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Grading the 2021 Browns Draft

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  • @syd said:

    Damn I was fooled. I had high hopes for that one. Is he still in the league ?

    After the Browns cut him during training camp last season, he was signed to Cincinnati's practice squad shortly after. He never saw time on their active roster, and became a free agent when the Bengals season ended. 

    @dutch-oven said:

    After the Browns cut him during training camp last season, he was signed to Cincinnati's practice squad shortly after. He never saw time on their active roster, and became a free agent when the Bengals season ended. 

    I always thought he would do well  in the slot

  • It's been often said - perhaps originally attributed to Ozzie Newsome - that you can't grade a draft class until it has finished it's third NFL season. Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    Rd 1, #26 overall: CB Greg Newsome, Northwestern. Newsome has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He had a solid rookie season, but by his third season was supplanted as the #2 corner by Martin Emerson Jr. Still, in the NFL today, being the nickel back is pretty much a starting gig. Browns have picked up his fifth year option. 

    Rd 2, #52 overall: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, Notre Dame. JOK has been everything Berry wanted and more. After struggling to contain Lamar Jackson the season before (including the infamous Lamar shit his pants on national television, goes to the locker room to clean up, then comes back and beats the Browns game) the Browns were on the lookout for an athletic outside linebacker to mirror Jackson. They got their man. He's even been better than expected in the run game, taking on blockers much bigger than him better than expected. The star of this draft class.

    Rd 3, #91 overall: WR Anthony Schwartz, Auburn. Another want in this draft was speed in the WR room. Schwartz definitely gave the Browns that, but that was literally it. A track player who was still relatively new to football, he played like it. Was cut during training camp before the 2023 season. Had a grand total of 14 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown. Nominally on the Miami Dolphins roster.

    Rd 4, #110 overall: OT James Hudson, Cincinnati. Hudson has been a decent backup/depth guy in his three years with the Browns, starting 14 games total. Doesn't appear that he is going to move forward from that though, unlikely the Browns consider him as a future starting tackle.

    Rd 4, #132 overall: DT Tommy Togiai, THE Ohio State University. A stout, fire hydrant of a DTackle in college, he was quickly exposed as a 'tweener' in the NFL. Not big enough to be a stout 2 gap guy, not athletic enough to be a disruptive one-gao fella. Released during training camp in 2023, moved on to the Atlanta Falcons. 

    Rd 5, #153 overall: LB Tony Fields, West Virginia. Solid depth/special teams guy. Spot starter who is still with the Browns. Good pick for the spot.

    Rd 5, #169 overall: S Richard LeCounte, Georgia. Played his rookie season with Browns, released during his second season. Played with LA Rams and Tampa Bay after.

    Rd 6, #211 overall: RB/WR Demetric Felton, UCLA. Flashed during his rookie preseason, many Browns fans were excited that a late draft gem had been unearthed, but he was the proverbial "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" guy. Like Schwartz and Togiai, made it through two seasons with the Browns, but was cut during training camp prior to the 2023 season.

    Best Player: As said above, Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah has been everything the Browns hoped he would be when they traded up to snag him. In fact, Ohio State is recruiting his younger brother as we speak. 

    Biggest Disappointment: Easily Anthony Schwartz. That was a big swing and a miss.

    Overall Draft Assessment and Grade: At the end of the day, Berry was able to nab two defensive starters and two decent backups/depth guys. He obviously didn't knock this one out of the park, but all and all, pretty productive. I'll give it a B-. 

    @dutch-oven said:

    It's been often said - perhaps originally attributed to Ozzie Newsome - that you can't grade a draft class until it has finished it's third NFL season. Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    Rd 1, #26 overall: CB Greg Newsome, Northwestern. Newsome has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He had a solid rookie season, but by his third season was supplanted as the #2 corner by Martin Emerson Jr. Still, in the NFL today, being the nickel back is pretty much a starting gig. Browns have picked up his fifth year option. 

