Factory Of Sadness
FanSided

Complete NFL Draft grades for the Cleveland Browns (and 31 other teams)

By Chad Porto

UNSPECIFIED LOCATION - APRIL 24: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this still image from video provided by the NFL, Cam Akers center, reacts as he's selected by the Los Angeles Rams during the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft on April 24, 2020. (Photo by NFL via Getty Images)
UNSPECIFIED LOCATION - APRIL 24: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this still image from video provided by the NFL, Cam Akers center, reacts as he's selected by the Los Angeles Rams during the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft on April 24, 2020. (Photo by NFL via Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 13: Safety Grant Delpit #7 of the LSU Tigers raises his hands to the fans while he is leaving the field after the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Clemson Tigers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. LSU defeated Clemson 42 to 25. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 13: Safety Grant Delpit #7 of the LSU Tigers raises his hands to the fans while he is leaving the field after the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Clemson Tigers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. LSU defeated Clemson 42 to 25. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

Cleveland

OT Jedrick Wills (Alabama), SAF Grant Delpit (LSU), DT Jordan Elliot (Missouri), ILB Jacob Phillips (LSU), TE Harrison Bryant (Florida Atlantic), IL Nick Harris (Washington), WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (Michigan)

It’s important to note that the NFL Draft is an inexact science. To judge any team on the talent selected, instead of the needs filled would be foolish. When it comes to the Browns exclusively, there are guys I really wanted them to get. They didn’t get any. That doesn’t mean the draft was bad. Yes, Tristan Wirfs and Ezra Cleveland were two of my most favorited prospects but the Browns went with Jedrick Wills. Is Wills a bad player? In college, no, he was great. Will he be in the pros? Anyone saying he will or won’t be is selling you something. We don’t know until they put on the pads.

So when it comes to the Browns, whoever anyone wanted is irrelevant. Did the Browns address their needs? That’s it. That’s all one should care about. For the most part, yes, they did. More or less.

Getting Jedrick Wills to play the blindside was a good pickup. While Wills was a right tackle in college, he was only there because Tua Tagovailoa was a lefty. With Baker Mayfield being a righty, Wills will switch sides. Wirfs was someone who I liked for his non-football intangibles. You just gotta love a tackle who knows how to grapple, being a former wrestler and all. Wills doesn’t have that intangible, at least not to Wirfs championship degree but Wills still has a great base.

Grant Delpit and Harrison Bryant are good picks, and the best at their position according to the collegiate awards they won. With Jordan Elliot and Jacob Phillips on the squad, the defense gained three new starters, alongside Delpit. Bryant will be a third-string tight end for now, but his arrival should mark the end of David Njoku’s involvement with the team eventually.

Nick Harris is the only guy on this squad that should give pause. Not because he’s bad, but because the team prioritized a tight end over a guard, which the team needed more urgently. Relying on Wyatt Teller and Chris Hubbard to play guard is a mistake. They were quite literally half of the reason why Mayfield couldn’t stay upright, but now they’re going to be able to stay in front of pass rushers? Pass. Getting a project pick like Harris was the lone misstep. Not him individually mind you, but the priority placement.

Overall, you have to love the Browns draft for the year. This could continue the run of solid to strong drafts for the team. That 2018 draft was fantastic, too bad they traded away Austin Corbett, though. The team filled all their needs this year, even if a lot of fans were mad that they passed up on some OSU talent.

Grade: A –

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