Connect with us

Browns

Browns Add 9 Players in Day 3 of NFL Draft; Get to Know the New Faces

The Cleveland Browns continued to wheel and deal on Day 3 of the 2016 NFL Draft, sending one of their fourth-round picks to the Oakland Raiders for a 4th and 5th-rounder in return.

Howver, the Browns did use the top pick in the fourth round (No. 99 overall,) to add OLB Joe Schoebert from Wisconsin.

Schoebert 6’1″, 244 pounds, was projected by some draft analysts to go as high as the second round. He was named second-team All-American by USA Today and the Associated Press, as well as the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and first-team All-Conference. He finished among the nation’s leaders in sacks (9.5) and tackles for loss (19.5), displaying the strength and motor to earn a spot in the NFL.

They call him “Joe the Show,” and the show is coming to the Dawg Pound.

Later on in the fourth round, the Browns selected WR Ricardo Louis with the 114th overall pick, out of Auburn.

The pick was acquired from their trade with the Raiders.

Louis, 6’2″, 215 pounds, offers a bit more size than most of the Browns receiver corps, ran a 4.43 forty-yard dash, and put up impressive numbers in his senior year at Auburn, catching 46 passes for 716 receiving yards, scoring three receiving touchdowns. He also ran for 158 rushing yards on the season and scored one touchdown on the ground.

The Browns’ third selection in the fourth round came via a trade with the Carolina Panthers, and Cleveland selected FS Derrick Kindred with the 129th overall pick out of Texas Christian University.

Cleveland lost free safety Tayshaun Gipson to free-agency and cut strong safety Donte Whitner in the months leading up to the draft, which may account for the some of the reasons why the new regime felt it necessary to add Kindred.

Kindred, 5’10”, 207 pounds, was a first-team All-Big 12 defensive back with 87 tackles, 3.5 for loss, two interceptions and three pass breakups in his senior year. He also flourished as a junior, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition.

After the 2015 Alamo Bowl, Kindred’s last game of his college career, the safety revealed that he broke his collarbone three days before the 2015 season started, but he decided to play through it.

Browns fans can appreciate that toughness.

The Browns’ fourth and final pick of Round 4 was a bit of an outside the box pick, as Cleveland selected TE Seth DeValve out of Princeton with the 138th overall pick.

It was a compensatory draft pick.

DeValve, 6’4″, 245 pounds, became the earliest player selected from Princeton in the modern NFL era.

He caught 33 passes for 337 yards and a touchdown in his senior year, and finished his college career ranked 10th all-time at Princeton in receptions (122) and 13th in receiving yards (1336).

The Browns added yet another receiver in the fifth round, selecting WR Jordan Payton out of UCLA with the 154th overall pick, which they acquired from the Raiders.

Payton, 6’1″, 207 pounds, finished his career as the UCLA record-holder for career receptions, grabbing 201 passes in his four years with the Bruins.

Payton didn’t take long to make an impact with the Bruins, starting four times as a true freshman (18-202, one TD in 13 games) and 10 times as a sophomore (38-440, one TD). He led the team with 67 catches for 957 yards and seven touchdowns in his second year as a starter in 2014, and upped his game even more last fall with 78 catches, 1,105 receiving yards, and five touchdowns.

He was a two-time honorable mention All Pac-12 selection.

The Browns used their next fifth-round pick (168th overall), which they acquired from the Panthers, on OG Spencer Drango, out of Baylor.

Drango, 6’6″, 315 pounds, started all four years at Baylor. He was a 2014 consensus and 2015 unanimous All-American and first-team all-conference pick.

He helped block for Baylor’s dominant rushing game, which finished third in the nation in rushing yards in 2015.

Four picks later, the Browns chose a wide receiver again. Cleveland selected Rashard Higgins out of Colorado State with the 172nd overall pick.

It was a compensatory pick.

Higgins, 6’1″, 196 pounds, was Colorado State’s all-time leader in receptions (239), receiving yards (3,649) and receiving touchdowns (31).

He actually had his worst season in 2015 with a new offense and a new quarterback (75-1,062, 8 TD) but was still a first team All-Mountain West selection.

In 2014, Higgins was named to consensus All-American and first team all-conference honors with 96 catches (10th in the FBS) for a nation-leading 1,750 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The Browns used their fourth and final pick of the fifth round (173rd overall, compensatory pick) on DB Trey Caldwell, out of Louisiana-Monroe.

Caldwell, 5’9″, 186 pounds, made 143 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions in four seasons at Louisiana-Monroe and was named to the Sun Belt honorable mention team in 2014.

The Browns did not have a pick in the sixth round, and originally held the second pick of the seventh-round (223rd overall,) but opted to trade down one more time in the draft, swapping picks with the Dolphins, and moving to 29th in the round.

The Browns acquired CB Jamar Taylor from Miami in exchange.

With the 250th overall pick in the seventh round, the Browns chose LB Scooby Wright III out of Arizona.

Wright, 6’0″, 239 pounds, was a monster in 2014, winning the coveted triple crown of national awards: the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award and Chuck Bednarik Award. The unanimous All-American and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year ranked among the top five players in the country with 163 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and six forced fumbles.

His junior year was much more of a struggle than he expected, as he played just three games due first to a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee and then to a sprained right foot. His final game in a Wildcat uniform was one to remember, however, as he racked up 15 stops, 3.5 for loss and two sacks.

Those are the nine new faces added on Day 3 of the NFL Draft.

Matt Medley is co-editor at NEO Sports Insiders, covers the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians and high school sports in Northeast Ohio. Follow @MedleyHoops on Twitter for live updates from games.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 
Advertisement

Facebook

Archives

Categories

Show Your Team Spirit

NEO Sports Insiders Newsletter

Sign up to receive our NEOSI newsletter, and keep up to date with all the latest Cleveland sports news.

Recent Comments

Meta

More in Browns