Browns make a lot more moves in Saturday’s NFL Draft
CLEVELAND (AP / WJW) — The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books. If it felt like the Cleveland Browns didn’t have much to do, you’re not completely wrong as they didn’t have any picks in Round 1 or 4, but by Saturday, the team was finally able to start making more moves.
See their selections below:
SATURDAY
For the 156th pick of the draft, the Browns selected WR Jamari Thrash who played at Louisville his final year in college. Prior to that he was at Georgia.
The Browns had to wait a bit more to get to Round 6. They made the 206th overall pick with LB Nathaniel Watson, who had six seasons at Mississippi State.
For the 227th overall pick, the Browns picked CB Myles Harden out of South Dakota. He was with his college team for four seasons.
For the team’s final pick of the draft, the Browns selected defensive lineman Jowon Briggs, who played with Cincinnati, No. 243 overall.
ROUNDS/PICKS
Round 1: Thursday, April 25, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.
– No picks for Browns
Rounds 2-3: Friday, April 16, from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.
– No. 54 overall for Browns in Round 2
– No. 85 overall for Browns in Round 3
Rounds 4-7: Saturday, April 27, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
– No. 156 overall for Browns in Round 5
– No. 206 overall for Browns in Round 6
– No. 227 overall for Browns in Round 7
– No. 243 overall for Browns in Round 7
FRIDAY
After sitting around on Day One, the Cleveland Browns finally made picks in Rounds 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft Friday night.
Defensive Tackle Michael Hall Jr., who played for Ohio State University, will be joining the Browns. He also played high school football in Streetsboro.
He was the No. 54 pick overall.
In the 2nd round, #Browns take Streetsboro native and #OhioState DT Mike Hall with the 54th overall pick.
Local kid staying in Northeast Ohio. Love to see it.@fox8news #Dawgpound— John Sabol (@John_Sabol) April 27, 2024
Hall played 28 games at Ohio State, starting in 11 of them. The 20-year-old had 45 career tackles.
https://twitter.com/PJFOX8/status/1784025047742456155
During a media conference, Hall said staying in Northeast Ohio is the “greatest feeling in the world.”
Browns Assistant General Manager Glenn Cook called Hall a “shape shifter,” saying the team likes his ability to attack the quarterback and that his play matches their defensive style.
“Twenty minutes before the pick, the phone kept ringing, but it really came down to the talent,” Cook said.
Cleveland Brown Denzel Ward took to X, formerly known as Twitter, after the announcement, saying, “Great addition in Mike Hall for the @Browns! You can’t go wrong with Buckeyes!”
In Round 3, the Browns picked guard Zak Zinter from the University of Michigan.
He was the No. 85 pick overall.
#Browns take Michigan Guard Zak Zinter with the 85th overall pick (3rd rd)@fox8news
— John Sabol (@John_Sabol) April 27, 2024
Browns General Manager Andrew Berry told reporters that he felt good about Zinter’s medicals, a broken fibula and tibia, and he should be ready to go by the spring.
*****
The NFL draft used to be a major event in Cleveland, viewed as a springtime Super Bowl for a team that’s never been to one.
There was a buzz. It’s gone.
The Cleveland Browns‘ franchise-shifting trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson two years ago has once again made the three-day draft almost an afterthought.
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Like fans across the league, the Browns watched as players got picked on Day One again.
For the third straight year, Cleveland is without a first-round pick after shipping three of them along with a handful of late-round selections to the Houston Texas in 2022 for Watson, who has yet to deliver a championship or even a playoff win.
Watson’s two seasons with the Browns have been, well, incomplete.
He’s played in just 12 games because of a league suspension and right shoulder injury, and there’s no way to predict if he’ll ever get back to Pro Bowl form, though he showed positive signs before getting hurt last season.
The team’s massive investment into Watson affects every move the Browns make, and its reverberations are felt strongest on draft weekend.
As part of the blockbuster deal, Cleveland dealt its first- and fourth-round picks in 2024 to Houston for Watson, meaning the team’s first selection won’t be until the second round at No. 54 and they currently have just two picks in the first 150.
They’ll next pick at No. 85 (third round) but not again until No. 156 (fifth round), a 71-player gap that will test the limits of general manager Andrew Berry’s patience.
His track record is not to sit still.
“You guys probably know me well enough that we can always be moving around,” Berry told reporters at the owner’s meetings.
Berry recently traded fifth- and sixth-round picks to Denver for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, whose arrival lessens the likelihood the Browns will use No. 54 — or move up — to get another playmaker for Watson.
However, that doesn’t mean Berry won’t consider it.
Everything is on the table for the Browns as they head into a make-or-break season, and owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam have green-lighted their front office to do whatever it feels necessary to make the team better.
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NEEDS
Linebacker has been a somewhat neglected spot for the Browns, who had the league’s top-rated defense last season before a dreadful showing in a playoff loss to Houston.
The team’s decision not to re-sign signal-caller Anthony Walker Jr. or Sione Takitaki has created a substantial void in experience and leadership. The Browns signed free agent Jordan Hicks to a two-year deal, but he’ll be 32 in June and there’s not enough depth to withstand the inevitable injuries.
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