Recent history suggests Browns not likely to nab immediate starter without No. 1 pick. (TheLandOnDemand)
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Expectations for this Browns draft are as low as any time in Andrew Berry’s five years as GM.
For these reasons:
1. It’s the third year in a row without a first-round pick because of the Deshaun Watson trade in 2022.
2. There’s a gap of 71 selections between the Browns’ second pick (No. 85 overall) and third (No. 156).
3. There is no compelling roster need Berry must fill. After adding 13 new veteran players in free agency and trade, and re-signing six of his own, Berry can fall back on the "best player available" cliche.
“We don't think of the draft as [addressing] need, necessarily. We think about it as more like long-term investment in the roster,” Berry said at NFL owners meetings last month.
It’s much easier to say that when your first pick is 54th overall in the second round.
If Berry still owned his first-round pick – 23rd overall – you can be sure he would be focusing more on need. That pick went to Houston in 2022 and is now owned by Minnesota.
As it is, Berry can be more flexible and not lock into any particular position with his first pick. He can also look to trade out of the second round – for the third year in a row – to acquire a missing fourth-round pick and close that huge gap from the third to fifth rounds.
Berry added a seventh-round pick last week by trading backup offensive tackle Leroy Watson. So he heads into draft week with picks Nos. 54, 85, 156, 206, 227 and 243.
What kind of draft class can we expect to see if Berry uses all six picks?
One of my favorite exercises in previewing the draft is matching the exact pick selections with recent NFL drafts and with Browns’ draft history.
Here is what we found this year.
Pick No. 54
Past 3 NFL drafts
2023: Defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu, Chargers
11 starts, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles in a good rookie year.
2022: Wide receiver Skyy Moore, Chiefs
43 receptions, 1 TD in 11 career starts over 2 seasons.
2021: Defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, Colts
Had breakout third season with 8 sacks.
Past Browns picks at No. 54
1980: Defensive end Cleveland “Pittsburgh” Crosby
A legendary draft bust who actually wore a Pittsburgh Steelers T-shirt in a team meeting as a rookie. Yes, coach Sam Rutigliano made him remove it.
1964: Offensive tackle Don Schackelford
Biggest claim to fame was being selected four rounds earlier than future Hall of Famer Leroy Kelly.
Pick No. 85
Past 3 NFL drafts
2023: Linebacker Daiyan Henley, Chargers
Special teamer as a rookie.
2022: Defensive back Marcus Jones, Patriots
First-team All-Pro punt returner as a rookie, shoulder injury in 2023.
2021: Wide receiver Amari Rodgers, Packers
With UFL Birmingham Stallions after 3 NFL teams in 3 years.
Past Browns picks at No. 85
2010: Quarterback Colt McCoy
One of 38 QBs to start a Browns game in the expansion era (record: 6-15), he went on to play 12 NFL seasons with five teams.
1991: Defensive tackle Pio Sagapulutele
A member of Bill Belichick’s first Browns draft, and the coach’s record-setting defense in 1994, he died of a brain aneurysm in 2009 at the age of 39.
1956: Wide receiver Chuck Griffith
He never played for the Browns.
1955: Center Jack Locklear
Earned his living as a prominent restaurant businessman in Alabama; invented the Bananza Burger.
Pick No. 156
Past 3 NFL drafts
2023: Guard Jordan McFadden, Chargers
May get a starting opportunity on Jim Harbaugh’s new team.
2022: Running back Jerome Ford, Browns
(See below.)
2021: Defensive tackle Isaiahh Loudermilk, Steelers
Backup 3-technique tackle in third year.
Past Browns picks at No. 156
2022: Running back Jerome Ford
Leader of the running back-by-committee until Nick Chubb returns.
1958: Running back Hal Williams
Tough for back to make team with Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell already on hand.
1954: Offensive tackle George Cummins
One in a draft class of 29, he never played for the Browns.
1950: Running back Emerson Cole
The first black player drafted by Paul Brown, he had a long career with the Civil Rights Commission.
Pick No. 206
Past 3 NFL drafts
2023: Wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, Bengals
Promisiing future after 4 TD on 15 receptions as a rookie.
2022: Defensive end Matt Henningsen, Broncos
Backup end with 1 sack in 2 seasons.
2021: Offensive tackle Landon Young, Saints
7 spot starts in 3 years, he could challenge for starting spot in 2024.
Past Browns picks at No. 206
2000: Guard Brad Bedell
Long-time scribes fondly recall him being introduced by an insistent club PR official as “Brade Bedell.”
Pick No. 227
Past 3 NFL drafts
2023: Defensive tackle Raymond Vohasek, Jaguars
College of DuPage alum currently out of NFL.
2022: Tight end Nick Muse, Vikings
He’s TE4 on Vikings depth chart.
2021: Defensive back Israel Mukuamu, Cowboys
Backup safety and core special teamer.
Past Browns picks at No. 227
2013: Offensive lineman Garrett Gilkey
Started 1 game for Browns; founder of Gilk, a custom builder of luxury homes in Tampa, FL.
2002: Center Joaquin Gonzalez
Ken Dorsey’s center on the 2001 Miami Hurricanes national championship team and Butch Davis draft choice.
1982: Tight end Milton Baker
Never played for the Browns.
Pick No. 243
Past 3 NFL drafts
2023: Defensive tackle Jordon Riley, Giants
No. 3 nose tackle on the depth chart.
2022: Defensive back Jaylen Watson, Chiefs
With a 99-yard Pick 6 as a rookie, he projects as starter in 2024.
2021: Defensive back James Wiggins, Cardinals
Released by the UFL Birmingham Stallions in March.
Past Browns picks at No. 243
1966: Wide receiver/kicker David Ray
Place-kicked 6 years with the Rams; came close to qualifying for the Senior PGA Tour in 1995.
1951: Running back Jack Crocher
26th in a draft class of 36, he never played for the Browns.