Safety Grant Delpit's confidence not shaken by outside criticism, he just wants to be one of the best

Grant Delpit was in the middle of everything this season.In the first two weeks, he was the deep safety when communication breakdowns in the secondary led to long touchdowns in a win over the Panthers and an epic collapse vs. the Jets. In the back half of the season, he was part of the defensive improvement that wasn't enough to save coordinator Joe Woods from being fired.Delpit's strong finish was possible because he didn't get dragged down by the early public criticism. When you're the closest defender to the receiver catching a touchdown, the blame finds you even if it's undeserved."Of course, you hear it," Delpit told The Chronicle-Telegram during the final week of the season. "But I don't pay any attention to it because a lot of times people have no idea what coverage we're in. People have no idea what your assignment is on that play, it's just speculation."So it doesn't affect me. If it's not coming from this building, I could care less, to be honest. I don't focus on it."In the opener in Carolina, cornerback Greg Newsome II allowed Robbie Anderson to run by him for a 75-yard touchdown. In Week 2 vs. the Jets, cornerback Denzel Ward didn't go with Corey Davis on an easy 66-yard touchdown.Despite most fingers pointing at him, Delpit (6-foot-3, 208 pounds) chose not to set the record straight."I could have," he said. "Everybody could, but what do you get out of that? Nothing."He also took a team-first approach when asked about Woods saying it was only a matter of time before Delpit started to perform at a high level and become more of a leader in the secondary."I have full confidence in myself as a player, the whole defense, so it's good to see us finally putting it together," Delpit said. "But we've just got to start faster next year."He gave a similar response when pressed to discuss his season."Ups and downs," he said. "Good and bad plays like everybody, but gotta start faster."Delpit, a second-round pick out of LSU in 2020, had a team-high 105 tackles, four for loss, a team-high four interceptions and 10 passes defensed. Three of the interceptions came in Weeks 16 and 17 vs. the Saints and Commanders.Pro Football Focus graded him at 63.6 — a slight improvement from 63.3 in 2021 — which ranked 55th among NFL safeties. He graded at 69.3 vs. the run, 39.4 as a pass rusher and 62.5 in coverage. John Johnson III, the other starting safety, ranked 57th."Better? I don't know about better," Delpit said when asked about perceived improvement throughout the season. "Understanding and making plays, I guess you could say it's better. But I've been the same player, just putting all the pieces together as the season goes on."Coach Kevin Stefanski saw progress."He is playing at a high level," Stefanski said in the final week of the season. "Obviously getting his hands on those balls. He is tackling well. I think he has a ton of tackles just on the season."Like young players, he is playing well with more opportunities. These young guys when they get more opportunities, they learn from them."Delpit concurred and credited his playmaking later in the year with being on the field so much. He missed his rookie season after an Achilles tendon ruptured in training camp, then played in a three-man rotation in 2021, logging 61 percent of the snaps and collecting 66 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a sack. He played all but three snaps this year — he was benched for the first play in a Week 10 loss to the Dolphins for violating a team rule and missed two others that game."Yeah, production's gone up, but that comes a lot with me being out there every snap," he said. "It's one thing I've tried to focus on this year is being durable. I haven't missed a practice. I'm trying to be out there for my team."Delpit spent slightly more time in the box than deep, and that percentage could increase after the hiring of Jim Schwartz as coordinator. Schwartz likes to use one safety deep and one near the line of scrimmage.As the season went along, Delpit made an impact against the run."It's an attitude really," he said. "Really just understanding the gap concepts and stuff like that. But I do think I bring a physical presence."Tackling is an interesting topic with Delpit. He was a two-time All-American at LSU and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in college football but slipped into the second round after missing 20 tackles in his final season."Everybody remembers that. I couldn't tackle, right?" he said, blaming a high ankle sprain that affected him for much of the season. "So it's just funny to see how kinda changing the script on it. It's cool to make all type of plays. I wouldn't say that I'm just a box safety, I wouldn't say I'm just a free safety. I can play them both."Pro Football Focus had him with 12 missed tackles this season, but many were early in the year."I don't know what my missed tackle rate is, but I don't think it's high," Delpit said. "So I do think I did a good job of that this year. Maybe a little bit better than last year. Just working on technique and understanding where the help is at and stuff like that, that helps in tackling."Delpit's college resume, high draft status and impressive physique and athleticism bring lofty expectations. Teammates predicted a breakout season during training camp and view him as a future Pro Bowler."If you're confident in what you are as a player, there's no pressure in that you know what you can do," he said. "If you're scared, go to church."This is a team sport, but individually I've got all the faith in the world in myself and I'm ready to hopefully start this thing out hot next year."He received one second-place vote for the All-Pro team and wants to be considered one of the best in the game."That's the goal, that's definitely a big goal for everybody in the league," Delpit said. "You let your play do the talking and see what comes out in the end."The post Safety Grant Delpit's confidence not shaken by outside criticism, he just wants to be one of the best first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.