Cleveland Browns land Myles Garrett’s partner in Wild Card 2021 NFL mock draft

Oregon’s secondary was set to be truly elite this season, but multiple players, including Thomas Graham, opted out. Graham is a boundary corner with good ball skills who gives effort in the run game. He’s a smooth mover and could have greatly benefitted from another year of film.

It’s not fun to think about, but there is a very real possibility that the Browns do not extend Nick Chubb. The team does need to begin preparing for that potential future, as painful as it may be. Jaret Patterson rushed for almost 1,800 yards in 2019, then followed that up with 1,072 on 141 carries over six games this season. He scored 53 touchdowns over the past three years and had a cool 409-yard 8-touchdown performance against Kent State.

Patterson is a stocky 5-9, 195 pounds with moderate speed. He’s a one-cut runner who works north-south and will get what yardage is schemed up. He should be a good fit in a Browns wide zone scheme that should be much better in year two.

Cleveland took a chance on an underachieving five-star recruit in 2020 by taking Donovan Peoples-Jones in the sixth round, and that looks to have paid off big time. DPJ had just 14 catches on the season, but he made the most of them, averaging nearly 22 yards per reception. He finally received quality coaching and the results are beginning to show.

Thomas had a great freshman season but didn’t show the development that was expected of him in 2019. He didn’t play much in 2020 due to COVID-19 and related complications, and his stock is up in the air. He could return to school (he’s already graduated in just three years) and try to finish strong, or he could do what Peoples-Jones did and be a Day 3 pick, but receive NFL coaching a year earlier.

Listed at 6-2 270 pounds, Xavier Thomas fits the stocky power end archetype that the Browns appear to want opposite of Garrett. He’s immensely talented, and at this point in the draft, the team almost couldn’t afford to pass on him.

With this class, the Browns would have a rebuilt defense ready to make a serious playoff run in 2021, which would have seemed unlikely a year ago.