Cleveland Browns land shutdown corner in 2021 NFL mock draft at Week 17

It’s anyone’s guess as to what the Browns will decide to do with Larry Ogunjobi (pending free agent) and Sheldon Richardson ($13 million cap hit in 2021) this offseason, but even in the unlikely even that both are retained, Cleveland could really use another playable defensive tackle, particularly the kind that stops the run.

Alim McNeill is one of the best run-stopping 1-techs in the nation, and does have some pass-rush juice at 6-2 320 pounds. If you needed another reason not to judge pass-rushers based off sacks, McNeil logged seven in 2019 but had none in 2020, despite generating a similar amount of pressure. But that’s all just a bonus; his primary impact would be eating up space at 1-tech, something the Browns have been forced to have Ogunjobi attempt to do this season.

If you’re going to draft one of college football’s best DTs in the third round, you might as well take two. Daviyon Nixon was a first-team All-American after collecting 5.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss in eight games, and also returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown. This is a weak DT class, so Nixon could easily be a first-round pick, but no Browns would be complaining with landing him here.