Juan Thornhill Reveals Why He Signed With Browns

The Cleveland Browns needed to find some help for their defense this offseason. In 2022, they ranked 20th in points against and 14th in yardage surrendered, so they sought to shore things up on that side of the ball.

The Browns got aggressive early in free agency to address those needs. They signed defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson away from the Minnesota Vikings to help improve their run defense. At the back end, Cleveland signed safety Juan Thornhill away from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Leaving a championship-winning team is never an easy thing. Thornhill has reached the top of the mountain twice as a professional, as he owns two rings from his time with the Chiefs. He was an excellent contributor in the Kansas City secondary for four seasons after being a second-round pick out of Virginia in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Now, he will be looking to bring that production to Cleveland. What would make someone go from the top of the food chain with the Chiefs to a franchise in the Browns that has fewer postseason wins this century than Kansas City did on their most recent Super Bowl run? Thornhill revealed the reason in a recent OTA press conference.

“So I like to be like the underdog a little bit,” Thornhill said. “Going into the season, not everyone thinking that you’re going to be like the No. 1 team. Kansas City, everybody put them up there No. 1. They think they’re going to win every year. But me coming here, I feel like I can add something to the team and bring something to the team to get us to that top level, and I just will feel accomplished if we did that.”

The Browns are underdogs indeed. Many people are predicting them to finish last in the vaunted AFC North that includes the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. Right now, it would be difficult to place the Browns ahead of any of those teams in predictions.

But, with some of the improvements they have made defensively, the Browns should be much better in 2023. Deshaun Watson getting into more of a rhythm after spending nearly two years on the sidelines will also help the team get to that next level along with the championship experience Thornhill will provide.

In four seasons, Thornhill has 234 combined tackles with five tackles for loss and four quarterback hits and one sack. He is a solid playmaker with 20 passes defended and eight interceptions in 65 games, 52 starts, in the regular season. Thornhill will bring nine games and six starts of playoff experience along with him as well.