With the 2020 NFL Draft in the books, we grade each pick made by the Cleveland Browns and take a look at how the team did as a whole.
Well, Cleveland Browns fans, the event we’ve all been waiting for (the 2020 NFL Draft) has already come and gone. After a busy offseason under a new regime, the draft was the team’s chance to really round out the roster, filling needs with talented young players that can contribute.
Under new general manager Andrew Berry, Chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta and with new head coach Kevin Stefanski, the Cleveland Browns have a new look, and a new outlook in the front office.
This new brain-trust comes mostly from Ivy League roots, relying heavily on analytics when evaluating players and making decisions. Berry came back to Cleveland after one season under Howie Roseman with the Philadelphia Eagles and Stefanski was brought in after many seasons as an offensive coach with the Minnesota Vikings. Both are rather successful organizations, especially compared to the Cleveland Browns in recent years.
The hope is that the group will be able to replicate that success in Cleveland, turning “The Mistake on the Lake” into a true winner. The last regime brought in a lot of talent, but the pieces didn’t quite fall into place for real success.
This offseason in free agency, the team signed a lot of players that should fit well, both in the locker room and on the field. The team addressed needs by adding players like right tackle Jack Conklin, tight end Austin Hooper, back-up veteran quarterback Case Keenum, safeties Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo, defensive tackle Andrew Billings, slot corner Kevin Johnson and veteran defensive end Adrian Clayborn.
This group of additions are very solid players on the field and should be great leaders for the younger players on the roster. Most of them signed one-year deals, however, so the success needs to come quickly.
The 2020 NFL Draft was the last big chance that the team had to really make a big swing to improve the roster. With the pressure on the organization to win right now, the front office had to balance that ability for prospects to contribute right away with how they can grow and what they can become with some time in the future.
I think the Cleveland Browns did a very good job in the 2020 NFL Draft, and I will go into detail grading each pick they made to form an overall grade for the team’s draft. The team made some trades, added some more draft capital (both this year and next) and brought in some very talented players, starting with their first-round selection.
Draft Grade: A
The first round need for the Cleveland Browns in the 2020 NFL Draft was clear. They needed to land a starting left tackle. GM Andrew Berry went out and did just that with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Despite many rumblings about the Cleveland Browns possibly trading down in the first round and acquiring more draft picks, but the way things played out, Jedrick Wills Jr. was still on the board, making it a no-brainer.
The Cleveland Browns had to be delightfully surprised that Wills was still on the board at pick 10. Many evaluators viewed Wills as the top offensive line prospect atop a very impressive class at the position. Even though he played right tackle at Alabama, Wills will be the starting left tackle for the Cleveland Browns from day one.
Wills played right tackle because he would then protect the blindside of his left-handed quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, not because he was unable to play on the left side. He was the best true pass protector in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Using a combination of great vision and awareness, powerful hands and core, and sound footwork and hand placement, Wills displayed some incredibly effective and consistent pass-block sets. He certainly has the footwork to play left tackle and should be able to protect Baker Mayfield’s blindside very well for the Cleveland Browns.
As a part of head coach Kevin Stefanski’s zone run game, Wills has the movement ability desired, backed up by an impressive 5.05 40-yard dash time at the combine. Wills can be a real people mover in the run game, using those strong hands and powerful base to lock in and drive defenders back or turn them against their will to open up rushing lanes.
Overall, this was a home run pick for Berry, Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns. Jedrick Wills Jr. was one of the safest and solid prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft with a very high floor, but still possessing a sky-high ceiling.
An A+ pick for me would have been a guy like Georgia’s Andrew Thomas who has experience on the left side. While the transition to the left side will be a bit of a challenge, it isn’t anything Wills can’t handle. With Thomas off the board, this was the clear choice for the Browns and they made the smart decision to take him.
Draft Grade: B
After addressing their biggest team need in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft with a tackle, the Cleveland Browns went with arguably their second biggest need, a safety, in round two. The Browns ultimately drafted LSU safety Grant Delpit, but not before trading down a few spots.
