The Cleveland Browns top two draft picks were stellar in 2021. While Greg Newsome II and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah missed a little time due to injuries, the pair showed why so many were excited about the Browns second draft under Andrew Berry.
The duo recently was named to the Pro Football Writers all-rookie team. They were joined by Demetric Felton who made the team as a punt returner. Felton had 32 returns for 227 yards, an average of 7.1 per return, with a long of 24 yards. Outside of his return duties, he added 18 receptions for 181 yards and seven carries for 24 yards.
The rookie sixth-rounder also had two receiving touchdowns.
Outside of Newsome and Owusu-Koramoah, along with Felton’s versatile contributions, Cleveland didn’t get a lot out of their draft class. James Hudson III played poorly early while showing improvement late in the season while Anthony Schwartz did very little after flashing in the first game of the season.
Tommy Togiai, Tony Fields II and Richard LeCounte struggled to see the field.
Despite all of that, carried by the first two picks, the Browns draft class was ranked fifth overall by ESPN and PFF (Subscriber, $):
Why they’re ranked here: Cleveland’s first two selections in the 2021 NFL Draft stepped in and immediately contributed positively to their defense. Greg Newsome and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah both landed on PFF’s 2021 All-Rookie Team, and the Browns got small contributions from later selections such as Anthony Schwartz and Demetric Felton on offense.
Given the normal development of a draft class, Cleveland’s has a chance to be special. With their first two picks already excelling, the team hopes for development from the middle-round guys while hoping Felton can build on his multidimensional abilities.
The New England Patriots took the top spot due to Mac Jones, Christian Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson having very good seasons as rookies.