5 Cleveland Browns whose stock is down after shockingly bad loss to Cardinals

2. Browns S John Johnson

Browns safety John Johnson III is playing so poorly, he’s conjuring up the name members of Browns Town thought they’d never hear again: Andrew Sendejo.

That’s right, Sendejo was a regular here a season ago, and now, Johnson is giving last year’s goat a run for his money.

Cleveland was praised heavily for signing Johnson, especially among the ranks of the analytics sites, such as Pro Football Focus, for stealing the safety out of LA.

Defensive coordinator Joe Woods looked to be inheriting a hard-hitting, playmaking safety capable of tilting a game in the Browns favor.

Instead, the Dawg Pound continuously sees the first-year Brown blow coverage and miss tackles. Opposing teams continue to score wide-open touchdowns and Johnson is usually in the picture playing catch-up.

To be fair, he didn’t play well, but he’s catching a lot of heat for messing this one up…and it’s not deserved. Rather,  Ronnie Harrisons should be catching heat. That said,

One play that comes to mind: In the second half, Deandre Hopkins was along in the back of the end zone. Johnson is seen rushing over, way too late. Hopkins is the best receiver in the league. Last week, the Browns lost the Charger’s best wideout twice.

Then, Johnson couldn’t couldn’t deliver a hit to keep a defender from crossing the goal line. It’s getting embarrassing.