Cleveland Browns: 2022 NFL Mock Draft after DeShaun Watson Trade

In case you haven’t heard, the Cleveland Browns did a thing on Friday. Out of no where, Andrew Berry and the Browns came back out to win the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, trading for the controversial quarterback from the Houston Texans, and signing him to a massive new contract.

To land the Pro Bowl quarterback, the Cleveland Browns gave up three first-round picks, a third-round pick next year and a fourth-rounder the following year. The Browns gave up just one pick in this year’s 2022 NFL Draft and no active players in the ground-breaking deal.

No longer possessing the 13th overall pick in this years draft, the Cleveland Browns will have to turn their focus to the second round and beyond to add more pieces to their young core that they are hoping will compete for a Super Bowl moving forward.

Here we take a look a one way that the 2022 NFL Draft could play out for Berry and the Cleveland Browns this April.

While everyone still views wide receiver has arguably the biggest need for the Cleveland Browns heading into the 2022 NFL Draft, adding some quality pieces to the defensive line, I would say, is even more important this offseason.

So far, general manager, Andrew Berry, and the Cleveland Browns front office have signed former first-round pick, Taven Bryan, to bolster their defensive line. But with Malik Jackson a free agent, the uncertainty of the future of Malik McDowell, the team will have to bring in some starting-caliber players for their interior defensive line.

In each of the past two drafts, the Cleveland Browns have drafted a defensive tackle. In 2020, the team used a third-round pick on former Missouri Tiger, Jordan Elliott. Last season, the Browns stayed in Ohio and selected former Ohio State Buckeye, Tommy Togiai, the fourth round. Neither player saw too many snaps in 2020, and both were graded very poorly by Pro Football Focus.

Bringing in a dominant player like Perrion Winfrey would provide the Cleveland Browns with a young staple to build around on the interior of the defensive line. Winfrey is a true three-down player who holds his own in the run game and excels as a pass rusher.

According to PFF, Winfrey is one of the best interior pass rushers in the nation with grade of 79.3, and rank him as a top-five defensive tackle in the 2022 NFL Draft. Adding that caliber of pass rusher to play right next to a guy like Myles Garrett would be huge for the defensive line and the team’s pass rush as a whole.

Winfrey needs to be more consistent with his anchor in the run game, which may cause him to not be selected in the first round like his ceiling would allow. But through his tape at Oklahoma and his super impressive performance at the Senior Bowl, he has shown that he can be an impact player early and often at the next level.