The Browns get their kicker!
With the 124th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected K Cade York (6-1, 198 lbs) from LSU. He is the second of the team’s two fourth-round picks. Cleveland originally had No. 118 also heading into the day, but they traded that pick to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a fifth-round pick this year and a fourth-round pick in 2023.
Bayou ➡️ Cleveland
: Watch the #NFLDraft on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/31jawJy6ot
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 30, 2022
Scouting Reports
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had York as his top-ranked kicker on his board, and a projected 5th round pick. Unfortunately, Brugler doesn’t do write-ups for special teams players, so we’ll turn to DBN’s Barry Shuck, who profiled York prior to the draft:
Cade York is an exceptional kicker. In fact, in a list of the Top-250 players available for this year’s NFL draft, he is the only kicker listed. Kicks of 50-plus yards are his specialty. In warmups prior to last season’s SEC Championship Game, he nailed a 60-yarder. He beat Florida on a 57-yarder that was right down the center of the uprights.
We actually do have a little update from Brugler, courtesy of Zac Jackson of The Athletic:
Cade York, the draft’s best kicker@dpbrugler: Over the past 2 seasons, York converted 84.6% of his FG tries, including several high-tension kicks in the SEC. He also has outstanding distance with his leg, connecting on 78.9% (15-for-19) of his career FG attempts beyond 50 yds.
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) April 30, 2022
Cade York is my K1. Nice big leg and can boot 50+ yard FGs. Improve his deep accuracy every season. Won’t miss XP. Accuracy gets a bit wonky from the left hash. Money from inside 40 yards. #Browns #HallamAnalysis
— Shane P. Hallam (@ShanePHallam) April 30, 2022
Pro Football Focus graded the pick as “poor,” but not because of his ability — they just feel the fourth round is too early to take one.
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How He Fits the Browns
Although K Chase McLaughlin started last season well, he faded as the year went on. Meanwhile, in Cincinnati, we got to see Evan McPherson morph into the next Justin Tucker. Clutch kickers have become an essential component of winning in the AFC North, and the position has not been a strength for Cleveland since the departure of Phil Dawson many years ago. There’s no guarantee that York will be great, but it was definitely the type of move Cleveland needed to take a shot at. This is what I want to see in a meaningful November game in Cleveland:
Cade York can even kick game winners in the fog pic.twitter.com/LQDgKHxt91
— Andrew Berry (@notbrownsgm) April 30, 2022
React Now
What do you think, Browns fans?
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