Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry nailed it on the NFL Draft’s second evening. Finally, there are no head-scratchers. There are no reaches. There are no, “Who’s this guy?” moments.
In Berry’s first draft with the Browns, he has gone after need over the highest potential available, which is what previous regimes were guilty of in the past. Berry’s thought process is simple: Who is the best player left at a position of need?
And the Browns filled almost every need with their first four picks in the first three rounds.
Going into the draft, the Browns had five major needs: left tackle, right guard, defensive tackle, linebacker, and safety.
After the first two nights, four of the five are addressed. Here are the three new Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns Hit Home Run on Draft’s Second Night
Grant Delpit, Safety/LSU
A team that has never been to a Super Bowl drafted a national champion in the second round. While the pick was initially questionable since the Browns signed stopgaps at safety in Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo, it makes sense in hindsight after the Browns snagged their defensive tackle and linebacker.
Grant Delpit’s credentials speak for themselves. He’s a two-time Consensus All-American and a two-time All-SEC member. In 2019, Delpit won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the best defensive back in college football.
Despite Delpit’s accomplishments, analysts labeled his 2019 season a “disappointment,” per NFL analyst Lance Zierlein and ESPN draft analyst, Mel Kiper.
The “disappointment” labeling shows off Delpit’s potential even when he produces as the best defensive back in the country. That says a lot about the Browns new safety.
Jordan Elliott, Defensive Tackle/Missouri
The Browns needed a run stuffer, and they drafted Jordan Elliott with the 24th pick in the third round. While the Browns already have a solid rotation at defensive tackle, their starters, Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson, are better built for the pass rush.
Only newly signed Andrew Billings has shown potential as a run stopper. This left the Browns, who finished 30th in run defense in 2019 and allowed five yards per carry, in dire need of a run stuffer.
Elliott is a player who will fill gaps Browns defenders often left open in 2019, leading to the league’s third-worst run defense.
His performance at Missouri in 2019 earned him a second-team spot on the Associated Press All-American Team after recording 44 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, and three sacks.
At 6’4″ and 302 pounds, Elliott’s lanky for a run-stuffing defensive tackle, so it’ll be a challenge for him to take on bigger linemen and double teams at the next level. However, he’s quick in shooting gaps and moving laterally, granting him further leverage to control his opponents. He’s a great addition to an already solid defensive tackle rotation.
Jacob Phillips, Linebacker/LSU
Going through the pre-draft process, the debate raged. What was Cleveland’s biggest need? The two obvious answers were left tackle and linebacker. With the team going left tackle in the first round, the Browns needed to seek help at linebacker on day two.
Jacob Phillips dropped right to them at pick 97. When you first glance at Phillips’ college stats, a former Brown named D’Qwell Jackson pops into your mind. Phillips recorded 113 tackles in 2019 with 7.5 for a loss in 15 games.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Berry is going for players who produced in college that fill a team need. Phillips produced, like his teammate at LSU in Delpit, and his new teammate in Elliott.
Does he replace Joe Schobert? If Schobert had one weakness, he wasn’t a sure tackler. He was around the ball often, but making a tackle was never a guarantee. Per his scouting report, Phillips “didn’t miss tackles in 2019.”
The game’s speed is different in the NFL, but this is refreshing for a team whose run defense ranked 30th in football in 2019. The Browns might have uncovered a gem in Phillips.
Phillips isn’t the most physically gifted linebacker and may need a year on special teams or in a role playing position on defense, but then again, so did Schobert. This article isn’t comparing Phillips to Schobert, but the similarities are there.
And by the way, Phillips went at number 97 overall. Schobert was the 99th overall pick in 2016. Eerie.
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