Grading the Cleveland Browns 2021 NFL Draft picks

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Jan 26, 2021; Mobile, Alabama, USA; National offensive lineman James Hudson III of Cincinnati (55) drills with National defensive lineman Shaka Toney of Penn State (18) during National team practice during the 2021 Senior Bowl week. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports /

Round 4, Pick 5 – OL James Hudson

The Browns offensive line is the best in the NFL today. Tomorrow, who knows? Jedrick Wills had a subpar rookie year and there were at least four rookies taken after him who played as well, if not better. Joel Bitonio is in his 30’s and has been taking a pounding. J.C. Tretter is 30 and like Bitonio, could be on his way out as they age. Wyatt Teller missed a lot of time due to injury and only has one good year to his name. Then you have Jack Conklin, the best player on the line, who may be gone after 2022 because of how his contract is structured.

So yes, picking an offensive lineman was the right call. Was it the right player, though? At the place in the draft that James Hudson went, there were better options, who may be more versatile than Hudson. It’s not impossible for someone like Hudson to play guard, but he doesn’t appear to have the measurables to play inside as well as others.

That said, the offensive line is like a major league bullpen, you need to constantly have new bodies on your roster because you never know when the injury bug is going to bite someone. Offensive linemen are the most important players in all of football, and you need to be able to plug in a new one whenever an injury occurs or you’re never going to be successful. There are some concerns over Hudson but we’ll see if he can’t prove his value.

Grade: C+

There were better, more versatile linemen on the board still but there’s plenty of potential here and the team didn’t stretch for him.

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