The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
No. 1 pick Newsome ready to jump from Northwestern
How excited is Greg Newsome II to play for the Browns after being selected with the 26th pick in the first round on April 29?
Newsome was at Browns headquarters in Berea less than 24 hours latter to meet with Executive Vice President of Football Operations Andrew Berry and some of his new coaches. He spent some time on Zoom with media covering the team then met with other coaches before the Browns brass got to work making picks on Day 2 of the NFL draft.
“Before I got drafted to Cleveland, I always knew that the Dawg Pound was it, but after I got drafted and I see the support from the fans, it’s just amazing,” Newsome said. “I’m honestly ready right now. I wish we could play a game right now.”
Newsome is 6-foot, 192 pounds.
“Greg is one of the guys we targeted throughout the draft process,” Berry said. “He fits our profile for the Cleveland Browns. He’s a great physical talent. He fits the spartan, tough, accountable profile we want out of our players.”
Newsome turns 21 on May 18. He was the fourth cornerback off the board after the Panthers took Jaycee Horn of South Carolina eighth, the Broncos took Patrick Surtain II of Alabama ninth and the Titans took Caleb Farley of Virginia Tech 22nd.
As far as Newsome is concerned, the Panthers, Broncos and Titans blew it.
“I still hold myself at a high standard,” Newsome said. “I still believe I’m the best cornerback in the draft. Cleveland picked me for a reason. God put me in this place to go to Cleveland.
“I’m just ready to give it my all to Cleveland every single day. You know that fan base. I just can’t wait to get to Cleveland and get to work.”
Newsome played a total of 17 games over three seasons at Northwestern. He had only one interception in his career with the Wildcats.
He missed eight games in 2018 with an ankle injury. He missed three games in 2019 and three in 2020. Berry said he is not concerned about the injuries being a lingering problem.
Newsome knows he has to show he can make interceptions.
“A lot of people say my hands are bricks, which is not true at all,” Newsome said.
“I’m going to tell you, I can catch the football. I had a bunch of picks in high school, but for some reason, I just wasn’t getting them in college. I’m going to turn that around.”
Newsome is the third key addition to the Browns’ secondary this offseason. They signed safety John Johnson III and cornerback Troy Hill in the offseason.
There are concerns about Greedy Williams because the cornerback drafted in 2019 has not fully recovered from a shoulder injury suffered in training camp last summer.
“From our perspective, cornerback is a group where we want to be deep and we want to have a lot of guys who can cover,” Berry said. “I think we saw the value of having really good cover corners last year, and that’s an area where we want to be deep over time. That has no reflection whatsoever on Greedy’s recovery or our faith in him.”
Still, Newsome is expected to compete with Williams for the starting job at right cornerback. Williams missed four games in 2019 with a hamstring injury and all of 2020 with the shoulder injury. Williams was a second-round draft choice by former Browns general manager John Dorsey two years ago.