The Cleveland Browns have not been the drafting success they were supposed to be under Andrew Berry.
The Cleveland Browns are entering their fourth draft under Andrew Berry and it’s fair to say the team has not had much success with Berry as general manager. He inherited a squad built by John Dorsey, and he took that team to the playoffs. Then he started mucking around, letting players go, and making grand changes to the team.
The free agent signings haven’t been great, so far the big signings every year have failed to prove their worth for the team. Austin Hooper, Jadeveony Clowney, John Johnson III and others have all biffed it pretty good. Not all of them, Jack Conklin and Anthony Walker have been solid, and so was Troy Hill.
His record on trades isn’t great so far either, and while some more recent trades still need time to shake out before we have a good idea of what’s what, we can say for sure that his drafting record has not been good.
Through three drafts, he’s arguably only found four players worth keeping, two of which are starting caliber for sure. That’s it. And that was with first and second-round picks, the two rounds of the NFL Draft where you’re likely to find starters and contributors. Now the team is entering its fourth NFL Draft with Berry at the head of the table, and its second without a first or second-round pick. And just like every year prior, Berry needs to find multiple starters to fill the holes the team still has.
We’re not very confident that he can do that, and the following players are why.
Not every drafted player will appear on either list. Some players aren’t good, or bad, they’re just fine. We’ve only been looking at the best and worst of each class.
Dishonorable Mention: Tony Fields, Demetric Felton, David Bell
So right now, these are the players who are most likely to be decreed as “bad” players when it’s all said and done but are not yet able to be declared as such, yet. These are the players who are heading that way and may one day find themselves with that designation fully earned.
The first is safety/linebacker hybrid Tony Fields, a product of the 2011 NFL Draft. Through two seasons he’s had six starts, played in 27 games total, and has 52 career tackles to his name. He’s not been given a lot of opportunities, as he barely played in 2021 and in 2022 he didn’t play great. PFF gave him an overall grade of 50.0, with a run defense score of 50.1 and a coverage score of 54.7. He’s not a starter, but he may not be someone you cut just yet.
Demetric Felton had a solid 2021 as a rookie, all things considered. He had 205 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, all while being the third running back or fifth receiver. PFF agreed and gave him a score of 78.1 overall. Mainly leaning on his receiving skills. In 2022, with a lack of receivers to rely on, Felton only played in half the games as he did as a rookie. His targets fell from 21 to 4, and he put up just four yards from scrimmage. No wonder PFFgraded him out with 50s across the board.
David Bell is the furthest away from flopping in this portion of the list, but keep in mind he and Felton put up the same type of grades (50s+) and was a much higher draft pick. Felton was a sixth-rounder, Bell a third. 200 yards in a season are acceptable for a sixth-rounder, it’s not from a third-rounder. Bell put up nine more yards from scrimmage in 2022 than Felton did in 2021, (214 to 209) but didn’t score once. If Felton is someone fans have already lost hope in, Bell should be on the same list, as he struggled just as much as a rookie.
Bell may be able to overcome a bad rookie year, but that’s got to start in 2023.
2020 – Jacob Phillips, Jordan Elliot
If the Cleveland Browns cut any other players before they cut Jacob Phillips and Jordan Elliot, then Andrew Berry should be fired on the spot. After three years, we know what these two are, and they’re not worth a roster spot. Let them go make a living in the XFL or USFL because they deserve the right to make a living, but that doesn’t mean the Browns have to be the ones who continually pay them.
Jacob Phillips is as bad of a linebacker as Mack Wilson, but he’s still getting opportunities. Here are his PFF scores over his three years, 2020: 45.3, 2021: 62.4, 2022: 36.7. We know what he isn’t, a starting caliber linebacker, and we know what he is, cut-bait. It’s no wonder that his best season, 2021, was also the one where he played the least amount. The more he plays, the more exposed he gets. Move on from him.
As for Jordan Elliot, he hasn’t faired much better, and like Phillips, his PFF scores get worse the more he plays. In 2020: 55.3, in 2021: 41.6, and in 2022: 40.4. The Difference, he’s played every game so far in his career, save for one. He’s started 21 games. He’s got far more tape than anyone. Yet, he’s still on the team and no one can really explain why. He, like Phillips, needs to be cut so the team can fill their spots with players the Browns can rely on.
2021 – Anthony Schwartz, Tommy Togiai, Richard LeCounte
The verdict for these three men is out. They’re busts. The 2021 NFL Draft Class for the Cleveland Browns not only delivered two of the very best players on the team right now but two of the very worst as well. With a third who’s already gone. Not every player in this draft is ready to be finalized, but these three have been so bad it’s pretty safe to cut them.
Anthony Schwartz was all speed when Andrew Berry over-drafted him. He had no reliable reception skills, and his route running was bad at best. His rookie year PFF scores weren’t great, with 57.4 overall and 56.7 in receiving. Those plummeted in 2022, with his overall dropping to 50.8 and his receiving to 47.3. His stats reflected that, going from a bad 178 yards from scrimmage to just 108 yards per scrimmage. As with Demetric Felton, a sixth-rounder putting these figures up is acceptable. Not a third-rounder, like Schwartz, is.
Tommy Togiai was a fourth-round project taken by Andrew Berry. The sole reason for his being drafted was his strength. He was a backup at Ohio State and after he lifted for scouts, his stock leaped, for no good reason. In two years he’s played 18 games and racked up 29 tackles and one sack. His PFF overall for 2022 was 37.3, down from his rookie year of 39.8.
As for Richard LeCounte, we don’t have to post stats or PFF scores or anything; he’s a failed draft pick for one reason; he was already cut. He’s currently a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
2022 – Alex Wright, Isaiah Thomas, Perrion Winfrey
It’s kind of funny that this is the doppelgangers draft as if you search Alex Wright or Isaiah Thomas, you’ll either get the German professional wrestler of WCW fame in Alex Wright, or Detroit Piston Hall of Famer and former Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas.
Humorous moments aside, these three players are the most likely to be cut should things continue to go the way they are. Unlike the other names on this list, I’m not advocating for any of these three to be cut anytime soon. One of them may need to be cut just to free up roster space, but the jury isn’t out on them yet. Though their time is running around.
For Wright, he played in 17 games, started five, and wracked up 28 tackles, all with a PFF score of 38.4. For Thomas; he played in 10 games, had nine tackles, one sack, and a PFF score of 51.0. Winfrey played in 13 games, had 22 tackles, and only 0.5 sacks while posting a 41.6 overall via PFF.
Wright was a third-rounder and was expected to be better than he was, and Winfrey was seen as a late-first or early second-rounder due to this talent but his attitude issues, which popped up as a rookie, had him fall to the fourth. His pass-rushing skillset was supposed to be game-changing but he could barely stay on the field.
As for Thomas, he played the best and was a seventh-rounder. Considering his placement and what he did, he has the most potential to stick around long-term.