Dawgs By Nature
Keeping the defense a strong point is a must but the Browns draft class has just two defenders
The Cleveland Browns went into this year’s NFL draft with 10 draft picks. They ended up with seven picks instead.
Two seasons ago, the Browns’ defense was ranked #1. This group slipped a bit last year with key injuries to LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah (JOK), DTs Maurice Hurst and Shelby Harris, backup DE Alex Wright, and CBs Tony Brown and Greg Newsome. JOK was the team’s leading tackler at the time of his injury.
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GM Andrew Berry decided to keep the defense front and center in this year’s draft. In Round 1, instead of taking WR Travis Hunter like everyone projected, he traded down three spots and nabbed Unanimous All-American defensive tackle Mason Graham from Michigan instead.
But it was Berry’s selection in Round 2 that is the most intriguing. He chose LB Carson Schwesinger, the captain of the UCLA defense. This talented defender was chosen with the first pick of the second round, meaning he was one draft pick away from being a first-round choice.
It‘s almost like the Browns have two first-round draft picks this year.
The pick of Graham was heralded as a genius in that Cleveland not only got one of the two best defensive players in this year’s draft, but in the trade, they wrangled away the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round pick in next year’s draft. In the third round, Berry took the nation’s leading receiver in Harold Fannin, who just happens to be a tight end instead of a receiver. And then Berry got Hawai’i native QB Dillon Gabriel of Oregon, who was head coach Kevin Stefanski’s choice of a young quarterback.
Two running backs were selected, which created quite a bit of chatter regarding this draft. But then in Round 5, Berry took Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, who was projected as a first-round talent that had fallen into Day 3. The descent, plus the fact that the Browns had chosen two QBs in the same draft, dominated discussion regarding Cleveland’s draft class.
All of these new players had their own conversation bits.
But nobody was talking about Schwesinger. And they still aren’t.
The fact is, when Berry grabbed Sanders from his free-fall, it appeared that nobody else mattered. The Browns were front-page news on every sports talk show and podcast. At one time, Sanders had a projection of Top-6 with a litany of teams that should - or could - select him in Round 1. The Tennessee Titans at pick 1, Cleveland at the second selection, New York Football Giants choosing third overall, the Las Vegas Raiders at pick #6, New Orleans Saints at 9, Indianapolis Colts at 14, or the Pittsburgh Steelers picking 21st.
Sanders was news when he fell from the first round. Then he was all the news when he was taken in Round 5.
Meanwhile, the Browns had used their first two...