    Rd 2, #52 overall: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, Notre Dame. JOK has been everything Berry wanted and more. After struggling to contain Lamar Jackson the season before (including the infamous Lamar shit his pants on national television, goes to the locker room to clean up, then comes back and beats the Browns game) the Browns were on the lookout for an athletic outside linebacker to mirror Jackson. They got their man. He's even been better than expected in the run game, taking on blockers much bigger than him better than expected. The star of this draft class.

    Rd 3, #91 overall: WR Anthony Schwartz, Auburn. Another want in this draft was speed in the WR room. Schwartz definitely gave the Browns that, but that was literally it. A track player who was still relatively new to football, he played like it. Was cut during training camp before the 2023 season. Had a grand total of 14 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown. Nominally on the Miami Dolphins roster.

    Rd 4, #110 overall: OT James Hudson, Cincinnati. Hudson has been a decent backup/depth guy in his three years with the Browns, starting 14 games total. Doesn't appear that he is going to move forward from that though, unlikely the Browns consider him as a future starting tackle.

    Rd 4, #132 overall: DT Tommy Togiai, THE Ohio State University. A stout, fire hydrant of a DTackle in college, he was quickly exposed as a 'tweener' in the NFL. Not big enough to be a stout 2 gap guy, not athletic enough to be a disruptive one-gao fella. Released during training camp in 2023, moved on to the Atlanta Falcons. 

    Rd 5, #153 overall: LB Tony Fields, West Virginia. Solid depth/special teams guy. Spot starter who is still with the Browns. Good pick for the spot.

    Rd 5, #169 overall: S Richard LeCounte, Georgia. Played his rookie season with Browns, released during his second season. Played with LA Rams and Tampa Bay after.

    Rd 6, #211 overall: RB/WR Demetric Felton, UCLA. Flashed during his rookie preseason, many Browns fans were excited that a late draft gem had been unearthed, but he was the proverbial "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" guy. Like Schwartz and Togiai, made it through two seasons with the Browns, but was cut during training camp prior to the 2023 season.

    Best Player: As said above, Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah has been everything the Browns hoped he would be when they traded up to snag him. In fact, Ohio State is recruiting his younger brother as we speak. 

    Biggest Disappointment: Easily Anthony Schwartz. That was a big swing and a miss.

    Overall Draft Assessment and Grade: At the end of the day, Berry was able to nab two defensive starters and two decent backups/depth guys. He obviously didn't knock this one out of the park, but all and all, pretty productive. I'll give it a B-. 

    Never thought Schwartz showed any flash enough in college to warrant that high a draft pick. But I actually was more disappointed in OSU's DT Tommy T. I just thought he would show something in short order from such a powerhouse football school. But overall I agree with the retrospective grade for the group.

  • @dutch-oven said:

    It's been often said - perhaps originally attributed to Ozzie Newsome - that you can't grade a draft class until it has finished it's third NFL season. Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    Rd 1, #26 overall: CB Greg Newsome, Northwestern. Newsome has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He had a solid rookie season, but by his third season was supplanted as the #2 corner by Martin Emerson Jr. Still, in the NFL today, being the nickel back is pretty much a starting gig. Browns have picked up his fifth year option. 

    Rd 2, #52 overall: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, Notre Dame. JOK has been everything Berry wanted and more. After struggling to contain Lamar Jackson the season before (including the infamous Lamar shit his pants on national television, goes to the locker room to clean up, then comes back and beats the Browns game) the Browns were on the lookout for an athletic outside linebacker to mirror Jackson. They got their man. He's even been better than expected in the run game, taking on blockers much bigger than him better than expected. The star of this draft class.

    Rd 3, #91 overall: WR Anthony Schwartz, Auburn. Another want in this draft was speed in the WR room. Schwartz definitely gave the Browns that, but that was literally it. A track player who was still relatively new to football, he played like it. Was cut during training camp before the 2023 season. Had a grand total of 14 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown. Nominally on the Miami Dolphins roster.

    Rd 4, #110 overall: OT James Hudson, Cincinnati. Hudson has been a decent backup/depth guy in his three years with the Browns, starting 14 games total. Doesn't appear that he is going to move forward from that though, unlikely the Browns consider him as a future starting tackle.

