Lost in the excitement of the Cavaliers’ playoff run and the Guardians’ surprising start, the NFL Draft came and went a couple of weeks ago and the Cleveland Browns selected six players.
(We say this tongue-in-cheek because we know for many people in northeast Ohio, the Browns are the only professional team that exists. It certainly seems that way listening to local sports talk).
Anyway, this was the last season the Browns were still paying off their trade for Deshaun Watson, so they did not have a first-round pick, and of course, that selection is usually the one that gets the most attention.
And the Browns were a very good team in 2023, going 11-6 and making the playoffs. Really, they had no glaring holes, so for the most part, the players selected in the draft are adding to the depth of the roster.
They took a local guy, Streetsboro’s Michael Hall Jr. out of Ohio State with their second-round selection, and actually he could be someone who could get playing time seeing how defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz likes to rotate his lineman.
Before the draft took place, we were asked whatever happened to the University of Michigan offensive lineman who broke his leg against the Buckeyes. Well, Zak Zinter was Cleveland’s second selection in the third round. With Joel Bitonio now 33, the Browns need a guard that can be his replacement down the road.
Zinter may be that guy. He probably would have been taken earlier had it not been for the injury in his final college game.
The rest of the picks are probably special team type players. GM Andrew Berry fed his need to draft a wide receiver in Jamari Thrash out of Louisville. He’s a big play guy and Cleveland seems to always be looking for a “burner”.
Nathaniel Watson is purported to be a run stuffing linebacker and the buzz around him from the local media seems to be that of a special team ace.
Berry also loves to draft cornerbacks and in today’s NFL that’s not a bad theory. He got one on the second round in Myles Harden from South Dakota, and the reports on him are he should have gone earlier.
And their last pick, DT Jowon Briggs from Cincinnati, provides another defensive lineman for Schwartz and the coaching staff to develop.
We were a little surprised the Browns didn’t draft a running back, even after they signed D’Onta Foreman as a free agent from the Bears. Foreman gained over 900 yards two years ago with Carolina, and we feel Cleveland needs a consistent ground threat, because no one knows what Nick Chubb will be when he is ready to go.
Everyone keeps talking about how Cleveland is going to be pass happy with Watson this season, but at their core, the Browns and head coach Kevin Stefanski like to have a strong ground game. Frankly, we also think this is the team’s best path to winning.
That doesn’t mean we don’t believe that the Browns’ best chance to make a serious run at a conference championship is having Watson play like he did with the Texans.
The pressure is on the QB and still, giving up three first round picks and paying him a boatload of guaranteed money, it should be.