The Indianapolis Colts sent the Cleveland Browns the 160th pick in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft to move up from pick 44 to pick 41 in the second round to select Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor.
With the 44th pick, the Browns drafted a guy that was once viewed as a first-round lock and was voted “The Best Defensive Back in College Football” as the recipient of the Jim Thorpe Award. Grant Delpit certainly has the talent and potential to become a great NFL safety but will have to clean up his game in a couple of areas.
Delpit played through a high ankle sprain in 2019, likely playing a big role in his drop off from his 2018 tape to his play this past season. But the big flaw in his game is legitimate: He struggles to tackle, particularly in open space.
Although he is a very powerful hitter when playing downhill, his technique and ability to break down and make a tackle is suspect. Delpit shows that he is capable of being a solid tackler, he just has to be more focused, consistent and maybe healthy to be the tackler he has to be at the next level.
In zone coverage, Delpit has great instincts. He can play a single-high or two-deep zone safety with the ability to roam the field and make big plays. He can come up around the line of scrimmage and bang in the run game or be physical in man coverage against tight ends.
But even in coverage, Delpit is not a sure thing. He seemed to struggle in man coverage against faster receivers and as a single-high safety to cover the whole deep portion of the field. That lack of ability to keep up with high-end speed, especially in 2019 may have been caused by his ankle sprain, but he will have to prove that he is healthy and fully effective coming into the NFL.
After no safeties were selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns had the ability to go get any of them that they preferred. In my mind, making sure that they got Xavier McKinney via a trade-up was the smartest move.
Instead, the Cleveland Browns let the board come to them at 41, allowing Delpit and Antoine Winfield Jr. of Minnesota to be available to them at 41, as well as 44 after their trade back. McKinney was option one and Winfield was option two in my mind, so Delpit isn’t quite an A grade for me.
The other options available combined with the slight flaws in his game drop Delpit’s grade from what his promise and potential could make it. I say “B” when averaging everything out, grabbing a very talented player nonetheless.
Draft Grade: C
Heading into the third round, and even late in the second, I was begging the Cleveland Browns to trade up and take Wyoming linebacker Logan Wilson. After the departure of Joe Schobert in free agency, the linebacker position seemed to be the logical position of choice for this selection.
Without moving up, Wilson came off the board to begin round three, making him no longer an option at pick 74. But who was there? Zack Baun of Wisconsin, who many evaluators had as a first or early second-round pick.
The fit was a bit of a question in a 4-3 defense, as Baun excels both as a pass rusher and as an off-the-ball linebacker, but clearly the New Orleans Saints thought he would work out well, as they traded up to the Browns spot at 74 to select him. They say they plan to play him as an off-ball linebacker, the biggest need for the Browns at that point in the draft.
The Cleveland Browns opted to trade back and allow Baun to head to New Orleans, then targeting a linebacker with their next third-round pick just nine selections later (we’ll talk about that next). With the 88th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Browns went with an interior defensive lineman, Jordan Elliott from Missouri.
Elliott is a fairly raw player but shows great flashes of ability to get into the backfield. He is a very versatile lineman who can play in multiple spots on the defensive front. At 6-foot-4, just over 300 lbs, and with over 32-inch arms and over 10-inch hands, Elliott has the desired size to play in the NFL.
The Missouri City, Texas product played, coincidentally, at both Texas and Missouri in his college career. After not getting much run as a freshman at Texas, Elliott transferred to Missouri and was productive in his two seasons there, totaling 68 tackles, 16.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks and four pass deflections.
Using his length to his advantage, Elliott keeps blockers at bay and can throw them to the side to make a tackle. At times, he looks like an edge rusher on the inside, exhibiting solid explosion and great bend by guards and centers into the backfield.
While the interior defensive line was not a big need, Elliott is a great fit as a bit of developmental project who can contribute in spurts early, but really sit and learn, growing into his future role. With incumbent starters Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson returning, as well as the addition of former Bengals tackle Andrew Billings, Elliott should not feel the pressure to contribute heavily right away.
