Juan Thornhill sees all the pieces for Super Bowl with new Browns team

On Mar 18, 2023

Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill tackles Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Zach Pascal (3) during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 57 football game, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Juan Thornhill knows exactly what it takes to win a Super Bowl. Actually, he knows what it takes to win multiple Super Bowls.

“I mean, it’s very hard, honestly,” the newest Browns safety said during his introductory Zoom call Friday. “You have to stay disciplined for the whole season. As you see in the NFL, some teams start fast and finish slow. Some teams start slow and finish fast. So it’s all about just staying disciplined and to get to multiple Super Bowls is even harder. Once you win one, you got a target on your back each and every week because everybody’s trying to knock down the top do. So it’s definitely hard to get there.”

Those, however, occurred during Thornhill’s time with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was part of Super Bowl championship teams his rookie season in 2019 — although he missed the game due to injury — and then last season, while he also played in the game a third time after the 2020 season when the Chiefs lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That’s two Super Bowl championships, three Super Bowl appearances in four seasons in the NFL for Thornhill. It’s the kind of success he’s grown accustomed to, which is not the kind of success his new team has enjoyed at all.

Thornhill believes that can change sooner rather than later for the Browns.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Thornhill said. “Like I said before, all of the pieces are here. Got a really good quarterback (Deshaun Watson), receivers (Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones); the defense is super strong. I feel like all of the pieces are here and we have that capability of getting there and making a splash in the playoffs and making it to the Super Bowl. I have all confidence in that.”

It’s not like Thornhill isn’t familiar with a good Browns team. He’s played them twice, and those two meetings were only separated by a few months.

Thornhill recorded a tackle and a pass defensed for the Kansas City defense when it beat Cleveland 22-17 in the AFC Divisional Round in January, 2021. When the two teams opened the 2021 regular season in Arrowhead Stadium, he had seven combined tackles and also forced a Nick Chubb fumble in the third quarter that led to a field goal to pull the Chiefs within two on their way to a 33-29 come-from-behind win.

Now, Thornhill feels like he can be the piece to help the Browns finish the job. Not just against the Chiefs, should they play, but against anyone they may face.

“So with Cleveland, I remember playing them and I just remember them being a team that was willing to run down your throat and punch you in the mouth early,” Thornhill said. “So that just shows that they have the ability to get to the big game. I feel like I’m that type of player that can add to the defense and help them get to where they want to go.”

Thornhill comes in as the replacement for John Johnson III, in more ways that one. Johnson, who was officially released Wednesday with a post-June 1 designation, wasn’t just the Browns’ primary deep safety, but was also maybe one of their most vocal leaders.

The two Super Bowl rings Thornhill owns gives him an immediate gravitas as he walks into the Browns’ locker room. That’s something he understands gives him an edge on a roster full of players who mostly haven’t even played in the game, let alone won it multiple times.

“I mean, if you’re part of a team that’s been able to go to multiple Super Bowls and win multiple Super Bowls, you’re willing to take that wherever you go,” Thornhill said. “I have the experience winning two of them and being in three. So I know what it feels like to be in that big game and I know what it takes to win, so that’s what I’m going to bring with me. I’m going to bring that energy and I’m going to bring it to my teammates as well, and if I see someone slacking, I’m going to let them know that’s not the way to go about it, let’s pick it up so we can get to where we want to be.”

There is, however, a way to do carry that out. Johnson, famously, created a controversy with the Browns’ defense last season prior to a Week 7 game at Baltimore by claiming players weren’t “100% committed” to their craft.

Thornhill doesn’t believe that publicly airing out a teammate or group of teammates is necessarily the way to go. That’s especially true as he walks into a brand new situation with a whole new set a teammates.