Justin Gilbert described his performance in Thursday night’s preseason game as “flawless.” Our grades had a different opinion. Gilbert allowed 4 of 8 passes into his coverage for 46 yards and finished with a -1.9 overall grade. What the raw stats don’t show though is that Gilbert had a complete coverage bust on the first drive of the game that ended with Pierre Garcon dropping a would-be 61-yard touchdown.
There were also several reports from the Browns’ scrimmage with the Bills Monday that Gilbert was a liability in coverage. One writer went so far as to say he’s “never seen such a rough day.”
After playing 373 snaps as a rookie, Gilbert needs to turn things around quickly or he could be a man without a role in the Browns’ defense. Every returning starter from the Browns’ secondary, including nickel back K’Waun Williams, was positively graded in coverage last season.