As with most fanbases, fans of the Cleveland Browns are busy looking forward. While the recent history provides a glimmer of hope, looking back has often been painful for the team, players, organization and fans.
The hope is that the Browns have turned the corner but they will have to prove it on the field.
The long-term extensions for Myles Garrett, Joel Bitonio, Nick Chubb, Wyatt Teller and Denzel Ward have locked up the core of the team for years to come. Deshaun Watson was given a new deal shortly after he was acquired as well.
With a lot of money tied up in some big contracts, Cleveland needs to hit on draft picks that are able to provide quality play on reasonable contracts.
Pro Football Focus did the looking back for us by taking a glimpse at the play of the 2021 draft classes. For the Browns, retaining their initial draft grade of an A+ only took their top two selections, Greg Newsome II and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah:
If you knock your first two picks out of the park each draft, you’ll have an elite roster. That’s precisely what the Browns did in 2021. Greg Newsome finished with the highest coverage grade (70.6) of any starting rookie outside cornerback, while Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah finished as the sixth-highest-graded linebacker in the NFL (76.5 overall).
Cleveland is one of three teams to receive an A+ from PFF right after the draft and maintain that grade after one season.
The rest of the team’s selections still have something to prove but it is rare that mid to late round picks are productive as rookies.
For now, Andrew Berry looks to have hit a home run with his second draft class. Now can Newsome, Koramoah and the rest of the team’s now-second year players take the next step and help the team compete for a Super Bowl? Time will tell.