Andrew Berry ignores all OSU prospects by picking Michigan WR Peoples-Jones

Andrew Berry picks Michigan Donovan Peoples-Jones at wide receiver over OSU wideout KJ Hill with their final pick in the 2020 NFL Draft for the Browns

Andrew Berry made a point of ignoring every and all Ohio State and Ohio-native prospect in the NFL 2020 Draft, choosing to tell fans their wants don’t really factor into their decision making. Whether you think that’s the right move is up to you, but it’s clearly the message. The Browns passed up local players at safety, linebacker, and now wide receivers to go with other guys that hopefully turn out well for the team. The most recent is Michigan wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Pro Football Focus has Peoples-Jones at a 68.3 grade and was 159 on their big board. Berry has seemingly used PFF as a barometer for most of his picks, at least on the last day of the NFL Draft, as all of them were valued higher than the were taken at. Whether that turns out to be a good thing or not won’t be known for a year or three, so it’s impossible to judge the talent on what we saw in college.

Peoples-Jones was not someone that people thought would fall this far, yet he did. He’s got a 4.48 40-yard-dash, so he has some speed to work with. He should be in competition for the slot receiver role on the team, but there won’t be as many opportunities there as the Browns will run more two-tight end sets than most teams.

Browns fans are going to be disappointed with the third day of the NFL Draft, as the Browns seemingly just got the best available player, regardless of a position of need. This was something that the Browns said they were going to do, treat this draft as an expansion, and draft the best available, yet many thought the Browns would be so dismissive of OSU and local players. That ended up being the exact case. Now, it should be noted again, that it’s impossible to know how good these players will be today. You need to give them time. While Browns fans may have wanted K.J. Hill, at least the team got a receiver.

That said, taking a wideout this late in the draft all but ensures he won’t make the team, let alone an impact.

Grade: C-