The Cleveland Browns had a nice NFL Draft, and their new players are preparing for rookie camp this weekend. Here are bold predictions for each draftee.
There’s always a lot of hype after the NFL Draft as we start projecting what teams are going to look like with their new prospects coming aboard. The Cleveland Browns waited until the third round this year to take cornerback Martin Emerson off their board first.
They then went and drafted eight more talented college athletes. Usually, there are hits and misses with any draft. Many late-round picks don’t do so well with their shelf life. Even though there’s that excitement initially, by the time the season rolls around, some of those picks don’t even make it to the final 53-man roster.
With that being said, the draftees this time by the Browns seem like a solid group, and potentially all could make the team. Let’s look at each player a little bit more as I give you one bold prediction for the player as they suit up in the Brown and Orange and represent Cleveland for the first time.
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: CB Martin Emerson
The Browns drafted Emerson at No. 68 in a bit of a surprise to the rest of the world. Though some will say the team knows what they are doing, I’m still a bit perplexed at moving back from No. 44 to then take a cornerback, that by most draft projections wasn’t even a top 20 prospect at the corner position. The Browns really don’t need another cornerback; however, they did trade Troy Hill back to the Los Angeles Rams after the drafting of Emerson.
The new cornerback has good length at 6’1 and is considered a very aggressive back who can use his size to cover wide receivers, and on film, he certainly looks like a talented player who has potential. The Browns like drafting players that are still a work in progress, but it still seems like a stretch taking him with their first pick of the draft.
My bold prediction for Emerson is that he’ll intercept two passes this season. He only had one in his whole career at Mississippi State but he’ll get a few opportunities this season and make a name for himself on the squad. Denzel Ward had three picks in his rookie campaign and neither Greedy Williams nor Greg Newsome II had one in their rookie seasons.
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.
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: DT Perrion Winfrey
If a bold prediction was made on just the excitement level that a player can make when meeting with the local media, then Perrion Winfrey would end up with 20 sacks on the season, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries for touchdowns. His initial media conference was outrageously fun and took folks a bit of time to understand what type of energized individual they were encountering.
Hopefully, Winfrey doesn’t just talk a lot but will also produce for the Browns. The weakest part of the team’s defense was their line and their inability to stop the run last season. They need a player like Winfrey to step in right away and produce. He had 11 tackles for losses a year ago at Oklahoma. He needs to create trouble and chaos for his opponents and keep talking along the way.
My bold prediction is that Winfrey will be one of the starting defensive tackles in Week 1 of the season. He could be the steal of the draft for the Browns getting him in the fourth round. Time will tell but he’ll get an opportunity from the start.
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: K Cade York
Drafting a kicker was a good move by Cleveland. The standard in placekicking honors in recent Browns history goes to former member Phil Dawson. He began with the team in that comeback season of 1999. Dawson has numerous records with the team including kicking 29 good field goals in a row and also kicking six field goals in a single game.
York was an excellent kicker for his LSU Tigers down in Louisiana. He has a strong leg and has hit from as far as 57-yards out. There won’t be that traditional kicker competition this training camp as the Browns have said the job is York’s. Hopefully, that will put a bit less pressure on the kid initially and help with his confidence as he enters the NFL.
In Phil Dawson’s first year he went eight for twelve on field goals and 23 for 24 on extra points. Dawson’s longest field goal that year was at 49 yards.
My bold prediction for York is that he has a higher field goal percentage than Dawson did that first season. Dawson was at 67%. Also, York will kick at least three field goals of 50 yards or more this first campaign.
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: RB Jerome Ford
The Browns already had a full house with running backs so bringing Ford in from the University of Cincinnati was a bit of a surprise. Where does this leave the team moving forward.?
Cleveland has Nick Chubb as their anchor in the backfield. They also have Kareem Hunt back there too — however, Hunt is in the last year of his contract. Are the Browns considering a trade of Hunt later on this offseason?
Then the team also has D’Ernest Johnson, who had a breakout season with the team after subbing in for both Chubb and Hunt when they were out with Covid and injuries. Cleveland signed Johnson to a tendered contract and looks to keep him but something has got to give in this crowded backfield.
Ford was an excellent high school player in Florida before he went to Alabama to play collegiately. His time with the Crimson Tide didn’t work out so he went to Cincinnati. He had a nice junior season with the Bearcats where he rumbled for 1,319 yards with 19 touchdowns and an impressive 6.1 yards a carry.
Where Cleveland is in their thought process with the running back room is anyone’s guess at this point, but I’d still look for a trade of Hunt or a Johnson release to be in the cards before the season starts in September.
My bold prediction for Ford is that he scores a touchdown in the first game that he plays in for the Browns.
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: WR Michael Woods II
It’s still a mystery to me why Cleveland drafted this wide receiver from Oklahoma. He played his first two seasons at Arkansas. He never had more than 35 receptions in any season or tallied more than 619 yards in receptions. He only had 400 yards and two scores last year with Oklahoma. He has some size, standing at 6’1 but doesn’t show elite speed either when you watch his film.
My bold prediction for Woods is that he makes the practice squad and will get to play on the 53-man roster for a week or two during the regular season.
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: DE Isaiah Thomas
Some say that Isaiah Thomas is a huge get by the Browns having him there in the 7th round. He has the size at 6-5 and 265 pounds to be a pretty good defensive end. He finished last year with 38 tackles including 10.5 for losses and had seven quarterback sacks.
The Browns are looking for upgrades on that defensive line and he could make his mark if he has a good training camp.
My bold prediction is that he make the final 53-man roster for the Week 1 game.
One bold Cleveland Browns draft pick prediction: C Dawson Deaton
Dawson Deaton comes to the Browns from Texas Tech where he was a three-year starter on their offensive line. While center was his primary position on the team he can play a variety of roles for the Browns.
Cleveland’s line was okay a year ago but was riddled by injuries. Deaton will get an opportunity to learn behind a pretty veteran bunch already. Nick Harris looks to take over the center role after J. C. Tretter was released.
My bold prediction is that Deaton will get thrown into the fire at some point this season and start at least one game for the team.
Hopefully, many of these predictions come true and that would likely mean good things for the Browns. I hope all these newly drafted players get their chance to shine as it should be a fun training camp to watch.