2021 Cleveland Browns NFL mock draft – Selecting all 9 picks
By Chad Porto
Round 3, Pick 89: Pete Werner, LB, Ohio State
Sage Surratt was going to go here originally, as I was hoping to find the Browns the best option at receiver to allow them to move on from Odell Beckham or Jarvis Landry eventually. That’s bound to happen, considering the new deals for Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward. Their $30+ million deals will make it impossible to retain both Beckham and Landry in 2022 without them both restructuring their deals significantly.
Yet, Surratt only ran a 4.7 40-yard dash at his pro day, and frankly, the Browns need speed at receiver. Most tight ends are faster than that these days, so instead of going receiver, we’re double-dipping with two of the next three picks.
Pete Werner makes sense considering the linebackers the team has. They’re not good, and even the recent signing of Anthony Walker is nothing but a stopgap by one of the worst-rated linebackers we’ve seen in some time. Werner showed a lot of poise at Ohio State and his 4.56 40-time makes Werner an instant contender to start; as he’d be the fastest linebacker on the staff besides Malcolm Smith.
If he has the same nose for the ball in the pros as he did at OSU, then he’ll be someone who could instantly start for the Browns.