What does Alex Wright to have do to truly be the steal of the draft for the Cleveland Browns?

Alex Wright is being dubbed the steal of the draft but is the Cleveland Browns rookie really destined for such a title?

Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski recently wrote an article about 10 players who could be potential draft steals for their respective teams. The Cleveland Browns were on this list and Sobleski believes that defensive end, Alex Wright, aka Das Wunderkind, may be the likeliest from the Browns to earn that designation.

Sobleski goes on to say;

"Whereas rookie third-round pick Alex Wright is in the perfect situation to develop properly. In a lot of ways, he already looks the part."

The thing that should be noted is that Andrew Berry’s drafts haven’t exactly panned out as many had thought. There’s a narrative that he’s some draft genius but in actuality, it seems he’s far more likely to be very mediocre at drafting and just unable to admit his failings. None of his picks have looked like Pro Bowls and while he has had some successes (Greg Newsome comes to mind), he’s had far more underwhelming and even outright busts that he’s saddling with the team.

So Wright has to defy historical precedence and prove that he’s worthy of being dubbed a steal.

What would it take for Alex Wright (aka Das Wunderkind) to be a draft steal?

For the Browns to get a steal with Wright, we know the obvious stats; 50+ tackles, 10+ sacks, a few defensive touchdowns, and just overall dominance. That’s not likely to happen. He’s not going to start unless someone gets hurt or one of the guys ahead of him randomly and unexpectedly declines.

So, knowing that he won’t have a lot of playing time as others, what would be a good season for Wright at bare minimum?

So, I think if he has 30 tackles (combined), that’s a good start. That’s what Porter Gustin put up in 2020, and if Wright is to be a “steal”, he has to put up better numbers than an undrafted guy. As for sacks, I think anywhere from five to seven sacks as a rookie would be good.

If he can cause two turnovers at least, that would help cap off a very good rookie year.

Those would be the bare minimum stats needed to be considered a draft steal. That doesn’t mean if he doesn’t hit those numbers that he’s a bust, it just means that he performed more at the level many expected.

We’re talking about exceeding those expectations, that’s all.