I would have liked to see the Cleveland Browns add a player at a position of need that would contribute a bit more right away the high in the 2020 NFL Draft, but Elliott’s potential cannot be ignored. Overall, I give it a “C” grade, primarily based on the other options available both before and after the trade, but Elliott is a fine player that should play a major role down the road.
Draft Grade: B+
There was an LSU linebacker taken in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft taken by the division rival Baltimore Ravens. But the Cleveland Browns selected an LSU linebacker that had 87 more career total tackles and 37 more solo tackles.
These two players, Patrick Queen and Jacob Phillips, both helped lead their team to a National Championship in 2019, but are very different prospects. Phillips has been much more solid and reliable throughout his career, while Queen came on strong in 2019.
Even in 2019, however, Phillips totaled 28 more total tackles and eight more solo tackles than Queen, totaling 113 tackles, 56 solo and 7.5 for loss.
While Queen is the more athletic, big-play oriented prospect with higher NFL upside, Phillips is a very sound and reliable tackler in the middle of the defense. Phillips has been paired, now, with two first-round picks (Devin White who was drafted by the Buccaneers last year) and has still been incredibly productive and a staple on the field for the Tigers defense.
Phillips is rather unspectacular but solid across the board, excelling as a sure-handed tackler in the run game. Sounds a little like the former Cleveland Browns linebacker that he will be trying to replace in Joe Schobert.
Whether it’s him covering a zone, competing with tight ends in man, taking on blockers in the run game or blitzing the passer on third down, Phillips does what he’s supposed to do and does it well. He does lack the athleticism and upside of Queen and some other linebacker prospects, but he is a very serviceable and reliable player.
That bit of disparity between Phillips and other linebackers available to the Cleveland Browns brings this grade to a “B+”. Malik Harrison also went to those rival Ravens, just one pick after Cleveland went with Phillips, and I think he was a better option.
But otherwise, Phillips is a very solid pick at a clear position of need for the Cleveland Browns. The 2020 NFL Draft third-round pick will compete with veteran B.J. Goodson and 2019 picks Mack Wilson and Sione Takitaki for playing time at linebacker in 2020.
Draft Grade: B
I wasn’t in love with this pick when it was made by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but the more I think about it, it grows on me more and more. For this pick, I am putting full trust in head coach Kevin Stefanski to find the best way to utilize the talents of Harrison Bryant.
Although he’s listed as a tight end, Harrison Bryant spent most of his time split out into the slot, detached from the line at Florida Atlantic. As a senior, Bryant racked up 1,004 receiving yards on 65 catches, including seven touchdowns, earning him the John Mackey Award as the best tight end in the nation.
Obviously, spending so much time split out wide, Bryant isn’t an overly effective in-line blocker. However, he is willing and relatively capable as a blocker on the end of the line, and especially out in space. The Cleveland Browns brought in Austin Hooper in free agent who can be the true two-way number one tight end when it comes to blocking and receiving, leaving Bryant to play a different hybrid role.
I’m not quite sure what this selection means for the future of former first-round pick David Njoku, but assuming he is still in the fold, Bryant can be a bit of a TE3/WR3, slot hybrid player. Well… maybe fourth wide receiver given a later pick, but nonetheless, Bryant should be a weapon out of the slot, just like he was at Florida Atlantic.
There were some better options out there at the tight end position, in my opinion, both as a true in-line end as well as a slot weapon. But Harrison Bryant is a solid player with the potential to fill both down the road and should be utilized creatively by tight end-loving Kevin Stefanski.
Draft Grade: A
This is one of my favorite players in the 2020 NFL Draft and one of my favorite picks for the Cleveland Browns. Nick Harris was a very solid center for the Washington Huskies, who also saw some time at guard, where he could potentially compete for a starting job as a fifth-round pick.
Harris is rather small for an NFL offensive lineman (6-foot-1, 302 lbs, 32-inch arms, 9 3/4-inch hands) but he proved that he can hold his own against high-level competition and is the perfect fit for Kevin Stefanski’s offense.
The one thing that Harris does the best as a blocker is the one thing that Stefanski asks the most out of his interior lineman, and that is the ability to move. Harris is impressive as a puller, getting out in space on screens and getting down the field on run plays. He is very effective at locating his target and delivering a powerful, sustained blow.
