Grant Delpit doesn't know any different way.
That's why the Browns' second-round safety isn't making too much out of the NFL's unique setup for training camp, which includes no preseason games following an entirely virtual offseason. This is a little closer to normal for a rookie who's never experienced an NFL training camp before than it is for a veteran.
"I know there is supposed to be a preseason, but in college, we didn't have one," Delpit said before Friday's practice. "I know the NFL is definitely the next level so I am doing everything I can do to prepare for it. Of course, I would want to have some preseason games to kind of get in the swing of things, but we think on our feet and that is why we are out there, that is why we are here and that is why I am here. I am ready to go."
Delpit's ready to go in a variety of ways.
First, Delpit is fully healthy — something he rarely was because of a nagging high ankle sprain during his final season at LSU. He maximized the extra time away from the field to heal up and prepare himself from a physical standpoint with the understanding there's no replicating "football shape" away from a football field.
That's what made a day like Friday so rewarding for Delpit. He was playing football again and moving around in a way he hadn't in close to a year.
"That was the No. 1 thing I had to do is get all the way 100 percent," Delpit said. "I was able to do that, and I was also working out every day. There was nothing else to do. Working out every day and trying to get right because I know once we get here, it will be full speed 100 percent.
"I was able to do that and get my body right, and I am great."
When they selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft, the Browns were confident Delpit would quickly return to the form that made him so great at LSU. A unanimous All-American in 2018, Delpit still showed enough the following year to win the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given annually to the nation's top defensive back.
Now in Cleveland, the Browns see a player who can fill a variety of roles based off the versatility he showed while playing against the nation's top talent week in, week out in the SEC.
"I think it would be unfair to task him as just a free, just a strong or just what we would call a big nickel," Browns EVP of Football Operations and GM Andrew Berry said in April. "The appeal is that he really does have the modern-day safety skill set from a coverage standpoint because of that versatility. That is something that we are really excited to have."
Delpit certainly wasn't getting caught up in positions or labels Friday. He was just thrilled to be playing football again — the only way he knows.
"I am just ready to fit in wherever (Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods) and Coach (Kevin) Stefanski put me, to be honest," Delpit said. "I am not really worried about the exact spot that I need to make an impact at. I am just ready to fit into the defensive scheme, and we are installing that right now."
Check out photos from the first day of Browns Camp
Cornerback Denzel Ward (21) during practice on August 14, 2020
Tight end Austin Hooper (81) during practice on August 14, 2020
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) during practice on August 14, 2020
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during practice on August 14, 2020
Defensive tackle Eli Ankou (91) during practice on August 14, 2020
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during practice on August 14, 2020
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during practice on August 14, 2020
M.J. Stewart Jr. during practice on August 14, 2020
Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (90) during practice on August 14, 2020
Tight end Austin Hooper (81) during practice on August 14, 2020
Offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) during practice on August 14, 2020
A helmet during practice on August 14, 2020
during practice on August 14, 2020
Quarterback Case Keenum (5) during practice on August 14, 2020
Fullback Johnny Stanton (43) during practice on August 14, 2020
Running Back Kareem Hunt (27) during practice on August 14, 2020
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during practice on August 14, 2020
Offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) during practice on August 14, 2020
Cornerback Greedy Williams (26) during practice on August 14, 2020
Offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) during practice on August 14, 2020
Punter Jamie Gillan (7) during practice on August 14, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on August 14, 2020
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during practice on August 14, 2020
Cornerback Kevin Johnson (28) during practice on August 14, 2020
Punter Jamie Gillan (7) during practice on August 14, 2020
Safety Grant Delpit (22) during practice on August 14, 2020
Offensive guard Joel Bitonio (75) during practice on August 14, 2020
Offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) during practice on August 14, 2020
George Obinna (60) during practice on August 14, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on August 14, 2020
Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson (98) during practice on August 14, 2020
Offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (71) during practice on August 14, 2020
Safety Jovante Moffatt (35) during practice on August 14, 2020
Offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (71) during practice on August 14, 2020
Linebacker Tae Davis (55) during practice on August 14, 2020
Tight end Stephen Carlson (89) during practice on August 14, 2020
Cornerback Donovan Olumba (33) during practice on August 14, 2020
Safety Sheldrick Redwine (29) during practice on August 14, 2020
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) and Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on August 14, 2020
Linebacker B.J. Goodson (93) during practice on August 14, 2020
Quarterback Kevin Davidson (9) during practice on August 14, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on August 14, 2020
Linebacker Willie Harvey (56) during practice on August 14, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on August 14, 2020
Cornerback Denzel Ward (21) during practice on August 14, 2020
Wide receiver Rashard Higgins (82) during practice on August 14, 2020
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (65) during practice on August 14, 2020
Wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (11) during practice on August 14, 2020
A helmet during practice on August 14, 2020
Safety Karl Joseph (42) during practice on August 14, 2020
Wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (11) during practice on August 14, 2020
