The best Browns draft picks in Rounds 3-7 in the expansion era – and who made them

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

One in a series previewing the 2023 Browns draft … 

The palpable lack of excitement about the Browns’ coming draft is understandable.

The Browns are in the second of three drafts in a row without a first-round pick due to the trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson a year ago. They also dealt their second-round pick to the New York Jets for receiver Elijah Moore.

Thus, GM Andrew Berry will sit out Thursday night’s first round of the NFL draft. He heads into the second day on Friday with two third-round picks as his earliest choices – No. 74, which came from the Jets in the Moore trade, and No. 98, a compensatory pick for losing minority GM candidate Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to the Vikings last year.

(The Browns’ own third-round pick, No. 73 overall, also went to the Texans in the trade for Watson. Further, they will surrender their first- and fourth-round picks in 2024, completing the most expensive trade in Browns’ history.)

This year, the Browns also own two picks in the fourth round, two fifths, a sixth and seventh.

Don’t expect Berry to come away with a significant immediate starter from this draft. He said the chances of unearthing a starter from the third round on “is very small.”

“You’re probably a little bit more inclined to get, let’s say rotational players or high-level backups,” Berry said. “That’s not to say that you shoot or try and organize your board for the amount of draws that you can have for more than that. It’s also probably a reason for us, where as we get into, let’s say the middle rounds or the later rounds, we really do look for individuals or players that have unique characteristics, whether it’s a skill or a trait.”

That’s not to say players won’t mature into starting roles in a few years.

Berry’s first draft as Browns GM was 2020. There were 42 players taken in the third round (counting compensatory picks after the top 32). Now entering their fourth NFL season, 16 players from the 2020 third round are listed as projected starters for the 2023 season. That includes one return specialist. The Browns have two projected starters from that year’s third round – defensive tackle Jordan Elliott and linebacker Jacob Phillips.

Of course, there are outliers to everything. Tom Brady was the 199^th overall pick in the sixth round by New England in 2000 and Russell Wilson was 75^th overall in the third round by Seattle in 2012. Last year, Seattle found not only an immediate starter in the fifth round, but also a Pro Bowl player as a rookie – cornerback Tariq Woolen, the 153^rd overall pick.

As part of the buildup to this weekend’s draft, I sought to choose the best Browns’ draft picks from the third round on in their expansion era starting in 1999. It was a painful exercise. Keep in mind, these choices are based on their whole body of work – not only on what they did with the Browns.

Here we go …

Round 3

Best pick: Cornerback M.J. Emerson, Mississippi State, 2022, 68^th overall.

Granted, this is a projection based on one season. But he was that impressive as a rookie to project bigger and better things ahead for him.

Runners-up: Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, UNC-Charlotte, 2017, 65^th overall, 79 career starts; linebacker Christian Kirksey, Iowa, 2014, 71^st overall, 94 career starts; cornerback Daylon McCutcheon, USC, 1999, 62^nd overall, 96 career starts.

Round 4

Best pick: Cornerback Anthony Henry, South Florida, 2001, 97^th overall.

He led the NFL as a rookie in 2001 with 10 interceptions. He had 31 overall (three for touchdowns) in 96 career starts with the Browns, Cowboys and Lions in nine seasons.

Runners-up: Receiver/returner Travis Benjamin, Miami, 2012, 100^th overall, 15.1-yard receiving average in 111 career games plus four punt return touchdowns; linebacker Joe Schobert, Wisconsin, 2016, 99^th overall, 81 career starts with four teams and one Pro Bowl appearance.

Round 5

Best pick: Cornerback Buster Skrine, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 2011, 137^th overall.

A tough, undersized nickel back who played 10 seasons with the Browns, Jets, Bears, 49ers and Titans. He was only 5-9, but he was fearless.

Runners-up: Running back Jerome Harrison, Washington State, 2006, 145^th overall, broke Jim Brown’s franchise record with 286 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 2009 game before a brain tumor caused him to retire prematurely; long snapper Ryan Pontbriand, Rice, 2003, 142^nd overall, made Pro Bowl two times in nine-year career.

Round 6

Best pick:  Wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, Michigan, 2020, 187^th overall.

He improved his reception total by 142 percent in Year 2 and by 79.4 percent in Year 3 in establishing himself as projected WR2 in his upcoming fourth season.

Runners-up: Fullback Lawrence Vickers, Colorado, 2006, 180^th overall, an absolute road-grader lead blocker who paved the way for Harrison’s record-setting day and for Peyton Hillis’ 1,177-yard rushing season in 2010; defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin, Iowa State, 2008, 190^th overall, soft-spoken nose tackle started 107 games with Browns and Seahawks, and played 144 overall.

Round 7 

Best pick: Kicker Zane Gonzalez, Arizona State, 2017, 224^th overall.

The Lake Erie winds blew him out of Cleveland after 18 games, but he’s managed 84 percent field goal accuracy in sunnier climes on 74 of 88 kicks made with the Cardinals and Panthers.

Runner-up: Offensive tackle Joaquin Gonzalez, Miami, 2002, 227^th overall, made 14 career starts at right tackle in three years with the Browns.

So there are 15 players named among the best picks or runners-up from the third through seventh rounds. The executives responsible for those players:

Andrew Berry (2): Emerson, Peoples-Jones.

Sashi Brown (3): Ogunjobi, Schobert, Z. Gonzalez.

Ray Farmer (1): Kirksey.

Tom Heckert (2): Benjamin, Skrine.

Phil Savage (3): Harrison, Vickers, Rubin.

Butch Davis (3): Henry, Pontbriand, J. Gonzalez.

Dwight Clark (1): McCutcheon.