With the Cleveland Browns kicking off their 2022-2023 season against the Baker Mayfield-led Carolina Panthers, it feels like an opportune time to look back at the draft picks Cleveland made in the 2018 draft. Of the nine players drafted, only two players are still with the franchise.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?
2018 First-Round Draft Picks
Baker Mayfield (1st overall)
The Baker Mayfield experience was akin to the Millenium Force: a ton of build-up, some ups and downs, and over before you know it. Regardless of your expectations or thoughts on how Mayfield’s time came to an end, you have to appreciate the role he played in bringing Cleveland its first postseason win since the 1994-1995 season.
When the Deshaun Watson trade was announced in March, the writing was on the wall for Mayfield. It took until July, but the former first-overall pick was sent to Carolina and will face his former team in the first game of the season.
At the time of this writing, FanDuel Sportsbook Ohio has the Browns as 1.5-point underdogs for the season opener.
Denzel Ward (4th overall)
Denzel Ward was the second of the first-round selections and one of the only two players still remaining with Cleveland. Ironically, the Browns acquired that pick from the Houston Texans when they traded up to 12th overall to select Deshaun Watson in the 2017 draft.
If you thought Cleveland was going to be pinching pennies after shelling out $230 million guaranteed to Watson, you were wrong. The Browns gave Ward a five-year, $100 million extension which made him the highest-paid corner in league history.
2018 Second-Round Draft Picks
Austin Corbett (33rd overall)
We have our first true disappointment of the Browns’ 2018 draft. Corbett started just one game in his rookie year before being traded to the Rams in the middle of his second year for a fifth-round pick.
The former Nevada alum would then go on to start all 33 games for Los Angeles for the next two years and win a Super Bowl ring. Because of that, Corbett landed a 3-year, $26.2 million deal with…the Carolina Panthers.
Nick Chubb (35th overall)
Nick Chubb has a case to be made for the best pure running back in the game. Chubb has scored at least eight touchdowns all four years of his career and piled up three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
Better yet, Cleveland acquired this pick in the infamous Brock Osweiler trade. Thank you, Sashi.
2018 Third-Round Draft Pick
Chad Thomas (67th overall)
After the disappointment of Austin Corbett, we have our first flat-out bust. Chad Thomas started eight games in two years with the Browns, racked up 4 sacks, 26 total tackles, and was cut before his third year started.
2018 Day Three Picks
With Ward and Chubb being the only players left on the roster from the 2018 draft, you can use this next group of names when someone plays the “Name a Random Brown” game.
- Antonio Callaway was the only fourth-round pick for Cleveland. Falling in the draft because of several off-field issues, it was no surprise when the Browns waived him in the middle of his second season.
- Genard Avery has been a bit of a journeyman but at the very least he can say he’s still in the league unlike the names joining him on day three. Avery was traded to the Eagles for a fourth-round pick in 2019. He was surprisingly released by the Steelers but found a new home quickly in Tampa Bay.
- Damion Ratley and Simeon Thomas wrapped things up in the sixth for Cleveland. Ratley hung around for two seasons before being released heading into this third year and hasn’t been active for a game since 2020.
Simeon Thomas never even touched the field for the Browns. He was primarily a special teamer for Seattle in 2019 before getting hit with a four-game substance-abuse suspension.
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