Cleveland Browns: Sashi Brown deserves no credit for turnaround

Drafting: Foul

When it came to drafting, Brown mostly failed. The 2016 draft yielded Corey Coleman, a bust who has struggled to stay on rosters after being traded by Cleveland during the preseason.

Fourteen players were chosen that year. Joe Schobert, a fourth-rounder out of Wisconsin is the best player. He’s established himself as the leader of the defense, although he’s not a game changer.

Of the three receivers taken in the draft, only one has contributed in the turnaround. Rashard Higgins may be a part of the future, while Ricardo Louis spent all season on IR. Jordan Payton was  a misfire.

The next disappoint would be Emmanuel Ogbah. Rounds consist of 32 picks, and Ogbah was the 32nd overall player taken because that was the year the Patriots forfeited their pick due to “Deflategate.”

So technically, he was the first pick in the second round. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s failed to become an impact player. Ogbah is a fine player, but when you consider the Browns passed on Michael Thomas when a lot people would’ve drafted Thomas from their recliner makes the pick more painful.

The following season, Brown got it right, picking Myles Garrett. The defensive end is trending toward a game changing player and might hit that status in year three. Give Brown credit for making the pick, but how much credit can you give a guy who took the player that was the consensus No. 1 pick for the entirety of the 2016 college season?

Brown had another first-round pick that drat, selecting Jabrill Peppers, and then David Njoku.

The jury is still out on these two players. Peppers was out of place playing free safety in his rookie year, and moved closer to the ball. Despite playing strong safety, he was just fourth on the team in tackles.

Aside from the penultimate contest of the 2018 season against Cincinnati, he was hardly thought of as an impact player.

Njoku continues to trend up, even if he doesn’t have eye-popping stats. He’s only 22 and should continue to improve.

The other pick Brown hit on was that of fourth-rounder Larry Ogunjobi. His 5.5 sacks were second on the team last season, and he spent the final month of the season playing with injuries.