Cleveland Browns NFL Draft Live Blog (Day 2) – Rumors, Picks, and More

All the latest news, rumors, and nuggets you need to know on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft for the Cleveland Browns.

Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft is tonight at 7:00 PM, and the Cleveland Browns are scheduled to have picks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

We will have all of your Browns-related coverage on the draft here at Dawgs By Nature throughout the weekend. This thread will act as a “live blog,” with updates about the latest small rumors, picks, or trades involving Cleveland or other NFL teams. You should also use the comments section as your NFL Draft open thread! (Newest updates will be at the top of the live blog below)

Browns NFL Draft Live Blog

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1:15 PM: Potential drama brewing in Las Vegas? Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline is reporting that major changes might be coming for the Raiders after the team used its first-round selection Thursday night on Alabama offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood.

According to Pauline:

Word in league circles is a major shake-up in the Las Vegas Raiders’ front office will be coming soon after the draft and significant heads are expected to roll. The pick of Alex Leatherwood in the middle of Round 1 last night, a player they could have traded down and selected, is opening a lot of wounds and seems to be the final straw. Additionally, I’m also hearing about a lot of friction between major players in their front office.

If true, you would have to guess that it is general manager Mike Mayock who is in trouble, given that head coach Jon Gruden is in possession of a 10-year contract, despite only being four games over .500 as an NFL head coach.

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11:30 AM: Building off of my last post, for the up-close experiences that I didn’t have, I’m thankful that ShockerBrown continues to help fill in the gaps for us! He and his family will have fairly close access to the stage for Day 2 of the draft, and that meant going to the Huntington Convention Center this morning to verify their vaccination cards and score some personal protection packs.

It is raining again right now and could get quite windy this afternoon, but the forecast is calling for a little bit of sunshine to emerge this evening.

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11:20 AM: A little bit about my experience last night in Downtown Cleveland. The weather was a letdown, of course — as many of you have followed, I’ve tried documenting the city’s lead-up to the draft, and was hoping to do something similar for the draft itself. I was hoping to camp out with my laptop and provide live updates too.

It rained for much of the morning, but DBN member ShockerBrown did a great job providing some snapshots from the NFL Draft Experience. Around 4:00 PM, the forecast looked like it was clearing up, so I packed up some of my equipment and headed Downtown. Then it started to rain again. I ventured on over to Rascal House to wait out the rain and grab a quick bite to eat, before heading down to this spot around 7:00 PM.

Before the draft started, I went down to Mall C (where the picnic tables are in the picture above), but the vantage point of the stage wasn’t the best.

The big debate, then, was whether to head down to the NFL Draft Experience area to see if there was a better view. Of course, if you were one of the fully vaccinated fans who secured a ticket, you would’ve had a fantastic view and immersed experience:

I don’t think the fans in the regular NFL Draft Experience area would have gotten quite the same view; and I saw some pictures online that showed a lot of fans crowding together (which is great!). But, my fully vaccinated date isn’t until May 5th, and it’s one of those things where I think to myself, “Ugh, I’ve avoided crowds for so damn long and am so close to reaching this level of protection” — so I decided to stay atop the Huntington Convention Center, where there were maybe about 10 other fans hanging out.

I still got a nice birds eye view the whole night. And it was one of those things where I could physically see and enjoy the experience, but my phone does not handle pictures or videos too well at night time. That is where I hope to go down to the NFL Fan Experience area on Saturday afternoon, when it’s expected to be in the mid-60s, sunny, and a much better time to take pictures and videos during the day.

Anyway, back to the draft itself. It was fun hearing the Jaguars’ first overall pick, even though we all knew it would be QB Trevor Lawrence. I did sorely miss updating the live blog, an annual tradition I have done religiously for so many years, but major props to Thomas Moore for stepping in to cover all of the action.

One small benefit of standing where I did was that I could run down occasionally to look at the Terminal Tower effects. Sadly, early on, it was too foggy to really make anything out.

As it got darker, though, the fog started to clear a bit, and you could see the tower in its glory. It’s also worth noting that team colors appeared on FirstEnergy Stadium too, as well as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

When the Browns’ pick was about to happen, I wanted to catch an up-close shot of Terminal Tower with Cleveland projected on it. Based on how other picks had been going, I figured I’d have enough time to do a light job back up to the top of the Huntington Convention Center.

I got my shots in, as well as a couple of quick selfies. Sadly, the selfie shots (with the lights) suck even worse at night. And, I was in such a rush that I didn’t realize I left my hood up, covering up my Browns hat. Nonetheless, I still got my picture. Sure, the lead-in photo to this Day 2 live blog is wayyyyyy better (from @ErikDrost). However, I always take value in seeing something in-person, to have that memory, to say “I was there” in some way. So this was that.

I started hurrying back toward the Huntington Convention Center. I could hear the speakers in the distance, and I swear I heard Roger Goodell’s voice. Now I started an almost dead sprint up the stairs. I got back just in time — about five seconds later, it was, “With the 26th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, for the Cleveland Browns, Gregory Newsome II.”

And lastly, I posted my live reaction after the pick. In hindsight, it is something I wish I had done more of — posted video commentary as the draft was going along, giving my reaction to other teams’ picks and what I thought the Browns should do — but it was still fine.

Thanks to everyone who has enjoyed our content. I hope we at DBN can always collectively give you a unique perspective on all things Browns-related.

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10:35 AM: GM Andrew Berry and the Browns always seem to be PFF darlings. Per Mike Renner, the Browns’ selection of CB Greg Newsome II was one of the best fits from round one of the draft.

Specifically, Renner says “Newsome’s tape this past season was as good as any corner in the class, but it was only six games. He didn’t allow a single touchdown all season and only allowed five first downs in his coverage. To get that type of lock-down performance 17 picks after Patrick Surtain is excellent value.”

As for ideal Day 2 targets for each team in the NFL, PFF singled out LB Nick Bolton and the fit he would be if the Browns were able to land him:

Bolton isn’t nearly the same level of athlete as fellow linebackers in this class like Micah Parsons or Jamin Davis. He plays the linebacker position like it’s supposed to be played, though. His instincts, processing and downhill play are all among the best in this class. Bolton would help solidify a position that doesn’t have much clarity heading into next season.

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10:20 AM: In case you missed it, this was the moment that CB Greg Newsome II got the call to learn he was being drafted by the Browns:

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10:10 AM: Here are the Top 20 players remaining on the DBN Browns Big Board. Remember that this is from our pre-draft big board, so even though a player like OT Asante Samuel might still look attractive, there is no need for Cleveland to take him now, since the team selected CB Greg Newsome II in the first round.

I think the Browns should still draft a defensive prospect if they can, but since they have the 27th pick of the day, a lot of the top names like EDGE Azeez Ojulari and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are bound to be off the board. Cleveland does have a couple of third round picks, if they want to use one of them to try to move up a little bit in round two.

DT Christian Barmore and Owusu-Koramoah were actually the top two players on rufio’s personal big board, and he explained why here.

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9:45 AM: Good morning, Browns fans, and welcome to Day 2 of the NFL Draft! If you missed any of our Day 1 coverage, our entire live blog had tons of fun content. We pick up the fun today, but let’s get you primed with the basics: the picks that Cleveland has.

• 2nd Round: #59 overall (27th pick in the round)
• 3rd Round: #89 overall (25h pick in the round)
• 3rd Round: #91 overall (27th pick in the round)

Teams will have 7 minutes to make their pick in the 2nd round, and 5 minutes to make their pick in the 3rd round.