    Rd 4, #132 overall: DT Tommy Togiai, THE Ohio State University. A stout, fire hydrant of a DTackle in college, he was quickly exposed as a 'tweener' in the NFL. Not big enough to be a stout 2 gap guy, not athletic enough to be a disruptive one-gao fella. Released during training camp in 2023, moved on to the Atlanta Falcons. 

    Rd 5, #153 overall: LB Tony Fields, West Virginia. Solid depth/special teams guy. Spot starter who is still with the Browns. Good pick for the spot.

    Rd 5, #169 overall: S Richard LeCounte, Georgia. Played his rookie season with Browns, released during his second season. Played with LA Rams and Tampa Bay after.

    Rd 6, #211 overall: RB/WR Demetric Felton, UCLA. Flashed during his rookie preseason, many Browns fans were excited that a late draft gem had been unearthed, but he was the proverbial "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" guy. Like Schwartz and Togiai, made it through two seasons with the Browns, but was cut during training camp prior to the 2023 season.

    Best Player: As said above, Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah has been everything the Browns hoped he would be when they traded up to snag him. In fact, Ohio State is recruiting his younger brother as we speak. 

    Biggest Disappointment: Easily Anthony Schwartz. That was a big swing and a miss.

    Overall Draft Assessment and Grade: At the end of the day, Berry was able to nab two defensive starters and two decent backups/depth guys. He obviously didn't knock this one out of the park, but all and all, pretty productive. I'll give it a B-. 

    Never thought Schwartz showed any flash enough in college to warrant that high a draft pick. But I actually was more disappointed in OSU's DT Tommy T. I just thought he would show something in short order from such a powerhouse football school. But overall I agree with the retrospective grade for the group.

    @texasag1969 said:

    Never thought Schwartz showed any flash enough in college to warrant that high a draft pick. But I actually was more disappointed in OSU's DT Tommy T. I just thought he would show something in short order from such a powerhouse football school. But overall I agree with the retrospective grade for the group.

    I agree. I didn't expect him to be a starter, but I thought he'd be a good depth guy for at least his four years of his rookie contract. 

  • It's been often said - perhaps originally attributed to Ozzie Newsome - that you can't grade a draft class until it has finished it's third NFL season. Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    Rd 1, #26 overall: CB Greg Newsome, Northwestern. Newsome has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He had a solid rookie season, but by his third season was supplanted as the #2 corner by Martin Emerson Jr. Still, in the NFL today, being the nickel back is pretty much a starting gig. Browns have picked up his fifth year option. 

    Rd 2, #52 overall: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, Notre Dame. JOK has been everything Berry wanted and more. After struggling to contain Lamar Jackson the season before (including the infamous Lamar shit his pants on national television, goes to the locker room to clean up, then comes back and beats the Browns game) the Browns were on the lookout for an athletic outside linebacker to mirror Jackson. They got their man. He's even been better than expected in the run game, taking on blockers much bigger than him better than expected. The star of this draft class.

    Rd 3, #91 overall: WR Anthony Schwartz, Auburn. Another want in this draft was speed in the WR room. Schwartz definitely gave the Browns that, but that was literally it. A track player who was still relatively new to football, he played like it. Was cut during training camp before the 2023 season. Had a grand total of 14 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown. Nominally on the Miami Dolphins roster.

    Rd 4, #110 overall: OT James Hudson, Cincinnati. Hudson has been a decent backup/depth guy in his three years with the Browns, starting 14 games total. Doesn't appear that he is going to move forward from that though, unlikely the Browns consider him as a future starting tackle.

    Rd 4, #132 overall: DT Tommy Togiai, THE Ohio State University. A stout, fire hydrant of a DTackle in college, he was quickly exposed as a 'tweener' in the NFL. Not big enough to be a stout 2 gap guy, not athletic enough to be a disruptive one-gao fella. Released during training camp in 2023, moved on to the Atlanta Falcons. 

