After a busy Friday and Saturday, the Cleveland Browns added extreme value to their roster despite the lack of a first or second round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. The Athletic’s draft expert Dane Brugler has stated they landed a massive five players from the top 100 of his big board despite having two top 100 picks.
With seven new players now on their roster, and at key positions of need at the top, the Browns addressed positional holes and stayed true to the strength of their board when they came on the clock.
What can we take away from the way the Browns attacked the weekend? Here are five key points that stood out the most.
Andrew Berry has no issues using Day 3 picks on high-upside players with questionable character
The Browns landed a second round talent in the fourth round of the draft. He possesses rare size at 6-foot-9 and 374 pounds and has unique movement skills and foot speed at that size.
However, there is a reason Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones was available in the first place. From skipping town on the Senior Bowl after one day before being pulled back in, to opting not to weigh in at his pro day which raised red flags about his conditioning, Jones had a less-than-stellar pre-draft process.
General manager Andrew Berry has done it two years in a row: taken a player with questionable off-the-field profiles with high-upside ceilings on Day 3 of the draft. And it makes sense. The amount of dead money to cut a Day 3 pick is minimal, so there is no risk to the move and all upside.
However, it has not worked out with Perrion Winfrey through a year into his stay with the Browns and it is yet to be seen if he can turn it around. Regardless of how Winfrey or Jones turn out in Cleveland, Berry has shown this is a risk he is willing to take if the talent and value are there.
The building is quite fond of RB Jerome Ford
The smoke was present that the Browns could take a running back in the draft sooner rather than later. However, seven rounds went by, and no running back made his way to Cleveland until they signed undrafted free agent Hassan Hall out of Georgia Tech.
This speaks volumes to two thoughts: the value of the quality of the back they wanted never aligned with where they came on the clock, or they have supreme confidence in 2022 fifth round running back Jerome Ford.
Regardless of the two thoughts, their faith now falls firmly in the lap of Ford as the team has opted not to re-sign Kareem Hunt. He’s an explosive and physical runner, and after spending all season in 2022 as a kick returner, Ford looks to have a healthy workload on his shoulders now entering the 2023 season.
They are finally getting greedy at wide receiver... and that's a good thing
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added Antonio Bryant to their roster when they already had Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. The Dallas Cowboys selected CeeDee Lamb in the first round with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup both going over 1,000 the season before. The Cincinnati Bengals passed on offensive tackle Penei Sewell to take Ja’Marr Chase fifth overall in 2021 despite having Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd already on the roster. The Kansas City Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill last offseason and used big capital to bring in three separate wide receivers in his place.
Good teams and explosive offenses are incredibly greedy at the wide receiver position, and the Browns have finally followed that trend this offseason.
Even with Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones hitting career-highs in 2022, the Browns have traded for the former second rounder Elijah Moore, signed speedster Marquise Goodwin to a one-year deal, and have now used their highest draft pick on wide receiver Cedric Tillman.
The Browns have gotten greedy at wide receiver, and this is a great thing.
It seems like the Siaki Ika selection was a Jim Schwartz pick
The Browns did the obvious. They did not leave Day 2 of the 2023 NFL draft without addressing the interior of their defensive line. And while the selection of the massive 6-foot-3 and 335-pound defensive tackle Siaki Ika caused eyebrows to raise, it is becoming more and more apparent that the selection of the Baylor big man came under the heavy influence of new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
Sure, Ika’s tape did not live up to the hype that left people drooling in 2021. He had a tough time staying on the field against teams that loved to spread it out and litter the field with 11-personnel packages. However, perhaps for the league’s worst run defense a year ago, and for the cost of a fringe-Day 3 pick, getting a big body with heavy hands was not the worst move in the world. Even if he can only contribute on a two-down rotational basis early in his career.
Continuing to overhaul the interior of their defensive line after signing three defensive tackles, including Dalvin Tomlinson, in free agency, the grin of Schwartz was noticeable and the tone of his voice was that of a kid who found out school had just been canceled. It would not be a surprise in the least bit if it turned out that Berry turned the pick over to Schwartz.
They are banking on a revitalized front-four leading to improved linebacker play
Running it back with the same linebackers they fielded a year ago, the Browns have stood pat at the position heading into the 2023 season. Anthony Walker Jr. and Sione Takitaki were both experiencing breakout seasons, but both ended up on Injured Reserve with season-ending injuries. Takitaki more than likely will not be ready to go by Week 1 either.
There is still plenty of reason to remain hopeful about the flashy and dynamic Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as well. It seems the philosophy heading into the season is to let the improved defensive interior do the talking as it should allow linebackers more green grass to roam and react to.
Far too often blockers were able to climb to the second level without being obstructed by defensive tackles. The interior defenders the Browns fielded a year ago struggled to take on one blocker a year ago, let alone two (enter the big boys Tomlinson and Ika).
A good chunk of linebacker play relies on the front four, and it appears the Browns are banking on that.
