Jabrill Peppers reacts after sacking Denver Broncos quarterback Case Keenum on fourth down to clinch the game for the Browns in the second half on Saturday. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jabrill Peppers was drafted out of Michigan with the label of safety, but those who watched closely could see the ideal hybrid linebacker.

A good majority of Peppers' snaps at Michigan during his All-America junior season came within the tackle box. He showed a propensity for making big plays in the run game and opportune plays when asked to rush the quarterback.

Peppers was rarely asked to make plays in deep coverage, and when tasked with pass coverage he did his best work in the slot and on opposing tight ends. Although Peppers was listed as a safety, and tested really well, he always seemed more comfortable inside or near the tackle box making plays closer to the line of scrimmage.

When the Browns drafted Peppers, the thought process was they would be playing him in his natural role. But as the season arrived, the safety became the subject of jokes within Gregg Williams' defense, lining up 25 to 30 yards off the ball on occasion.

It was clear Peppers was uncomfortable in what he was being asked to do.

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2017 STRUGGLES

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Early in the 2017 season, Peppers was playing too aggressively, and it cost him in his positioning several times.

Against the Colts, you will see Peppers lined up in the 2-high look and come crashing downhill off the play-action. It ultimately costs him, as he is flagged for running into T.Y. Hilton before the ball arrives due to being turned around chasing.

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Aligned at the top of the screen in another Cover-2 look, Peppers rolls too hard off the hash and it costs him, as he can't react to Will Fuller's ray route in time to close the gap. It was easy to see Peppers' eyes would be in the wrong direction off the snap in 2017 when tasked in deep coverage.

In the NFL, that split-second of indecision costs you.

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At Michigan, Peppers rarely came from a deep alignment to make open-field tackles. He was tasked with doing it in early 2017 for the Browns, and he struggled.

Often you would see him take poor angles and allow easy cut-back lanes. You will see him come into the top of the screen on the clip above as his path on this Buck Allen run is outside/in instead of inside/out, and he allows the cutback that turns into a big run.

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For much of 2017, Derrick Kindred played in the strong safety role aligned down near the box. Peppers was left filling the free safety role, at the deepest level of the defense. When Kindred went down late in the year, Peppers was tasked with filling his role and we got to see some flashes of what he could become.

Here against Pittsburgh in Week 17, he aligns near the bottom hash and, in zone coverage, works underneath JuJu Smith-Schuster's dig route to make the last-second shoulder flip interception. He played much faster near the line of scrimmage and his feel in coverage was noticeably better.

From that point on, the Browns knew they had to fill the free safety role and allow Peppers to play his natural role. The arrival of Damarious Randall from Green Bay allowed for this to happen.

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2018 IMPACT

The jump in production and performance for Peppers in 2018 has been a welcomed sight for the Browns. Currently, Peppers sits as the sixth-best safety graded by Pro Football Focus at 83.2, and it speaks to the increased speed and comfort Peppers is displaying.

Let's take a look at where he has made the biggest impact.

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Tackling

Peppers played 13 games in his rookie season and finished with 57 tackles. He has played 14 this year and currently sits at 68. He has seen an uptick in his tackles for loss, up from one to three this year.

According to John Kosko at Pro Football Focus, Peppers' run-defense grade of 77.7 is 10th-best in the league, a nice uptick since last year.

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It was obvious right away for Peppers. In the season opener against Pittsburgh, watch Peppers (aligned just outside the tackle box) decipher the outside zone and shoot the cut-back lane to stop James Conner at the line of scrimmage. This is excellent read-and-react ability.

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Against the Saints you will see Peppers work across the line covering his tight end in motion, then he reacts to the Saints' Duo scheme and shoots the gap for a tackle at the line of scrimmage.

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Again vs. the Saints, Peppers is aligned on the weak side on this third and short. He deciphers the lane allowed after the blocking scheme sets up, and works across to the middle of the field to make the perfect form tackle and drive back Alvin Kamara for a near-tackle for loss.

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Rushing the passer

Peppers has been at his most effective when rushing the passer. His nine pressures rank him fourth among the safety position, and he is a nice weapon for Gregg Williams to unleash in all sorts of ways close to the box.

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When blitzing from depth, Peppers has been effective coming through clean, and he does so with some impressive closing speed. He teams up with Genard Avery here to get quick pressure on Drew Brees and force the throwaway.

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Against the Chiefs, Peppers aligns on the line of scrimmage and rushes through quickly. He is chopped down on Kareem Hunt's cut block, but he is able to get up instantly and find the way to Patrick Mahomes for the pressure, quarterback hit, and incompletion.

