The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Corner help could be there at No. 26
The Browns do not have a glaring need at any position, but since “best player available” in the draft is subjective anyway, it would work well for them if, when their turn comes up April 29, the best available player happens to be a cornerback.
If the draft falls the way some analysts assemble their draft boards, cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. of Florida State and Jaycee Horn of South Carolina should still be waiting to hear their names called when Browns EVP of Football Operations Andrew Berry is on the clock. Teams get 10 minutes to make a pick in the first round.
The Browns have the 26th pick in the first round after finishing 11-5 and advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs in 2020. It is the latest “earned” first pick in team history. Each time they picked later than 26 their selection was acquired by trading down.
The latest-ever first pick by the Browns was the forgettable Beau Bell in 2008. Bell, a linebacker, was taken by former general manager Phil Savage with the fifth pick in the fourth round, choice 104 overall. The Browns had no picks in the first three rounds 13 years ago because Savage dealt them in separate trades for veterans in hopes of making a deep playoff run in 2008 after finishing 10-6 in 2007. Instead of making the playoffs, the Browns finished 4-12. Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel were fired.
The 2021 Browns are set up for sustained success better than the 2008 team was.
But adding depth at cornerback would make any team better.
Plus, the injury history of Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams suggests both cornerbacks will miss time this season. Ward missed three games as a rookie plus four in 2019 and four more last season.
Williams missed the first four games of his rookie season in 2019 with a hamstring injury and all of 2020 with a shoulder injury.
The Browns signed Troy Hill in free agency, but his best position is as a cornerback over the slot receiver.
Samuel is 5-foot-10, 180 pounds.
The NFL.com scouting report grades him at 6.24 of a possible eight, projecting him as “a good backup who
could become a starter.”
“Good body balance for sudden change of direction against intermediate routes,” the scouting report on Samuel says.
“Makes sure to feel the receiver before turning to find the football ... Doesn’t
get eyes on the quarterback often enough for coverage clues.”
NFL.com gives Horn, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, a higher grade than Samuel at 6.46, projecting Horn as a starter within two years.
“Horn can line up in
any cover scheme and often traveled with the opponent’s most talented target,” the scouting report on Horn says. “He plays with desired eye discipline from zone and the talent to impede release from press.
“Horn can play with solid technique. But he became too reliant on the college game’s tendency to allow mauling beyond five yards and that must be cleaned up moving forward.”
Berry has nine draft picks in his pocket this year — the seven belonging to the Browns plus an extra pick in the third round and an additional one in the fourth.
If he makes any trades, it would likely involve packaging the picks he has to move up a few slots in the first or second round to target a particular player.
The three-day draft takes place in Cleveland and runs runs April 29-May 1.