One bold prediction for every Cleveland Browns 2022 NFL draft pick
By John Suchan
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: DE Alex Wright
The more I watched the film on Alex Wright the more excited I am about his potential. Again, the Browns decided to use their 78th pick on the young UAB star who wasn’t the highest-ranked of the defensive edge rushers in the group but his ceiling is high. He’s a tall edge rusher standing at 6-7 and 270 Lbs. He finished his junior season with 45 tackles and had six sacks on the quarterback.
The former band member who played saxophone at Elba High School in southern Alabama went back to the gridiron in his last couple of years of high school. I watched some film of his games in high school, and he looked like a giant amongst his peers and opponents. He was dominating on defense for his team.
He will be used a lot by the Browns probably on late downs in special situations as he gets acclimated to the NFL. Having mentors like Myles Garrett will only help make Wright an even more valuable member of the team moving forward.
My bold prediction for Wright is that he’ll force two fumbles and have at least two sacks on the quarterback this season and be a big part of the Browns’ top-tiered defense.
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: WR David Bell
David Bell was taken with pick No. 99 and could turn out to be one of the biggest moves by the team in a while when talking about drafting wide receivers. He was a catching machine at Purdue.
He rarely dropped passes that were thrown his way. Some critics have pointed to his lack of top-notch speed but that won’t make a huge difference in his game because he’s an excellent route runner and simply has a feel for the game which is why the Browns drafted him.
I see Bell as getting a lot of opportunities this season, especially early. Cleveland will likely not be bringing veteran wide receiver Jarvis Landry back so Bell will get his chance in that slot position to grab passes to keep the changes moving.
My bold prediction for Bell is that he’ll have 50 to 70 catches on the season and score at least four touchdowns. Neither Donovan Peoples-Jones nor Anthony Schwartz came close to those types of numbers in their rookie seasons.
Granted that the circumstances are different now with Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. exiting the team, but the Browns haven’t had a wide receiver in their rookie campaign go for more than 50 receptions and that last happened with Josh Gordon in 2012.