Second round
With offensive tackle now situated, it’s time to bolster some other positions with more long-term youth and potential. Linebacker, wide receiver, cornerback, interior offensive line and safety all are needs to varying degrees.
This is where the concept of positional value and draft value comes into play. At 41, there is still great depth at WR and IOL. There are good talents available, but little differentiates the players available here and those that could be had a round or two later. So for now, I cross those off for Berry & Co. in this edition.
Linebacker and cornerback do have a bit more of a dropoff. But the biggest dropoff in talent projected available here versus what will be available at the next Browns pick is at safety. While the team did (smartly) sign Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo, the depth remains weak. Sendejo is a one-year veteran stopgap, and Joseph comes with durability concerns. It’s a great time to snag a safety with developmental upside and athletic promise.
Enter Jeremy Chinn. He physically dominated the competition at the FCS level at Southern Illinois. He needs technical refinement and experience at more advanced coverage concepts, but the athleticism is abundant. He can play right away in basic zone coverage and he’s ready in run defense and blitzing concepts in the “hang” safety role, something that Joe Woods’ defenses have used in prior stops.
The pick: Jeremy Chinn, S, Southern Illinois
Third round
First pick: Davon Hamilton, DT, Ohio State
Second pick: Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State
I wrote about Hamilton recently and his potential to fit with the Browns’ new defensive scheme. From the piece,
He’s a smart interior presence with quick feet and good balance through contact as he pursues the play.
If Hamilton can get more creative in his pass-rush arsenal, he has the athleticism to become a pretty good interior rusher.
Cleveland to Cleveland is cheeky, but he’s exactly the type of developmental offensive tackle to take in this range. The movement skills and footwork are there, but Cleveland must add functional strength and power to his repertoire before he can hope to hold up in the NFL. He’d take over the Drew Forbes role as the redshirt tackle while Forbes completes his transformation inside.
Fourth round
The pick: Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas
Duvernay was a wildly productive slot receiver who improved his all-around game as a senior. He’s a bull with the ball in his hands and does a great job catching the ball away from his body and instantly transitioning from receiver to runner. Duvernay would make a great inside complement to Odell Beckham Jr. with his dynamic speed and running skills. He’s not a player who will reliably win with agility or precision.
Fifth round
The Browns traded their fifth-round pick to the Bills
Sixth round
The pick: Ron’Dell Carter, EDGE, James Madison
Carter transferred from Rutgers and was a big hit with FCS power JMU. He racked up numerous national honors after posting 12 sacks and 27.5 TFLs as a redshirt senior. He’s 6-3 and a long-armed 269 pounds and proved during the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl week he could win both inside and outside. In the two FCS playoff games I watched, Carter jumped out with his length and motor off the edge.
The Browns did check Carter out during the season, albeit under the John Dorsey regime at the time.
Seventh round
The pick: David Woodward, LB, Utah State
An early entrant who would likely be a round or two higher if he hadn’t suffered a season-ending injury. Great football IQ, very good tackler, but a limited athlete with some durability concerns.