    Rd 5, #153 overall: LB Tony Fields, West Virginia. Solid depth/special teams guy. Spot starter who is still with the Browns. Good pick for the spot.

    Rd 5, #169 overall: S Richard LeCounte, Georgia. Played his rookie season with Browns, released during his second season. Played with LA Rams and Tampa Bay after.

    Rd 6, #211 overall: RB/WR Demetric Felton, UCLA. Flashed during his rookie preseason, many Browns fans were excited that a late draft gem had been unearthed, but he was the proverbial "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" guy. Like Schwartz and Togiai, made it through two seasons with the Browns, but was cut during training camp prior to the 2023 season.

    Best Player: As said above, Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah has been everything the Browns hoped he would be when they traded up to snag him. In fact, Ohio State is recruiting his younger brother as we speak. 

    Biggest Disappointment: Easily Anthony Schwartz. That was a big swing and a miss.

    Overall Draft Assessment and Grade: At the end of the day, Berry was able to nab two defensive starters and two decent backups/depth guys. He obviously didn't knock this one out of the park, but all and all, pretty productive. I'll give it a B-. 

    @dutch-oven said:

    It's been often said - perhaps originally attributed to Ozzie Newsome - that you can't grade a draft class until it has finished it's third NFL season. Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    Rd 1, #26 overall: CB Greg Newsome, Northwestern. Newsome has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He had a solid rookie season, but by his third season was supplanted as the #2 corner by Martin Emerson Jr. Still, in the NFL today, being the nickel back is pretty much a starting gig. Browns have picked up his fifth year option. 

    Nothing I can really even nitpick here Dutch.  The Newsome - Emerson situation started to unfold when Newsome missed some starts to injury in Emerson's rookie year in 2022.  What jumped out at our defensive coaching staff that year was how well Emerson could press WRs at the line of scrimmage with that 6-2 201 pound frame.  Consequently, the coaching staff didn't want to take him off press coverage so Newsome was moved to the covering the slot off the line of scrimmage (LOS) for the rest of 2022.  Newsome wasn't happy about it; but he kept a good attitude and a professional approach for us.  The next year (2023) Emerson was still press covering while Newsome got his chances to cover WRs on the LOS whenever Denzel Ward couldn't suit up.  As we saw, Emerson on occasion started developing some of those Joey Porter Jr holding tendencies (unless he always had them and I just didn't notice - also possible).  For the most part, those 2 guys are both solid.  If we drafted Newsome in upper round 1, I might bellyache here and there about him a little more. All that said, he's pretty freakin good covering the slot for us.

  • It's been often said - perhaps originally attributed to Ozzie Newsome - that you can't grade a draft class until it has finished it's third NFL season. Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    Rd 1, #26 overall: CB Greg Newsome, Northwestern. Newsome has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He had a solid rookie season, but by his third season was supplanted as the #2 corner by Martin Emerson Jr. Still, in the NFL today, being the nickel back is pretty much a starting gig. Browns have picked up his fifth year option. 

    Rd 2, #52 overall: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, Notre Dame. JOK has been everything Berry wanted and more. After struggling to contain Lamar Jackson the season before (including the infamous Lamar shit his pants on national television, goes to the locker room to clean up, then comes back and beats the Browns game) the Browns were on the lookout for an athletic outside linebacker to mirror Jackson. They got their man. He's even been better than expected in the run game, taking on blockers much bigger than him better than expected. The star of this draft class.

    Rd 3, #91 overall: WR Anthony Schwartz, Auburn. Another want in this draft was speed in the WR room. Schwartz definitely gave the Browns that, but that was literally it. A track player who was still relatively new to football, he played like it. Was cut during training camp before the 2023 season. Had a grand total of 14 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown. Nominally on the Miami Dolphins roster.

    Rd 4, #110 overall: OT James Hudson, Cincinnati. Hudson has been a decent backup/depth guy in his three years with the Browns, starting 14 games total. Doesn't appear that he is going to move forward from that though, unlikely the Browns consider him as a future starting tackle.

