Tony Grossi, ESPN Cleveland 8y

Browns rookie linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah gets some looks at 3-4 defensive end

Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

More takeaways from Day 1 of Browns training camp …

1. Position switch: First impact of Desmond Bryant’s season-ending pectoral injury was felt by rookie Emmanuel Ogbah. Drafted as an outside edge rusher at linebacker, the rookie split time at right defensive end with second-year lineman Xavier Cooper. Necessity is the mother of invention, and it’s early enough to experiment. “We’re gonna try a little bit of everything,” coach Hue Jackson said. “We’re gonna put our best players out there on defense. We’re gonna try him there, put him back at linebacker We’re just trying to find a lot of different combinations now that Des is going to be down.” Ogbah was a 4-3 defensive end at Oklahoma State, where he had 24 sacks his last two years. The difference at 3-4 end is that Ogbah will have to grapple against in-line tight ends and be stout against the run. This is no done deal, of course, and Ogbah is still expected to be positioned to help the outside pass rush. But if Ogbah warms to an early conversion, it gives coordinator Ray Horton some flexibility to be creative with Ogbah in creating unpredictable rush schemes. The domino effect could free up Barkevious Mingo to concentrate solely on the edge rush role, from which he had his best year in 2013 as a rookie under Horton.

2. QB reps: Robert Griffin III took about twice as many reps with the No. 1 offense as Josh McCown. Jackson said McCown’s experience gives the coaches the luxury of giving more reps to the younger quarterbacks – Griffin, rookie Cody Kessler and Austin Davis. Kessler and Davis are not getting reps with the first team, however. The coach said rep rotation at quarterback could change daily.

3. Sign of times: Long before Isaiah Crowell’s regrettable Instagram post that went viral, Jackson stated a social media policy to his players. “I guess that’s what I was most disappointed about, because we talk about it all the time,” Jackson said. “I don’t think anything good comes from social media personally. I’m not gonna take it away from them, but I think there’s a way to use it for them. It's not a place where you voice your personal opinion about something. I think it’s a place where you build your brand. I know friends check in here and there with their families, and I’m not gonna stop that. I think there’s a way to use it in a positive way. They’ve got to understand the pitfalls of this. It was a huge teaching lesson, very painful, but we’ll all learn from it.”

4. Observations: Cornerback Justin Gilbert earned the coach’s praise on the field, and afterwards, for getting his hands on balls several times in one-on-one’s with receivers … Jackson was not happy with the number of balls hitting the ground. Running back Glenn Winston had a ball pried away and at least four receivers had the same after taking a step after catches … Taylor Gabriel, who is back after missing the OTA season with a knee injury, made a highlight catch on the sideline … Intermittent rain with some thunder and lightning caused the Browns to close the practice to the general public (VIP guests remained). Hundreds of disappointed spectators peered through fences to catch glimpses. “I wish I could talk to Mother Nature and have it differently,” Jackson said. “It’s a safety issue, making sure our fans are OK. Hopefully they’ll be back here tomorrow because we sure will be.” … Right guard John Greco did not practice because of an undisclosed injury.

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