Cleveland Browns: Top need prospects available in first three rounds
Cleveland Browns draft prospects: Edge Rusher
1st Round: Azeez Ojulari
If the Browns decide to prioritize getting an edge rusher with their first-round pick, Azeez Ojulari should be their selection.
Ojulari is fast and explosive coming off of the edge. He regularly beat some of the best offensive tackles in the country with his speed. At his pro day, he ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and he jumped 127 inches in the broad jump.
Opposing offensive tackles consistently failed to get their hands on Ojulari. His combination of speed and nice hands were too much for them to handle. Ojulari almost averaged a sack per game across his 10 games last season.
The main concern with this prospect is his size, he’s only 249-pounds. This could make it difficult for him to set the edge and contribute to stopping the run at the next level. But it did not seem to be a problem for him in college.
Ojulari is a premier athlete with tremendous bend and flexibility. He can get around offensive tackles at seemingly impossible angles. That same trait is what makes Myles Garrett one of the best edge rushers in the NFL.
If Azeez Ojulari and Myles Garrett are able to line up opposite of each other next season it would be something to behold. Or as Ojulari said it himself, he would be “trying to race him to the quarterback, trying to see who gets there first.”
2nd Round: Joseph Ossai
If the Browns look to select an edge rusher in the second round, Joseph Ossai should be at the top of their list.
The first thing that sticks out when you watch Ossai is his motor. He is never out of a play. Even if Ossai doesn’t initially succeed at the point of contact he is going to continue to grind and find a way to the quarterback.
Joseph Ossai was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and did not play football until the age of 10. At Texas, he spent his first season of significant playing time as an off-ball linebacker. Last season was his first season where he played edge rusher, so he is relatively new to the position. That being said, he produced well in his first season.
Ossai has long arms that allow him to keep offensive tackles off of him. If that wasn’t enough, he is also insanely explosive. During his pro day, he had a 42-inch vertical jump and a 132-inch broad jump. Both of those measurements are at or near the best of all of the edge rushers in the draft.
The Texas product was extremely productive in the run game. He was great at setting the edge and not allowing for runners to bounce the plays outside. Last season, he had 15.5 tackles for loss in only nine games.
Ossai looks like he would be able to step in on day one and provide the Browns with most of what they are losing from Olivier Vernon.
3rd Round: Joe Tryon
In the third round, Joe Tryon would be the best edge rusher available despite the fact that he opted out of the 2020 season.
Tryon is very versatile. At Washington, he primarily played off the edge, but he has the ability to play inside as well with about 20% of his snaps coming from lining up inside the tackles.
The most striking part of Tryon’s game is his bull rush. He has the ability to get offensive lineman on their heels in a way that they can’t recover from. He attacks with both power and speed that is overwhelming.
The biggest weakness in Tryon’s game is he fails to use his hands effectively. He often just ran at his opponent at full speed and found success doing so in college. That may not be as effective in the NFL and Tryon may need to grow in that area to be successful at the next level.
That being said, Tryon was very productive in the season before he opted out. In 13 games Tryon had 12.5 tackles for loss and 8 sacks.
Tryon would be coming into a perfect situation in Cleveland where he would have the opportunity to grow alongside Takkarist McKinley while also getting immediate playing time.