Factory of Sadness’s 2023 Cleveland Browns Mock Draft version 1
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Browns are still in need of safety help and Ji’Ayir Brown might be able to help the team out there. The team is shallow at safety and will likely run out Juan Thornhill, an average starting caliber safety, and Grant Delpit, a below-average starting safety. Thornhill is seen by some as a big get but his production and efficiency remind me of a slightly better John Johnson III. Not an overly fast player, nor doe he have major play-making abilities. Delpit has been showing improvements since his first year in 2021, and he may take the next step in 2023, but if he doesn’t you want a replacement.
Enter Brown. Brown may not leap off the page as a top prospect, but what makes him appealing is that in each of the last three years at Penn State, he’s improved every year. His 2020 PFF score was just 48.9 and jumped to 67.6 in 2021, and then to 78.7 in 2022.
If he continues to improve, he may just find himself making it into the starting lineup at some point this year or next. Even if he doesn’t, you’re still getting the best safety available at this point, so it’s not like you can do much better.
There’s no guarantee he keeps getting better, but that’s the case for every player in the draft. Brown is used to the weather, can play in a pro-style defense, and has upside.