Now, Harris does struggle at times against power and overwhelming size, but Stefanski’s scheme should be creative enough to put Harris in a position to succeed. And if he ends up at right guard, being sandwiched between J.C. Tretter and Jack Conklin will certainly help.
While Harris was a full-time center for Washington in 2018 and 2019, Harris started 15 games at right guard for the Huskies in his first two seasons. The fit at guard might not be the most natural right away, but Harris is a perfect scheme fit for what the Cleveland Browns will be doing on offense and could be a true steal in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Draft Grade: A
Michigan’s Donovan Peoples-Jones actually had some first-round buzz coming out of a very impressive showing at the 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Combine. After watching more tape and looking at his production on the box score, however, teams passed and passed and passed on Peoples-Jones, as he fell to the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round.
Athletically, Peoples-Jones (DPJ) is about as gifted as they come. He has great size (6-foot-2, 212 lbs, 33-inch arms and over 10-inch hands) and his athletic ability shows up both on tape and in his combine results. DPJ had an incredible 44.5-inch vertical jump at the combine, and he excels playing “above the rim” out on the field.
Using that leaping ability to his advantage, DPJ is an outstanding jump ball, 50/50 receiver. And at Michigan, that’s about all the passes he got. He was severely underutilized and often missed by throws at Michigan and will surely benefit from having an NFL quarterback delivering dimes to him.
The lack of production wasn’t all on the quarterback, though. Peoples-Jones is not a nuanced route runner, primarily running fades out of the slot to get those favorable 50/50 match-ups. He will need to develop a more diverse route tree at the next level, but he typically gets a good release off the line to create space to make a play.
Donovan Peoples-Jones is exactly the type of player you want to target in the sixth round of the draft. Maybe not the most productive player in college with some imperfections in his game, but the tools and potential to mold into something great.
I thought I was lower on Peoples-Jones than most when I ranked him WR18. But in a stacked 2020 NFL Draft wide receiver class, DPJ was one that fell and should prove to be a steal in the sixth round by the Cleveland Browns.
A Round 1: Jedrick Wills Jr., OT, Alabama
B Round 2: Grant Delpit, S, LSU
C Round 3: Jordan Elliott, DT, Missouri
B+ Round 3: Jacob Phillips, LB, LSU
B Round 4: Harrison Bryant, TE, Florida Atlantic
A Round 5: Nick Harris, C/G, Washington
A Round 6: Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR, Michigan
Overall Grade: A-
Overall, I think this was a fantastic 2020 NFL Draft for the Cleveland Browns. From start to finish, general manager Andrew Berry, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, head coach Kevin Stefanski and the entire Cleveland Browns front office efficiently navigated the draft, taking the best player on the board when needed, trading back when appropriate and grabbing talented players to fill the team’s needs.
It seems that pretty much every player that the team brought in is a very good scheme fit for what the Cleveland Browns plan to do in 2020 and beyond. All seven players should be a starter for this team. If not this year, certainly within the next couple of seasons.
Beginning with a potential perennial Pro Bowl tackle, onto a gifted, potential All-Pro safety. A versatile defensive lineman with great upside, and a rock-solid middle linebacker in the third round. A dynamic weapon in the slot or at tight end, a starting-caliber interior offensive lineman who is a perfect scheme fit for the Browns offense, all the way down to a physically gifted wideout with a sky-high ceiling. The Cleveland Browns added a plethora of playmakers.
Especially when you just look at the players that the Cleveland Browns drafted, and not necessarily who else was available at that spot, the Browns drafted some darn good players. Through that lens, this draft is top-notch, earning a very respectable “A-” grade.
Given the ghosts of Cleveland Browns drafts past, I’m sure all Browns fans would be very happy with an A- and the players that they were able to secure in this draft. Oh, not to mention, the Browns also picked up an additional third-rounder for next year, giving them an extra third, fourth and fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
At NFL Mocks we’ll be diving into that draft before you know it! And we all hope that we will have football back to us right on time this Fall!