One day after capping off a strong two-day start to the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns came back on Day Three and added some really solid players to their group, adding to a great rebuild.
On Day 3, Cleveland added Houston cornerback Howard Wilson with the 126th overall pick before adding Florida State tackle Roderick Johnson with the 160th pick.
At No. 185 overall, Cleveland added Florida defensive tackle Caleb Brantley before then adding Arizona State kicker Zane Gonzalez (224th overall) and North Carolina State running back Matt Dayes with the 252nd overall pick, rounding out a strong draft for the Dawg Pound.
Wilson is a cornerback with tons of upside and great ball skills, but he’s a bit thin for the position and needs to add bulk. However, the Browns did a great job of trading up for him.
Johnson is a bit of a bad pick for me, considering Johnson was supposed to be a first-round pick coming into the year before then falling flat on his face in his final season with the Seminoles. He has all the tools to develop into a really good tackle at the next level, but the big question with his regards the mental process. How great does he want to be?
Outside of Johnson, the most controversial pick of the draft for the Browns was the selection of Brantley, who was recently involved in an altercation with a women, whom he reportedly knocked out and caused dental damage.
I personally wouldn’t have touched him, but it makes sense for the Browns to take a shot on a guy who was supposed to be a late-first, early-second pick prior to the incident. If he’s cleared in the incident and puts it all together on the field, Cleveland just got a massive steal for Gregg Williams and his 4-3 defense moving forward.
Gonzalez was the best kicker in the draft and should win the job over Cody Parkey, giving the Browns a consistent kicker who set the career mark for field goals made at ASU, while Dayes might have had the best vision in the running back class this year. He joins a crowded running back room with Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson, but he’s a great depth pickup for the Browns in the seventh round.
Overall, I think the Browns nailed this draft. This was a much better job of getting high-end talent compared to last season. Plus, the Browns have two first-round picks in the 2018 NFL draft.
