Ranking the Browns Last 10 First-Round Picks, Worst to Best

2. Denzel Ward, CB (2018)

The Browns were in a very enviable position back in the 2018 NFL Draft, armed with the 1st overall pick and 4th overall pick. Because of the way the draft went, the Browns knew they were going to likely have their first pick of quarterback in that particular class as well as their first pick of defensive players.

At the time, the selection of Denzel Ward over pass rusher Bradley Chubb was a little bit surprising. Ward was a great player at Ohio State, but the idea of pairing up Chubb with Myles Garrett was something a lot of people thought the Browns were going to do in their 2018 NFL mock draft scenarios.

But the Browns got themselves a star in Denzel Ward.

Ward has been selected to three Pro Bowls since being drafted by the Browns in 2018 and is coming off of an incredible season. He allowed just 48.5 percent of passes thrown in his direction to be caught last season, the second-lowest mark of his career. Ward has also racked up at least 10 passes defensed every year he's been in the league.

Having Ward on one side of the field allows the Browns the luxury of knowing they've always got at least one side on lockdown, and he's paired extremely well right now with Martin Emerson on the other side.