Mike Rutenberg has already started using Denzel Ward in a way the Browns rarely did before, and Sunday’s home opener showed exactly why that matters.
Under former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Ward usually stayed on the left side and handled that part of the field without much need to chase a team’s top receiver around. He was still doing elite work, just in a more fixed role. Now, in the early part of the 2026 season, first-year DC Mike Rutenberg is giving him more freedom.
That freedom came down hard on Tetairoa McMillan, the NFL’s reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year. Ward did not shadow McMillan from beginning to end, but he matched up with him 25 times, according to ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, the fourth-most in any game of Ward’s career. The result was a classic shutdown performance in the Browns’ 21-18 win: McMillan finished with one catch for 12 yards after coming in with 10 receptions for 176 yards over Carolina’s first two games.
“Our defense played their ass off,” said head coach Todd Monken, who wore his cap backwards during his postgame press conference as a nod to Rutenberg. “Really did.”
Ward was the centerpiece of a Browns defensive effort that looked like the old version of Cleveland football. And it was another reminder of how much value he brings when the Browns let him erase a No. 1 receiver.
Before the season began on Sept. 1, ESPN’s panel of experts left Ward off its top 100 players list for the 2026 season. That omission looks rough, especially considering how often his game gets undervalued by the usual numbers.
As one NFL personnel evaluator told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler this offseason, Ward’s profile has been dulled by spending so many years on losing Browns teams.
"If Ward played in Kansas City or New England, he'd be the talk of the NFL," the exec said. “He doesn't get the credit he should.
Twitch or closing speed, there's no one better. He closes faster than anyone I've ever seen.
In coverage, that is a special trait."
The production backs that up. From 2018 through 2025, Ward’s 74 pass breakups were the second-most of any defender in the NFL over that stretch.
He also has 18 career interceptions. And when he’s been used primarily on the left side in recent seasons under Schwartz, opposing quarterbacks have often gone looking for easier matchups elsewhere.
Sunday was different. Cleveland’s defense had already taken a hit in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but it looked far more settled against Carolina. SumerSports said the Browns pressured Bryce Young on 30 of his 47 dropbacks, a number that made life miserable for the Panthers’ offense.
With pressure collapsing the pocket and Ward taking away the preferred target, the afternoon turned into a long one for Carolina.
The Browns have always had this tool available. Rutenberg is just reaching for it now, and that says plenty about where this defense can go from here.
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