The 3 best and 2 worst Browns draft picks since 2018

Over the past several years, the Cleveland Browns have been much better when it comes to selecting players in the NFL Draft. While they've had their share of misses — as every team does — it feels as though the hits have been coming more often.

With that being the case, we look back at each pick from 2018 through now and select the three best choices as well as the two worst.

Browns best pick: Martin Emerson, 68th overall in 2022

Despite not having a selection in Round 1 or Round 2 last year, the Browns were able to land a starting-caliber player with their first pick. Martin Emerson came in and played at a high level from the start and never backed down, no matter who he had to face.

But don't just take our word on this. Even those who aren't Cleveland fans have been praising Emerson with Arif Hasan of Pro Football Network ranking him 25th in the league heading into the 2023 season. Hasan especially loves the physicality Emerson plays with while in man coverage.

"He only allowed a 50 percent completion rate in coverage and shined when he could play in man coverage. Emerson plays with physicality and does a great job rerouting receivers and disrupting timing, and with all of the potential the Browns have on their back end, they could end up as a sneaky pick for one of the top defenses in the NFL"

Hasan, Pro Football Network

Emerson finished with 63 tackles while breaking up 15 passes as a rookie. He's the real deal and should only get better with more experience.

Browns worst pick: Austin Seibert, 170th overall, 2019

In 2019, the Browns felt they had a great shot at making a run in the AFC. They finished the previous campaign with a 5-3 stretch due in large part to the success Freddie Kitchens had as the interim offensive coordinator.

Kitchens impressed general manager John Dorsey enough that he became the head coach and they also went out and traded for Odell Beckham, Jr. That gave them an explosive offense — at least on paper — with Baker Mayfield, OBJ, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, and Kareem Hunt.

With all that firepower, Dorsey wanted to make sure they weren't limited by issues in the kicking game — which was a problem in 2018. In an effort to shore up the position, he used a fifth-round pick on Austin Seibert from Oklahoma. After the selection, Dorsey infamously made a comment about knowing Seibert was a great kicker based on the sound the ball made coming off his foot.

Unfortunately, it takes more than that to have success in the NFL. Seibert ended up being another inconsistent option for the Browns as he missed four field goals and five extra points as a rookie. He then missed his only field goal and extra point attempt in 2020 before being released ahead of Week 2.

He had some success with the Detroit Lions but enters 2023 a free agent.

Browns best pick: Donovan Peoples-Jones, 187th overall in 2020

In 2020, the Browns felt good about their depth at wide receiver. Despite the issues they had with Freddie Kitchens, there were two wideouts under contract that each hit 1,000 yards in 2019. Odell Beckham, Jr. went for 1,035 on 74 receptions while Jarvis Landry had 1,174.

They knew they needed more depth but felt they could wait for the right value, which they found in Round 6. That's where general manager Andrew Berry landed Michigan's Donovan Peoples-Jones who was the 187th overall selection.

As a rookie, DPJ showed off his talent with 304 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 receptions. His average per catch was an impressive 21.7 yards and he even proved he can be clutch when he hauled in a game-winning touchdown against the Bengals in Week 7 after Beckham was lost to a torn ACL earlier in the day.

Since that season, Peoples-Jones has only gotten better. He had 34 receptions for 597 yards and three touchdowns in year two, followed by 61 catches for 839 yards and three touchdowns this past season.

Heading into 2023, there will be more mouths to feed with Elijah Moore and Marquise Goodwin joining the roster but DPJ is still going to get plenty of targets. And there's a belief he could even do well enough that he prices himself out of town.

Even if that happens, he's going to go down as one of the biggest draft steals Berry has ever made.

Browns worst pick: Anthony Schwartz, 91st overall in 2021

In 2020, the Browns won 11 games and even knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs. They then suffered a defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, which was an extremely frustrating loss.

Cleveland easily could have secured a win there, since Kansas City was without Patrick Mahomes in the second half. A concussion in the second quarter meant they were taking on Chad Henne and despite a 19-3 deficit, they had everything pointing in their favor.

The problem was, their offense was simply too slow. Without a wide receiver that could stretch the field, they killed the majority of the clock in the second half on short plays — including an 18-play drive that took 8:17 to make it a 22-17 score.

From there, Kansas City played keep away and it worked.

Determined to keep that from happening again, general manager Andrew Berry used the 91st pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Anthony Schwartz from Auburn. An absolute burner, Schwartz was raw but he was promising. He even started with a bang, going for 69 yards in his debut against the Chiefs.

Since then, he's been a liability. In Week 2 of his sophomore campaign, he slowed down on a route that resulted in an interception and ended with Baker Mayfield suffering a shoulder injury. He's also struggled with drops and durability throughout his first two seasons in the league.

Schwartz is only still on the roster due to his speed but that isn't likely to save him this year.

Browns best pick: Nick Chubb, 35th overall in 2018

In the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns were set to be kings. They went in with the first, fourth, 33rd, 35th, and 64th picks at their disposal — and could have truly changed the face of their franchise.

That's not how things panned out, however.

Cleveland appeared to have success with their No. 1 pick, Baker Mayfield, but that faded quickly. What fell apart faster than this was their choice at No. 33, which was Austin Corbett. Their fifth pick ended up coming later as they traded down from No. 64, and they brought in Chad Thomas at the top of Round 3 — and he too was gone in the blink of an eye.

Not all of the picks were disheartening though as John Dorsey found two centerpieces. One is Denzel Ward, who enters 2023 as a top 10 cornerback according to coaches and executives in the league. He was chosen at No. 4 overall and has lived up to expectations.

As good as he's been, their top pick from that class is easily Nick Chubb. Selected at No. 35 overall, Chubb enters the season considered the top running back in the NFL and is already fourth in franchise history with 6,341 yards on the ground.

Chubb averages more than five-yards per attempt and has not only shown no signs of slowing down, he's also coming off his best season as a pro.

Since 2018, there's been no draft selection that was more of a home run for this franchise than when they brought in Nick Chubb.

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