3 draft picks the Browns gave up on too soon: John Dorsey lacked patience
By Randy Gurzi
When John Dorsey was hired by the Cleveland Browns in December of 2017, it meant the end of the Sashi Brown era. The analytic-driven Brown was with the franchise from 2013 through 2017 and spent the past two years as the GM. During that time, he loaded up on draft picks and despite doing well in 2017 — landing Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers, and David Njoku — he was replaced by "Football Guy" John Dorsey.
Fans loved the brash Dorsey for several reasons but the major appeal was the fact that he didn't care for analytics. He used his "gut" to find talent and was very good at it. However, he struggled to build a deep roster, hired Freddie Kitchens, and lacked patience. All of that led to his firing ahead of the 2020 season.
Now as we prepare for the fifth draft under his successor, Andrew Berry, let's look at three draft picks the franchise gave up on too early. Unintentionally, all three were sent away by Dorsey.
3. Carl Nassib, DE
Carl Nassib became a fan favorite due to his time on 'Hard Knocks' in 2018. He had a verbal spat with Todd Haley but really stood out while giving financial advice laden with foul language.
Nassib was a third-round pick in 2016 out of Penn State and played well in the two seasons he was in Cleveland. As a third defensive end, he had 52 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Despite his talent as a pass-rush specialist, Nassib was released during final cuts.
He was claimed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who allowed him to play out his rookie contract. Again, he was primarily a rotational player and had a great run with the Bucs. In two seasons, he had 63 tackles and 12.5 sacks. He returned to Tampa Bay in 2022 after two years with the Las Vegas Raiders and had 23 tackles and 3.5 sacks before retiring in 2023.