Day 3 of the NFL Draft has concluded and the Browns have their class set. Cleveland made 10 selections in this year’s draft, starting with Spencer Fano and KC Concepcion in the first round. I already covered those guys yesterday, so let’s go over the rest of this year’s draft class.

Day 2

The Browns opened up the second round by adding wide receiver Denzel Boston. Boston is a guy that some were projecting they would take in the 1st round instead of KC Concepcion, but the team is walking away with both. Boston adds a new element to the Browns receiver room that was badly needed. He’s a physical 6’4 receiver who does well in contested catch situations. Pairing that ability with the speed and playmaking of Concepcion gives the Browns a massive upgrade at a position they were very bad at last year. After that pick, the Browns traded back up into the 2nd round to take Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. This was probably my favorite pick of the entire draft. McNeil-Warren was another guy that they were interested in with the 24th pick, and they somehow came away with him at 58. He’s a 6’4 playmaking safety that will fit in great alongside Grant Delpit on the back end of this defense. In the 3rd round the team only made one selection, and it was Florida tackle Austin Barber. I would expect Barber to be a depth piece on the offensive line that can be moved to either guard or tackle spot. This wasn’t as flashy as the other two picks of the day, but it adds more depth to a position group that struggled mightily last year.

Day 3

Cleveland made five picks on day 3, with three of them coming in the 5th round. They added a pair of Alabama teammates in center Parker Brailsford and linebacker Justin Jefferson. Brailsford is a guy that can develop behind the scenes and hopefully become a starting caliber center after a few years. Justin Jefferson is a very fast, but undersized linebacker that will likely get a lot of opportunities on special teams early in his career. If he can get better at getting off of blocks, then he can certainly become a quality linebacker for years to come. Two of the Browns final three picks were tight ends. The first one they took was Joe Royer out of Cincinnati, and the second was Carsen Ryan out of BYU. Todd Monken used multiple tight ends a lot in Baltimore, so it’s not surprising that the Browns want to give him more options at that position. The most interesting pick of day 3 was Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green. The Browns already had three quarterbacks on the roster before this, so I would assume this means Dillon Gabriel will be on his way out of town in the coming months. Green is an incredibly raw passer, but an unbelievable athlete for a quarterback. He’s 6’6 225 pounds and runs a 4.36 second 40 yard dash. His inconsistency as a passer makes it unlikely that he’ll be a starter in the NFL, but with a 6th round pick it’s absolutely worth it to take a shot on a guy that has real star potential if he did figure it all out.

Overall Thoughts

I view this draft as a home run by the Browns. The two most glaring needs this team could address in this draft were wide receiver and offensive line. They ended up adding the top tackle in the class, with other depth pieces across the line later on, and they also added two of the five best receivers in this class. Those guys paired with all of the free agency acquisitions along the offensive line should make the Browns a much more interesting offense than we’ve had to watch for the past few years. Adding Emmanuel McNeil-Warren as late as they did was the clear highlight of the weekend, as he was the last of the four first round level players they managed to walk away with. He will make a defense that was already elite even deeper. Andrew Berry has done an amazing job with his last two draft classes. There’s an abundance of young talent everywhere on this roster. The biggest question mark remaining is who the starting quarterback will be next year, but if they can just get average play at that position next season, the Browns will be one of the most improved teams in the NFL.