Browns: 3 moves Andrew Berry surely regrets
By Randy Gurzi
No. 1: Taking Anthony Schwartz over Amon-Ra St. Brown
As we saw with the Browns taking Richard LeCounte over Talanoa Hufanga, a bad pick can feel much worse when a far better player is chosen shortly after. That was the case twice in the 2021 NFL Draft and the first was even more egregious.
On the clock at No. 91 overall, Andrew Berry added Anthony Schwartz out of Auburn. The move was made with the intention of developing Schwartz, who was incredibly raw but had unreal speed. At the Tigers' Pro Day, Schwartz put on a show, running the 40-yard dash in 4.26 seconds.
Heading into his third season in the NFL, Schwartz is still what he was when drafted — a track star trying to learn how to play football. His impact on the game has been minimal and what makes it even worse is knowing they could have landed a wideout who just made the Pro Bowl.
At pick No. 112, the Detroit Lions added Amon-Ra St. Brown from USC who quickly became a star. As a rookie, he had 90 receptions for 912 yards with five touchdowns. He followed that up with 1,161 yards and six touchdowns on 106 receptions.
To put into persepctive the difference between the two, Schwartz has 14 receptions for 186 yards and a touchdown in two seasons. St. Brown had 20 receptions for 236 yards and three touchdowns in a two game stretch this season against the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars — both of which were playoff teams.
There will be those who point to Schwartz being a contributor in the run game with 96 yards and a touchdown to his credit, but St. Brown has been better there as well. The Lions' wideout has 156 yards and a touchdown.
If Berry doesn't regret this one, he probably should. Hindsight is always 20/20 but this was a huge miss.