The Cleveland Browns brought in 10 new players in this year’s NFL Draft. Here is what fans can expect from each of the 10 new faces.
The Cleveland Browns had what looks like could be a really good draft. However, the Browns have missed on quite a few of their picks in the past and are looking to break the habit like Linkin Park.
With three first-round draft picks, a player who could become the team’s future quarterback and a couple of value picks, on paper this draft could be the one that helps turn the corner.
I want Browns fans to temper their expectations, however, because they shouldn’t assume that this draft class will take the world by storm, the way Dallas’ did last season. You can never perfectly predict how a season will go. Injuries, trades, player progression and regression are all surprises that can alter the team’s fortunes.
In a previous article I wrote about the team’s undrafted players, so now I want to focus on the 10 guys who were drafted. What we know about them and what we can and should expect from them.
Not all of them have the same expectations but plenty of them are going to be called upon to change the losing culture that plagued Browns teams past. Let’s begin with the three players taken in the first round.
Myles Garrett
The No. 1 overall draft pick is usually, if not always, the pick with the most pressure and expectations. Not just to perform well but to turn a team around. Myles Garrett is no different. Barring an injury, the first defensive end taken can usually have one of two kinds of rookie year: a Joey Bosa-type season (10.5 sacks) or a Dion Jordan-type season (2 sacks).
Myles Garrett, however, may have landed in a great position. Many times, a team has only one dominant pass rusher and the opposing offense can focus on shutting him down or avoiding him. However, Garrett is being paired with Emmanuel Ogbah, a combination that has Browns fans licking their chops.
Ogbah is going to get his sacks because of the attention Garrett will get, and vice versa. It doesn’t look like Garrett’s injury was very significant but it’s still smart for the Browns to limit contact before the season has even started.
Related: Browns must remain careful with Garrett
I’ll predict that Garrett will get at the very least seven sacks this season, but could even go as high as possibly 11. Let’s not get our hopes too high, but understandably, it’s hard not to.
Jabrill Peppers
The team needs secondary help. NEEDS it. Drafting Jabrill Peppers and trading for Calvin Pryor are moves that the team hopes to materialize into a hugely different defense than what was on the field in 2016. Hopefully, the Browns have their safety and returner of the present and future.
Depending on where Pryor plays will dictate where Peppers plays. However, the Browns didn’t use a first-round draft pick on a player to not play him. He probably won’t have the impact that we should expect from Myles Garrett but we know he will be present both as a defender and in the return game. So Peppers could be a fun surprise to have out on the field.
David Njoku
If you look at the last two Browns starting tight ends (Jordan Cameron and Gary Barnidge), both were Pro-Bowl players and they both scored plenty of touchdowns. The tight end position is a high value position to the Browns, and the team just got a more athletic tight end than they previously had.
At Miami, Njoku only played two seasons and totaled 64 catches. However, he averaged 16.6 yards per reception in his career, including scoring a touchdown on an average of one every five receptions in his last season.
He will be plugged right away as a starter, and paired with Seth DeValve to create a formidable tight end duo. I think scoring four touchdowns and being a present force in the run blocking scheme is more than reasonable, so whoever is the starting quarterback in Week 1 and on is going to love this guy.
DeShone Kizer
His completion percentage went from 62.9 to 58.7 in his two seasons, however, his TD:INT ratio went from 21:10 to 26:9. He rushed for a career total of 997 yards and 18 touchdowns, but his record as a starter was only 12-11. So you take the good with the bad.
Hopefully the Browns don’t do what they and other teams have done in the past and rush Kizer to the field before he is ready. I don’t expect Kizer to be the day one starter ahead of Cody Kessler.
If the team really sees a future with this kid then they’ll need to groom him for when he is ready. He came in raw so now is the growing process. Don’t expect for him to play this season, if at all, until he needs to.
Larry Ogunjobi
This guy has quickly become a fan favorite, and for good reason. In the new 4-3 defense this season, he is the projected starter alongside Danny Shelton. The team ranked 31st against the run last season and that is where Ogunjobi will help the most early on. In two seasons at UNC-Charlotte he totaled 29 tackles for loss.
Given the sizes of both Danny Shelton (6-foot-2, 335 pounds) and Larry Ogunjobi (6-foot-3, 300 pounds), respectfully, Shelton looks like he will play the 1-tech, with Ogunjobi playing the 3. Throw Ogbah and Garrett on the outside and the team should see a big turnaround up front.
Howard Wilson
In his final season at the University of Houston, Wilson totaled five interceptions. Something the Browns need. However, this selection is good news/bad news. Bad news: Wilson broke his kneecap. Good news: it won’t require season-ending surgery.
Related: 2017 training camp position preview: The cornerbacks
Wilson looks like he could return around the beginning of the season but he will miss valuable practice time. I’m not sure what impact he will have but I’m going to assume he won’t hit his stride until midseason. So he will initially only be there to serve as depth behind Joe Haden, Jamar Taylor and Jason McCourty.
Roderick Johnson
Joe Thomas is and will continue to be the starter at left tackle, and the right tackle looks like it’s a two-man race between Shon Coleman and Cam Erving (my money’s on Shon). So Roderick Johnson is merely a project for the future, and could be an eventual successor for Joe Thomas.
Barring an unbelievable training camp and preseason where he beats out Coleman and Erving for the right side, or something happens to Joe Thomas, Johnson’s role will only be as the swing tackle to back up both sides.
Caleb Brantley
Let’s be clear, if Caleb Brantley doesn’t get accused of hitting a woman, there’s no way that Cleveland gets him in the sixth round. Initially, Brantley was projected to go anywhere from the late-first to early-second round. However, the charges were dismissed and, in terms of draft position, the Browns may have the biggest steal.
We can expect Brantley to be able to play both the 1-tech and the 3-tech, in the event Ogunjobi or Shelton get hurt or can’t perform. He’s got the size and skill to play both tackle positions but I expect a heavy rotation with Brantley and the starters. Eventually, however, if Shelton doesn’t finally live up to his first-round status, we could see a changing of the guard.
Zane Gonzalez
96 for 116 field goals in his career. Lou Groza winner. NCAA D-1 record for career field goals made with a career long of 59 yards. 7 of 9 career field goals from 50+ yards. I know he’s a kicker, but wow. Cody Parkey was solid last season (20-25), but Cleveland wants the next Justin Tucker or Dan Bailey. They may have it.
The writing is on the wall for Cody Parkey and I seriously doubt that any team, even the Browns, would seriously keep two kickers on their roster. I know he’s a kicker, but he looks like he will be a very good one.
Matt Dayes
Short, but quick. Light, but scary. The Browns used their last pick on a running back who is equally effective as a receiver as he is a runner. He probably isn’t ever going to be an every-down back, but he can be this team’s Darren Sproles if used properly. He’s not the fastest back (4.66 40 yard dash) but his game speed and quickness would say otherwise.
I’m not 100 percent sure Dayes will be on the 53-man roster, but he should certainly at least earn a spot on the practice squad.
Next: The UDFAs most likely to make the team in 2017
Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson Jr. are the only locks to make the team, so there is an opportunity here for Dayes to beat out players like George Atkinson or Darius Jackson for that third spot. If not, it may be another year until Dayes could make his regular season debut.