CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It looks like No. 4 overall pick Denzel Ward won't have to wait as long to start as a rookie as his predecessor Joe Haden did.

Ward, who had an excellent day in the open OTA last week, was promoted to first team defense Tuesday opposite T.J. Carrie. Last week, it was Carrie and free-agent pickup Terrance Mitchell.

If the Ohio State product keeps up this way, he'll be starting opening day against Antonio Brown and the Steelers. For Haden, he had to wait until week nine to become a full-time starter.

"Ward being out there is because he's earning it,'' said coach Hue Jackson after practice. "He's working at it. He plays a position that we've been needing a guy to step up. We see him improving each and every day and doing the things that we're asking. He needs to continue to do that to continue to be out there but we know he's very talented. That's why we drafted him. He's displayed that since he's been here.''

In practice last week, the Macedonia, Ohio native broke up a fade to the much-taller Josh Gordon in the end zone. Plays such as that helped earn him the promotion.

"Every day, I see him getting a little bit better," Jackson said then. "The speed of the game is not too big for him. The stage is not too big for him. He is out there making plays."

For Ward, toiling against Gordon, Jarvis Landry and Corey Coleman will prepare him for the big-name wideouts he'll face this season.

"For Ward, it's just all of the different things we do and the different type of receivers because that changes from play to play who he has to go up against, and learning a complicated system that we have on defense,'' said Jackson. "I think he's handled that pretty well.''