compare his digits to the two veterans that were signed: Damontae Kazee – One year for $1.42 million, and Jenkins - One year for $1.42 million. Jenkins does have $1.167 million guaranteed, while Kazee has $1 million guaranteed.
One thing is for certain: McMillon was not signed to be training camp fodder. He was brought in to compete for one of the final spots available in this year’s safety room.
️@KentStFootball | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/fI2O6EQTVn
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