Cleveland Browns: Mid-March 7-Round mock draft after Vernon trade

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SOUTH BEND, IN – SEPTEMBER 15: Jerry Tillery #99 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rushes against Devin Cochran #77 of the Vanderbilt Commodores at Notre Dame Stadium on September 15, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Round 2, Pick 17: Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame

With their second-round pick, the Browns grab another big body to add to their defensive line in Jerry Tillery out of Notre Dame. The former Fighting Irish defender has plenty of size to spare at 6-foot-6 and 295-pounds and was a disruptive force in South Bend.

He’s still a work in progress but made a lot of strides in 2018 as detailed by Jon Ledyard of The Draft Network.

"The Jerry Tillery that took the field in 2018 was light years beyond the player that suit up for the Irish the seasons prior, showing improvement in key areas like his pass rush plan, hand usage and pad level at the point of attack. He’s not perfect, as there are a couple reps every game that he takes the worst of an exchange in the run game, but he’s certainly not a liability in run defense, and his pass rush ability makes him a potential high-impact interior defensive lineman in the NFL. — Ledyard, The Draft Network"

Even with his questions, the defensive tackle would likely be a first-round pick in many other drafts but slides into the second thanks to the depth in this class. In his career, Tillery had 133 tackles and 12.5 sacks with seven of those coming in 2018.

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