Seattle All-Pro Earl Thomas has set the recent standard for NFL safeties, and the Browns should be aiming to acquire that kind of secondary game-changer in the 2017 NFL Draft. (AP)

Browns need a safety, like Earl Thomas, who can change their secondary

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland, home of Pro Bowl safeties.

In the not-so-distant past, this claim could be made, after T.J. Ward, Tashaun Gipson and Donte Whitner gave the Browns three different safeties in the Pro Bowl over a two-year span in 2013 and 2014.

In the spring of 2015, Whitner was claiming the Browns featured one of the top two secondaries in the NFL.

Two years later, Ward, Gipson and Whitner are gone and the Browns missed on safeties Bradley McDougald and Tony Jefferson in free agency. The position continues to grow in importance and value in the pass-happy NFL.

"The safety has to be the quarterback of the defense," Utah safety Marcus Williams, a potential second- or third-rounder who may interest the Browns, said at the NFL Combine. "So if you don't have a smart safety, your defense might not be in tune."

It now stands as the weakest position on the Browns defense. They need to draft a starting safety, maybe two.

The good news for the Browns is that there are plenty of options for a team that needs to be safety conscious. NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah called this safety class "incredibly talented and deep."

With Jamal Adams of LSU, one of the top two safeties in this draft, the only option almost sure to be out of the Browns' reach, here are my top seven safety options they should target.

The players are ranked with the draft position where the Browns should be able to take them and are in order of greatest value at that draft position, not in overall ability.

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No. 1: Budda Baker at No. 33

The 5-foot-10 Baker is undersized but tops my list by offering the greatest combination of coverage, tackling, instincts and experience among the safeties who should or could be available with the first pick in the second round.

• Baker breakdown

This seems the ideal spot for the Browns to attack this position, if they take defensive end Myles Garrett at No. 1 and either go quarterback or another offensive position at No. 12 in the first round. Yes, Adams and Malik Hooker are better safety prospects. But Baker would be ranked higher if he had another couple inches or pounds in him.

At No. 33, he very well may be there, and the Browns would be getting a first-round football player.

• Why Baker may be the Browns best best at 33

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No. 2: Malik Hooker at No. 12

Hooker's a better player than Baker. But it's unlikely he'll fall to No. 12, with most mock drafts projecting him in the top 10. And if he does, the Browns will have other pressing needs they could address with their second first-round pick.

• Hooker's dazzling rise

If he someone slides because an hip injury has limited his ability to work out this offseason, then this could be a great pick for the Browns. But it might not be the best pick. And it probably won't happen anyway.

But the Ohio State All-American, with the best ball skills of any safety in the country, is going to make some defense very happy.

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No. 3: Jabrill Peppers at No. 33

Peppers is a great football player. Will he be a great safety?

For the Michigan star who served as a linebacker and return man in 2016, and who might be a better running back than anything else, that's the question.

• Peppers breakdown

No. 12 would be too high for Peppers, because there is some risk with his position inexperience. But if he'd get through the first round and be there at 33?

Then you can take that kind of player without hesitation, and know he'll work out somewhere. Maybe you wouldn't take him ahead of Baker. But you could take him.

• Is Peppers at the right position?

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No. 4: Obi Melifonwu at No. 33

Melifonwu, at 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds, is being looked at as a cornerback by some teams. As a safety, he has the size that could make him him exceptional. But the UConn grad doesn't have the football instincts, yet, of Baker or Peppers.

• Melifonwu breakdown

If Baker and Peppers are gone, he could be a smart pick for the Browns at 33 after lighting it up at the NFL Combine. But he's more of a risk, because his college film doesn't show the kind of game-after-game impact you might want from a projected rookie starter.

But if he hits? He could be unbelievable.

• Melifonwu like Myles Garrett with combine numbers

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No. 5: Montae Nicholson at No. 142

Now we're dropping down a bit in the draft for a Big Ten safety with oodles of talent who never quite lived up to it at Michigan State.

Nicholson is 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds and ran a 4.42 40 at the NFL Combine. That's an ideal size-speed combo. But NFL.com quoted a scout that said Nicholson had "no impact on the game whatsoever," with the Spartans. This would be an upside pick, not a production pick.

He was a four-star recruit who hit a plateau in East Lansing. If the Browns take him at No. 142, which is their second pick in the fourth round, and coach him up, they could be getting a second-round talent at a great draft value.

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No. 6: Marcus Williams at No. 52

Williams could be in the mix at No. 33 if Baker, Peppers and Melifonwu are gone, but that might seem like a reach. But if the Browns pick a different position at 12 and 33, then Williamson at No. 52, with the Browns' second pick in the second round, could be a target.

• Williams breakdown

The two-time All-Pac 12 safety was a three-year starter at Utah with 11 interceptions. At 6-foot-1, he has decent size and he's effective making plays on the ball. He's smart and athletic and would be a logical pick in the second or third rounds.

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No. 7: Eddie Jackson at No. 108

Jackson broke his leg in his eighth game of his senior season for Alabama, and his draft stock has dropped as a result. Thinking he might be available at No. 108, the first pick of the fourth round, might be a reach. Third round may be more like it for him.

• Jackson breakdown

Jackson intercepted six passes during Alabama's national title season in 2015, and the 6-foot, 200-pounder also has experience playing corner for the Crimson Tide. Throw in his punt return abilities, and the fact that he should be fairly healthy by the draft, and Jackson is a player that shouldn't be forgotten.

NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Jackson's "combination of instincts, range and ball skills is outstanding."

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Other names to consider

Other safeties to watch and where the Browns might find value in picking them.

• Jadar Johnson, Clemson, No. 183 (he's the guy who talked about Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett before the Fiesta Bowl, and was right)

Johnson breakdown

• Josh Harvey-Clemons, Louisville, No. 187

Harvey-Clemons breakdown

• Josh Jones, North Carolina State, No. 108 (he's the guy who faced both Deshaun Watson and Mitch Trubisky in the ACC this year. Watch the video.)