With the recent news of the Cleveland Browns' veteran safety Rodney McLeod Jr. announcing his retirement after 13 season in the NFL, general manager Andrew Berry will now begin his quest to find a replacement.
Despite not being an every-day starter for the Browns, McLeod contributed to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's unit as a versatile defensive back. In his final season with Cleveland, the 34-year-old was featured in multiple roles on defense, including the slot cornerback position and a box safety.
Over the past two seasons, Schwartz demonstrated that his aggressive style of play on defense requires him to make frequent substitutions, which makes depth pieces a key element to the Browns' game plan. Knowing this, Cleveland's front office should consider looking at Iowa Hawkeyes' defensive back Sebastian Castro in this upcoming draft.
Throughout his time with the Hawkeyes, Castro played a majority of his snaps at in the slot, but has experience playing inside the box. In his final two seasons in Iowa, the graduate student became a force in both the run and pass game with his physical style of play.
Castro may not have the speed to play a traditional nickel role in the NFL, but young defensive back could find an early-down role as a strong safety inside the box with the Browns. Even with his small build, there was multiple occasions that Iowa's defensive coordinator Phil Parker matched him up against a tight end in the passing game.
The former 2023 AP third-team All-America is currently PFF's No. 3 safety in the 2025 draft class and is projected to be a late day two, early day three pick.