    Rd 4, #132 overall: DT Tommy Togiai, THE Ohio State University. A stout, fire hydrant of a DTackle in college, he was quickly exposed as a 'tweener' in the NFL. Not big enough to be a stout 2 gap guy, not athletic enough to be a disruptive one-gao fella. Released during training camp in 2023, moved on to the Atlanta Falcons. 

    Rd 5, #153 overall: LB Tony Fields, West Virginia. Solid depth/special teams guy. Spot starter who is still with the Browns. Good pick for the spot.

    Rd 5, #169 overall: S Richard LeCounte, Georgia. Played his rookie season with Browns, released during his second season. Played with LA Rams and Tampa Bay after.

    Rd 6, #211 overall: RB/WR Demetric Felton, UCLA. Flashed during his rookie preseason, many Browns fans were excited that a late draft gem had been unearthed, but he was the proverbial "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" guy. Like Schwartz and Togiai, made it through two seasons with the Browns, but was cut during training camp prior to the 2023 season.

    Best Player: As said above, Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah has been everything the Browns hoped he would be when they traded up to snag him. In fact, Ohio State is recruiting his younger brother as we speak. 

    Biggest Disappointment: Easily Anthony Schwartz. That was a big swing and a miss.

    Overall Draft Assessment and Grade: At the end of the day, Berry was able to nab two defensive starters and two decent backups/depth guys. He obviously didn't knock this one out of the park, but all and all, pretty productive. I'll give it a B-. 

    @dutch-oven said:

    Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    You pretty much nailed it on everybody.

    Newsome is not fast enough.  He chases guys to the end zone but has no hope of ever catching up to any of them.  But he's not terrible or anything.  I'd keep him around until I could find someone better.

    The NFL was too brutal for Schwartz.  Every hit looked like would cripple him.  And he didn't catch the ball well.  Probably partly because he knew he'd get tackled and possibly get broken.

    I never liked Felton.  Too small to be a RB and not fast enough to be anything else.  Hunt was a much better pass catching RB than Felton.  I always wanted him replaced on the roster by a real WR.  

    JOK has been good! 

    Hudson isn't too good but he's not terrible.  He's had to step in and man positions for us many a time.  I want an upgrade on him...but I appreciate the help that he's been to us.  Pretty much the same for Fields.  I mean, you've gotta have backups...and these two have fit the bill.

    ...nice thread...

  • @dutch-oven said:

    Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    You pretty much nailed it on everybody.

    Newsome is not fast enough.  He chases guys to the end zone but has no hope of ever catching up to any of them.  But he's not terrible or anything.  I'd keep him around until I could find someone better.

    The NFL was too brutal for Schwartz.  Every hit looked like would cripple him.  And he didn't catch the ball well.  Probably partly because he knew he'd get tackled and possibly get broken.

    I never liked Felton.  Too small to be a RB and not fast enough to be anything else.  Hunt was a much better pass catching RB than Felton.  I always wanted him replaced on the roster by a real WR.  

    JOK has been good! 

    Hudson isn't too good but he's not terrible.  He's had to step in and man positions for us many a time.  I want an upgrade on him...but I appreciate the help that he's been to us.  Pretty much the same for Fields.  I mean, you've gotta have backups...and these two have fit the bill.

    ...nice thread...

    @orion said:

    You pretty much nailed it on everybody.

    Newsome is not fast enough.  He chases guys to the end zone but has no hope of ever catching up to any of them.  But he's not terrible or anything.  I'd keep him around until I could find someone better.

    The NFL was too brutal for Schwartz.  Every hit looked like would cripple him.  And he didn't catch the ball well.  Probably partly because he knew he'd get tackled and possibly get broken.

    I never liked Felton.  Too small to be a RB and not fast enough to be anything else.  Hunt was a much better pass catching RB than Felton.  I always wanted him replaced on the roster by a real WR.  

    JOK has been good! 

    Hudson isn't too good but he's not terrible.  He's had to step in and man positions for us many a time.  I want an upgrade on him...but I appreciate the help that he's been to us.  Pretty much the same for Fields.  I mean, you've gotta have backups...and these too have fit the bill.

