page_title: Jabrill Peppers
section_title: 2017
hierarchical_section_title: Jabrill Peppers / Professional career / Cleveland Browns / 2017
caption_attribution_description: Cleveland Browns vs. New York Giants
context_page_description: Jabrill Ahmad Peppers is an American football strong safety for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He played college football at Michigan, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. A standout athlete early in high school, he was named the Air Force National Sophomore of the Year in 2011. Sports Illustrated named Peppers one of their "Future Game Changers," a group of 14 young athletes who are considered to be the brightest talents of their respective sports. Peppers was named the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year, Freshman All-American, and a Second-Team All-American in 2015. Peppers was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Linebacker of the Year, Return Specialist of the Year, and an All-American in 2016.
context_section_description: The Cleveland Browns selected Peppers in the first round (25th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. Peppers was the third safety drafted in 2017, behind Jamal Adams (6th overall) and Malik Hooker (15th overall). 
  On July 22, 2017, the Cleveland Browns signed Peppers to a fully guaranteed four-year, $4.7 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $5.6 million.
  Peppers entered training camp slated as the starting strong safety. Head coach Hue Jackson named Peppers the starting free safety to start the regular season, alongside strong safety Derrick Kindred. He was also named the starting kick returner and starting punt returner.
  He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Cleveland Browns' season-opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and recorded four combined tackles and broke up a pass in their 21–18 loss. In addition, he had one kickoff return for 14-yards and three punt returns for 34-yards. He was inactive for two games (Weeks 7–8) due to a toe injury. In Week 12, he collected a season-high seven combined tackles during a 30–16 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals. He was sidelined for the Browns' Week 14 loss to the Green Bay Packers due to a knee injury. On December 31, 2017, Peppers recorded four solo tackles, broke up a pass, and made his first career interception as the Browns lost 28–24 at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Peppers made his first career interception off a pass attempt by quarterback Landry Jones in the first quarter. He finished his rookie season in 2017 with 57 combined tackles (44 solo), three pass deflections, and one interception in 13 games and 13 starts. Peppers also had 14 kick returns for 318-yards (22.7 YPR) and 30 punt returns for 180-yards (6.0 YPR). The Cleveland Browns finished the 2017 NFL season with a record of 0–16. Peppers lined up as a free safety for 88.2% of the Browns' defensive snaps according to Pro Football Focus. He received an overall grade of 45.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2017.
caption: Peppers with the Cleveland Browns in 2017
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