BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward has earned the nickname "The Warden" over the years for his lockdown defense. But entering his eighth season in the NFL, there's more the four-time Pro Bowler wants to achieve—specifically a change in three little letters of his game.
Last year, Ward led the league in pass breakups, or PBUs. His 19 passes defended were impressive, but he knows there was a bigger way he could have impacted the game in those plays. He ended the year with just two interceptions, or INTs.
"Getting a PBU is good, they don't catch the ball, but they still get another possession, another chance to make a play on the next one," Ward said. "But you get that interception, you're getting that ball back to your offense and changing the game, whether you take it back for a pick-six or whatever it is, just being able to take that ball away helps the team win, ultimately."
Just three letters, Ward is looking for fewer PBUs and more INTs. So, he's made it his focus this offseason.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has stressed the importance as well.
"Denzel got his hands on a lot of passes last year, and we need to convert more of those to interceptions. And that’s the difference between Pro Bowl and All-Pro. The game-changing plays. The PBU is big for us, but we need to get more of the INTs and he’s made a big push to convert those to INTs and we need that to show on the field,” Schwartz said.
But what does that look like for Ward? Every day, he makes it his mindset to be a ball hawk, to get in position to not just break up a pass, but to come away with the ball. His position coach, Brandon Lynch, said he and the other defensive backs work on a drill each day to help foster takeaways.
"They have a routine where they catch about 50 a day as a segment," Lynch said.
Ward said that's becoming his standard as he looks to improve that part of his game.
"Going inside and getting reps on the JUGS machine and working on my catches and hands, and just repetition," Ward said.
Ward isn't alone in the focus. He and the other defensive backs share the goal of more takeaways in 2025. During any given body of work that the guys have together, they're continuously holding each other accountable for more defensive production and developing the game-changing skillset.
"We're on each other every day and just focusing on it. A lot of guys, sometimes you have a missed pick and missed opportunity, so we got to be hard on guys, we've got to come away with those and help this team out," Ward said, sharing that his cornerbacks room leads the charge in that department, with MJ Emerson and Greg Newsome II staying on the guys to work on interceptions.
With minicamp in the books and a break before training camp, Ward's focus for the summer aims to change those three little letters—PBU to INT—in order to have a big impact this year.
"I've got to have my best year and I just love that challenge and being able to take that on, so I'm looking forward to continue to work and uphold that," Ward said.
