Cleveland Browns: Revisiting moves that have worked at the bye
By Randy Gurzi
Drafting Denzel Ward over Bradley Chubb
Baker Mayfield at No. 1 wasn’t the only decision on draft night that raised some eyebrows. Dorsey was able to control much of the draft with his plethora of picks, which included the No. 1 and No. 4 overall selections. After taking Mayfield, Dorsey was faced with a big question of who to choose next.
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The options were North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb and Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward. Rumor is the Browns had them similarily ranked, so it came down to their need at the position. With Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah set on the edges, Cleveland rolled the dice with Ward, who had the making of a shut-down corner.
So far, they look to be right about Ward. He’s been fantastic, recording three picks this season and nearly coming up with another on Sunday against Atlanta. He’s also shown no hesitation in coming up and hitting the ball carrier, while also recording a blocked field goal in the Browns upset win over one of their AFC North rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.
For what it’s worth, Chubb has been playing extremely well for the Denver Broncos to this point. He’s proven that if he were the selection, the Browns would also have been just fine — and would have ended up with both the Chubb cousins which would have been pretty cool. Still, there’s no denying they were right about Ward’s ability to cover some of the best receivers in the NFL. It was a hard decision but Cleveland did what was best for them.