As draft day approached, a name that had been a fixture in the first-round conversation started to slip. The subject of this unfortunate annual phenomenon was Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, whose drop had no obvious catalyst. In any case, Browns general manager Andrew Berry recognized the value and acted, trading up with the San Francisco 49ers to end EMW's wait at pick No. 58.
McNeil-Warren's placement on the consensus big board, where he was 20th, illustrates the value the Browns came away with by selecting him 58th. The Browns adding 38 slots of value makes EMW the second-biggest steal of Day 2, behind the Jacksonville Jaguars' ironically named Emmanuel Pregnon.
A look at his collegiate resume paints an inspiring picture. Upon becoming a regular on defense in his sophomore year, McNeil-Warren packed the stat sheet with 207 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, five interceptions (one returned for a TD), 13 passes defensed, and eight forced fumbles (with two recoveries) over his final three years. In addition to his on-field production, he boasts plus athletic traits.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren could be adding a unique skillset to the Browns' already stout defense
At 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, McNeil-Warren is built to bruise. What's more, his feats at the NFL Combine helped him to a 9.41 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) — a metric that compares prospects athletically to historic counterparts at their same position. His RAS ranked 79th out of 1,316 safeties since 1987.
One comparison drawn from the database is former Washington safety Sean Taylor, the two-time Pro Bowler whose life was tragically cut short in 2007. Through just four seasons, Taylor was able to use his athletic gifts to snatch 12 interceptions. With the obvious caveat that no two players are identical, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren boasts athletic ability in that neighborhood, which is an exciting development in and of itself.
It may be hard for Browns fans to hear such glowing reviews on their team's draft class after years of disappointing results. There is a tangible shift taking shape in the way Cleveland is perceived, and it's happening before our very eyes. ESPN's resident scout Matt Miller set out to rank his 100 favorite picks of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Browns' move that ranked highest on his list was their selection of McNeil-Warren at No. 13.
The only other moves to garner a mention were the Browns' pair of first-round picks, Spencer Fano and KC Concepcion, who ranked No. 36 and No. 58, respectively. To be clear, those aren't bad picks — they're just good players landing where you'd expect them to. McNeil-Warren is the outlier. With him, the Browns are believed to have uncovered a diamond in the rough.
On a defense that already features the NFL's best defender at any position, it's a tantalizing proposition to see room for improvement. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren appears to be on track to raise the level of play even higher on that side of the ball, a development that would make the Browns that much more dangerous in 2026.
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