The Cleveland Browns shocked the consensus when they selected former Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward with the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. They made it clear soon afterward that they intended to use him as their shutdown corner in the 2018 NFL season.

In order to do so, he must first work his way into the starting lineup. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, he has gotten off to a solid start by playing with the first-team defense in organized team activities:

“Ward being out there is because he’s earning it,” Jackson said. “He’s working at it. He plays a position that we’ve been needing a guy to step up. We see him improving each and every day and doing the things that we’re asking. He needs to continue to do that to continue to be out there but we know he’s very talented. That’s why we drafted him. He’s displayed that since he’s been here.”

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It is encouraging to see that Ward is already starting to live up to his billing as a top-five draft pick. There was speculation that the Browns were going to select defensive end Bradley Chubb with the fourth pick. Much to the delight of defensive end Myles Garrett, Cleveland decided to fortify their pass defense with Ward.

The former OhioState product has all the tools of a shutdown corner. He certainly filled that role in college as a consensus All-American. However, the NFL has a way of weeding out those who look the part compared to those who actually play the part.

Ward is doing a solid job of establishing himself as one of their valued members of the secondary. Regardless, nothing is set in stone, and it will be on him to maintain the job going into the 2018 NFL season.