Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome fits the Browns' cultural requirement of 'smart, tough, accountable' traits. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
From the early morning to the late evening, it was a day of deliverance for Andrew Berry.
Before he went to work to prepare for his second draft as Browns GM, Berry was at his wife Brittan’s side in the hospital when she delivered the couple’s third child, daughter Eden. At the end of the night, Berry delivered another key defensive player to coordinator Joe Woods, filling the unit’s last, obvious hole with Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome.
“A whirlwind of a day,” Berry said just minutes before midnight after selecting Newsome with the 26th overall pick of the first round. “I am running on pure adrenaline right now.”
Newsome – considered the third- or fourth-best cornerback of this draft -- was on the Browns’ radar from the start of the draft season and the start of the night.
When the division-rival Bengals selected big and fast LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase with the No. 5 pick, giving quarterback Joe Burrow his favorite LSU target to join wideouts Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins, it accentuated the desire for the Browns to nab a cornerback in the first round.
Berry’s spending spree in free agency netted six defensive players, including nickel back Troy Hill, but the need for an outside cornerback capable of pressing Greedy Williams for the starting spot opposite Denzel Ward was palpable.
Berry was able to deliver a player he targeted without trading up. Berry made the selection of Newsome with other prominent defensive players on the board, including Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Alabama defensive tackle Christian Barmore and defensive ends Jayson Oweh of Penn State and Gregory Rousseau of Miami.
Tough, smart, accountable
“We thought he was one of the more well-rounded corners in the class,” Berry said of the 6-0, 192-pound Newsome. “Obviously, he has the size, length and speed that we bet probably every team wants at the position, but here is a guy who can play press effectively.
"They played a heavy dose of zone and off-man at Northwestern, which he was able to do effectively, and he makes plays on the ball. Even then, he is tough in run support. What we liked is that from our perspective, there was not a major discernible hole within his skillset, and he has a high level of competency across all areas that we value with the cornerback position.”
The knock on Newsome was he missed at least three games because of injury in each of his three seasons starting for coach Pat Fitzgerald’s tough defense at Northwestern. The durability issue is more acute when you consider Ward has missed 11 games in three seasons and Williams 20 in two.
“We were very comfortable with it,” Berry said. “Look, he was a little bit banged up, but this is also a guy who started since his true freshman year. Quite honestly, he is 20 years old on draft day, so he is still really kind of growing into his body and growing into his frame. That is not something that we had major reservations, and more importantly, that is not something that our doctors had reservations about.”
Newsome said, “Yeah, I definitely missed some time with injury. I honestly think I was just unlucky … a bunch of horrible breaks honestly in my career. I am also going 100 percent every play, and I do not take a play off. I will definitely be able to fix those things going into the league, hopefully. I think I should get lucky at this point.”
Newsome’s on-field resume is impressive.
He led the Wildcats with 11 passes defensed as a sophomore and was No. 1 in the Big Ten with 10 as a junior. He led the FBS in passer rating against (15.77) last year. Of the 10 completions he allowed, only one was 10-plus yards downfield. Newsome, though, had only one interception in 21 games in his three years at Northwestern.
“I would not necessarily read into that,” Berry said. “He was still a pretty significant ball producer. I want to say [LA Rams cornerback] Jalen Ramsey may have had one or two picks in his college career. Part of it is just the coverage and the technique they may be playing may not necessarily always be conducive to high interception totals. One of the things that we do like about Greg is he can find the ball and ultimately play the ball down the field.”
The Browns also love the fact Newsome scores high in the team’s “tough, smart, accountable” cultural fit test. Berry said Newsome had a high football IQ.
“For me, when we went through the interview process with Greg, it was really his intelligence and really just his mastery of the defensive system at Northwestern and not just his role but roles across the secondary. He could really kind of walk through everything almost reflexively. That is something that certainly I found very impressive,” Berry said.
Newsome v. Greedy Williams
Berry said the selection of Newsome is no reflection on Williams, who is trying to regain his form after missing his second season with a nerve condition in his right shoulder. If Williams recovers fully, Ward, Hill, Newsome and Williams would give the Browns a deep stable of four cornerbacks.
“I am just honestly looking forward to whatever coach needs me to do, I am willing to do it, whether that is play special teams every single snap or whether that is to start and guard the best receiver,” said the confident Newsome.
“A goal of mine is definitely to start in the National Football League. Do I think that Coach is just giving me the job? No way. I am going to have to come in there and definitely work. I have to go in there and prove myself every day. Like I said, if I have to do and run out on every special teams to do that, that is what I will have to do. Being a starter is definitely something that I want to do, but at the end of the day, I have to go in there and work, and I have to earn my stripes just like I did in college.”
By the end of the night, all of the Browns’ division rivals had added offensive firepower. The Bengals selected Chase at No. 5, the Steelers selected Alabama running back Najee Harris at No. 24, and the Ravens added Minnesota receiver Rashod Bateman at No. 27.
The Browns have added nothing but defense in the second season under Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski. That may change on Friday. The Browns have one pick in the second round and two in the third round. It wouldn’t be surprising if they used one of those picks on a receiver.