    ...nice thread...

    Yep. Newsome is a nice guy to have on the roster, but probably not someone you give a big contract to when his rookie deal ends. 

    A good, not great late first round pick. 

  • @orion said:

    You pretty much nailed it on everybody.

    Newsome is not fast enough.  He chases guys to the end zone but has no hope of ever catching up to any of them.  But he's not terrible or anything.  I'd keep him around until I could find someone better.

    The NFL was too brutal for Schwartz.  Every hit looked like would cripple him.  And he didn't catch the ball well.  Probably partly because he knew he'd get tackled and possibly get broken.

    I never liked Felton.  Too small to be a RB and not fast enough to be anything else.  Hunt was a much better pass catching RB than Felton.  I always wanted him replaced on the roster by a real WR.  

    JOK has been good! 

    Hudson isn't too good but he's not terrible.  He's had to step in and man positions for us many a time.  I want an upgrade on him...but I appreciate the help that he's been to us.  Pretty much the same for Fields.  I mean, you've gotta have backups...and these too have fit the bill.

    ...nice thread...

    Yep. Newsome is a nice guy to have on the roster, but probably not someone you give a big contract to when his rookie deal ends. 

    A good, not great late first round pick. 

    @dutch-oven said:

    A good, not great late first round pick.

    I think his main goal in the NFL is to do his stupid little dance move.  Like when a receiver he's covering drops a pass.

  • @dutch-oven said:

    A good, not great late first round pick.

    I think his main goal in the NFL is to do his stupid little dance move.  Like when a receiver he's covering drops a pass.

    @orion said:

    I think his main goal in the NFL is to do his stupid little dance move.  Like when a receiver he's covering drops a pass.

    ? Yeah, let's hope he changes our minds a little bit this year because the schedule doesn't look easy at all.  Every now he'll make a play like the 34 yard pick 6 he had in the 4th quarter of our comeback win at Baltimore.  Consistency will be on trial here.  His biggest competition might just be his college teammate Cameron Mitchell that the Browns drafted in round 5 last year.  Stay tuned...

  • @dutch-oven said:

    A good, not great late first round pick.

    I think his main goal in the NFL is to do his stupid little dance move.  Like when a receiver he's covering drops a pass.

    2024 potential final Camp Cut for each team

    The one I noticed on that list is from the 2022 draft.  DeMarvin Leal, as perhaps only predicted by Berry and @tiamat63, has not solidified himself as deserving of a roster spot in PIT.  Can't say a whole lot more for Alex Wright, of course, but it's the 3rd round, and not many defensive players after Wright in the 2022 draft are worth talking about other than Nakobe Dean who is at least a starter.

    @orion said:

    I think his main goal in the NFL is to do his stupid little dance move. 

    Nothing more infuriating last year than K.McCord's bad pregame dancing at OSU. Him leaving is the #1 example of addition by subtraction.

  • Good write up. I’d say the ‘21 draft was in the grade B/C range.

    Newsome has been goodish and has amazing hair. JOK simply does things on a football field most other guys can’t. 

    Schwartz and Togiai didn’t work out. Fields and Felton gave us about what we expected. I don’t even remember LeCounte but it’s a real shame he didn’t work out because a badass ball hawking safety named “LeCounte” could have been the inspiration for a lot of weird french vampire football memes. Like a highlight of him snaring an interception with a superimposed vampire cape and “I want to suck your balls” as the caption. 

    For the sake of footnotes l looked up the UDFA rookies we signed in 2021. 

    RB Tre Harbison

    DE Romeo McKnight

    DT Marvin Wilson

    CB Emmanuel Rugamba

    CB Kiondre Thomas

    Here’s an article on them. 

    https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/05/cleveland-browns-2021-undrafted-rookie-free-agent-tracker-live-updates.html?outputType=amp

    Yep. No one very memorable. Did any of them even get in to a game? I remember rooting for Manny Ragamba since he was a Miami guy. He apparently went on to play in the CFL, and has the distinction of being the first Rwandan to sign to a NFL team.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Rugamba

  • It's been often said - perhaps originally attributed to Ozzie Newsome - that you can't grade a draft class until it has finished it's third NFL season. Well, let's take a look at how the 2021 Browns draft has done so far.

