The Cleveland Browns selected cornerback Justin Gilbert with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Being selected with a top-ten pick sets a level of expectations of course, and Gilbert simply didn’t follow through after a disappointing rookie season. Not only was his production limited on the field, Gilbert found himself lacking professionalism off the field as well.
Amid receiving criticism from locker room leaders for the bad habits he developed his rookie season, Gilbert’s response wasn’t the best.
“I’m not a person to judge my teammates and put it out there in the media like that,” Gilbert said. “If I have a problem with somebody, I would address them face to face and that’s just all I can say about that.”
Gilbert was asked about his rookie campaign following the last game of the 2014 NFL season and responded with, “I messed up” and that it was a “minor setback for a major comeback.”
Similar to the 2014 NFL season, 2015 didn’t offer much change from Gilbert’s attitude towards the game. He missed the first two games of the season with a strained hip flexor but showed up to practice with a strained hamstring. Pro bowl safety Tashaun Gipson questioned the former first-round selections upcoming season after a lackluster preseason.
“That remains to be seen,” Gipson said. “I think he wants to get in there and he wants to show that he’s not that wasted of a draft pick, that bust.”
Of course, Gilbert struggled to see the field defensively the rest of the season. A season that resulted in, yet again, another rebuild by the Cleveland Browns after the team fired head coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer.
Enter new Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson. A well-respected football mind that has a reputation for bringing the best out of the players he coaches. Jackson has coached and mentored the likes of Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Terrell Owens and Chris Henry – all considered to be “troubled” players at some point in their career. All three thrived under Jackson and the off-field issues were held to a minimum.
Jackson believes Gilbert has certainly done his part thus far in the offseason, going as far as calling the defensive back “spectacular”.
“I can’t talk about what’s gone on here in the past with him,” Jackson said. “I know it’s well-documented, but that’s not the young man I’ve met since I’ve been here and talked to and have exchanges with. He’s been sensational. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do the way we’ve asked him to do it.”
Due to two-time pro bowler Joe Haden’s recovery from ankle surgery, Gilbert has been taking reps with the first-team in replacement of Haden and hopes to receive first-team reps even when Haden returns from injury.
New Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton also thinks Gilbert’s attitude has made the transition to the NFL, finally taking advice from others. Horton also touched on the coaching technique for players and how knowing the person without any doubt affects how you coach the player.
“You have got to understand him, what makes him tick, and that’s part of being a coach, for my philosophy,” Horton said. “You have to know your players. There are certain triggers that guys respond to.
“I’m not saying that we can get that out of everybody, but that is what we try to do. He’s responding right now, and he’s doing everything we ask him to do. Case in point, we asked him to change his stance, which for some people can be really hard. He changed it in one practice.”
Of course, the Cleveland Browns gave up 34 passing touchdowns in all of the 2015 NFL season, finishing among the bottom of the league.
It’s no secret that Joe Haden will be the Browns’ starting cornerback in 2016 but with a handful of others battling to play opposite of Haden, Gilbert finds himself in an unusual spot having to play for perhaps his football career. Tramon Williams, 33, struggled immensely in his first season with Cleveland and his age is certainly a factor. K’Waun Williams, Pierre Desir and Gilbert are likely playing for that primary backup role that would step in to replace either Haden or Williams, both which have had injury problems in their career.
An attitude adjustment for Justin Gilbert was necessary in order to pave the way for a chance at a successful career, one that would finally halt the comparisons of his 2014 first-round accomplice, Johnny Manziel. It appears the new regime with Hue Jackson and Ray Horton are focused on helping the players reach their potential and Gilbert, for the first time in his NFL career, seems to have found his comfort zone because of it.
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