Greg Newsome is the newest member of the Cleveland Browns. The Northwestern cornerback earned the No. 26 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft after an impressive college career that showed a lot of traits to be very successful at the next level, too.
I won’t even hide it. I love the pick. Newsome was a player I identified early on in the draft process as someone I thought fit the bill of what the Browns were looking for at outside cornerback. Word quickly got back to me that the team was indeed interested, which makes Cleveland actually getting Newsome without having to move up even sweeter.
Newsome had the best coverage instincts and anticipation of any corner in this draft. He doesn’t have the plethora of experience against top-flight receiving talent that others did, and part of that comes from the biggest nick in his armor: durability.
Newsome missed at least three games with different injuries in all three of his seasons with the Wildcats. None of them lingered enough to impact his long-term viability, but it has to at least get mentioned.
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There were some other intriguing options, among them:
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame
Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU
Rashod Bateman, WR, Baltimore
Jayson Oweh, EDGE, Penn State
Bateman and Oweh came off the board shortly after the Browns pick. I would’ve been perfectly fine with Bateman, but Newsome is the more pressing fit for the team and at a position where the talent level drops off quicker, too.