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The game-clinching sack from Saturday against Denver was the culmination of his progress.

Peppers was noted as saying he was tasked with rushing off the edge, but when he notices the tight end block out, he directs his path inside, lets the tackle choose his path, and comes through untouched to record the sack on Case Keenum.

This sort of effort takes feel for the opposing offense's protection plan, and a quick burst to find the quarterback before he can deliver the ball or throw it away.

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Coverage

Peppers has seen his most drastic improvement in the pass-coverage department in 2018. When tasked with playing man-to-man coverage in 2017, Peppers ranked 79 out of 80 graded safeties.

When covering in man concepts in 2018, Peppers is grading out with a score of 87.2 -- third-best in the NFL. His overall coverage grade ranks at 82.0, which is good for 10th in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.

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Early in the year against Baltimore, Peppers' comfort and eye discipline in deep coverage were noticeable. Here the Ravens run John Brown on an out-and-up concept, and Peppers arrives in time and delivers a big hit to break up the play and jar the ball loose from Brown.

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Peppers is tasked with covering opposing tight ends weekly, and he does a great job here of face guarding Tampa Bay's O.J. Howard -- one of the league's best young tight ends -- and only making contact as the ball arrives and forcing the pass break-up.

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In Denver, Peppers was on top of his game all night.

Here he is tasked with curl/flat responsibility in zone coverage. He doesn't get caught tracking inside on the outside zone fake, and reads the shallow drag coming into his zone and lights up the receiver for a tackle for loss.

This sort of understanding of concepts comes as you see consistent NFL schemes unfold in front of you.

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From Saturday again, we see the full effect of Peppers' learning process. His rookie year was a struggle playing single high safety, but it did teach him valuable lessons he is applying this year.

Watch him roll to the single-high coverage here and read Keenum's eyes to arrive in time and make the high-point interception before it reaches Courtland Sutton's hands. This play was one the most impressive of his young career.

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MAXIMUM EFFORT

It sounds cliche, but you truly can't coach effort, and not all players are wired to give it at peak ability without stopping.

Peppers is different. It can be an overlooked trait for Peppers, but he plays with maximum effort on each snap, and you will notice he never quits on a play even when the odds seem slim. Far too often, we see players quit giving effort near the end of a play they presume is over and allow the opposing player to gain a few extra inches.

That doesn't happen with Peppers, and the Browns' defense is better for it.

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Here against Atlanta, Peppers arrives right at the goal line to make a big hit on Tevin Coleman and stop the ball from crossing into the end zone. Peppers very easily could have quit giving max effort and allowed Coleman to reach across the goal line, but he arrives with authority and stops it. The Browns ended up keeping the Falcons out of the end zone.

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In Denver, Peppers put this effort level on display again. Watch as he is aligned inside the hash but arrives at full speed and just in the key moment to keep Devontae Booker out of the end zone.

The Broncos scored on a third-down escape play, but Peppers' effort to make the tackle by an inch could have saved points. Defensive coordinators and teammates thrive off this type of energy and effort.

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SPECIAL TEAMS IMPACT

Peppers was a dynamic return man for Michigan, and while we haven't quite seen that type of production, his second year has produced much better results.

There have been glimpses of what he can do, as he has broken a few returns for long runs.

In 2017, Peppers had 30 punt returns for 180 yards.

In 2018, Peppers only has 23 returns but already has accounted for more yards at 207.

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We got a glimpse against the Chargers of what Peppers is becoming in the return game as his hip wiggle and quick feet allow him to make several defenders miss and create a big return to set the Browns up with great field position.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

The Browns drafted Peppers with the hope of a game-changing safety. His rookie season gave plenty cause for concern, but the reasons were obvious. Not all young players adjust well to a new position, and it was clear Peppers was going to have a steep learning curve playing deep free safety.

The position change back to his comfort zone is largely responsible for his uptick in performance, but the lessons learned playing deep and beginning to understand how the whole field looks will benefit Peppers over the long haul of his career.

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The Browns' secondary is now anchored by young players in positions they know best and can thrive in. Damarious Randall was moved back to his college position of free safety with the Browns and he has thrived. Peppers' move to strong safety has given him a position from which to succeed. Denzel Ward is the young anchor at cornerback.

The Browns have a secondary that can make an impact for years to come and has a shot to become one of the league's best.

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Jake Burns played quarterback at the collegiate level and also has coached at both the high school and college levels. You can read more X&O analysis from Burns at the OBRand VikingUpdate.com.