    Rd 1, #26 overall: CB Greg Newsome, Northwestern. Newsome has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He had a solid rookie season, but by his third season was supplanted as the #2 corner by Martin Emerson Jr. Still, in the NFL today, being the nickel back is pretty much a starting gig. Browns have picked up his fifth year option. 

    Rd 2, #52 overall: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, Notre Dame. JOK has been everything Berry wanted and more. After struggling to contain Lamar Jackson the season before (including the infamous Lamar shit his pants on national television, goes to the locker room to clean up, then comes back and beats the Browns game) the Browns were on the lookout for an athletic outside linebacker to mirror Jackson. They got their man. He's even been better than expected in the run game, taking on blockers much bigger than him better than expected. The star of this draft class.

    Rd 3, #91 overall: WR Anthony Schwartz, Auburn. Another want in this draft was speed in the WR room. Schwartz definitely gave the Browns that, but that was literally it. A track player who was still relatively new to football, he played like it. Was cut during training camp before the 2023 season. Had a grand total of 14 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown. Nominally on the Miami Dolphins roster.

    Rd 4, #110 overall: OT James Hudson, Cincinnati. Hudson has been a decent backup/depth guy in his three years with the Browns, starting 14 games total. Doesn't appear that he is going to move forward from that though, unlikely the Browns consider him as a future starting tackle.

    Rd 4, #132 overall: DT Tommy Togiai, THE Ohio State University. A stout, fire hydrant of a DTackle in college, he was quickly exposed as a 'tweener' in the NFL. Not big enough to be a stout 2 gap guy, not athletic enough to be a disruptive one-gao fella. Released during training camp in 2023, moved on to the Atlanta Falcons. 

    Rd 5, #153 overall: LB Tony Fields, West Virginia. Solid depth/special teams guy. Spot starter who is still with the Browns. Good pick for the spot.

    Rd 5, #169 overall: S Richard LeCounte, Georgia. Played his rookie season with Browns, released during his second season. Played with LA Rams and Tampa Bay after.

    Rd 6, #211 overall: RB/WR Demetric Felton, UCLA. Flashed during his rookie preseason, many Browns fans were excited that a late draft gem had been unearthed, but he was the proverbial "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" guy. Like Schwartz and Togiai, made it through two seasons with the Browns, but was cut during training camp prior to the 2023 season.

    Best Player: As said above, Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah has been everything the Browns hoped he would be when they traded up to snag him. In fact, Ohio State is recruiting his younger brother as we speak. 

    Biggest Disappointment: Easily Anthony Schwartz. That was a big swing and a miss.

    Overall Draft Assessment and Grade: At the end of the day, Berry was able to nab two defensive starters and two decent backups/depth guys. He obviously didn't knock this one out of the park, but all and all, pretty productive. I'll give it a B-. 

    @dutch-oven said:

    Rd 6, #211 overall: RB/WR Demetric Felton, UCLA. Flashed during his rookie preseason, many Browns fans were excited that a late draft gem had been unearthed, but he was the proverbial "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" guy. Like Schwartz and Togiai, made it through two seasons with the Browns, but was cut during training camp prior to the 2023 season.

    I never cared for him.  Too slight to be a RB.  But he made up for that by not being very fast (4.58 - 40).  You'd think that a guy his size would need to be pretty fast to get drafted.  I was confused by the pick but thought, Well, it IS a 6th round pick after all.   

    They always listed him as a RB....but his being on the roster affected the WR's because he was used as one.  If he lined up in the backfield, you knew that he would go in motion to one side or the other pre-snap.  I always felt that they should dump him and sign somebody who IS a WR.

  • C+/B- works for me.

    I have always felt that if you can draft 2 starting type players, you get a passing grade.  We have that in Newsome and Jok.  Both players are good to very good.  Hudson is OK, but not what i would call a starting type play, nor is Fields, but he has his role.