PFF: Early and Late Browns NFL Draft Fits

A look at an early and late round draft pick that would fit the Cleveland Browns, according to one outlet.

Brandon Little | Feb 19, 2023

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Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have several needs ahead of this coming NFL Draft and really need to hit these picks to continue building their roster. Pro Football Focus released an interesting article that provides an early and late-round draft pick for each team.

For the Browns, it was defensive tackle Keeanu Benton out of Wisconsin as an early pick. Then, the Browns grabbed wideout, Charlie Jones, out of Purdue.

"The Browns have to get much better up front in the middle of their defense after finishing 2022 with a 38.2 team run-defense grade (29th) while giving up 0.005 expected points added per rush (29th). Benton is a strong run defender who has been getting better and better as a pass rusher — a perfect pick. Jones, one of the best route runners in the class, in the later rounds would give the Browns a reliable short-area slot receiver."

The Benton fit is seamless. Cleveland badly needs "dudes" in the middle of the defensive line and he could be just that. Benton is a big human being at 6-foot-4 and 318 pounds, he can play the nose and plug running lanes. That's what he does.

This past year at Wisconsin he had his best season getting after the passer with 4.5 sacks. Benton's strong suit is not rushing the passer, but he can provide a secondary punch after the quarterback.

Jones likely won't be in play for the Browns since he's 24 years old and plays the same role David Bell would in this offense. He's been a journeyman in college going from Buffalo to Iowa to Purdue. In his final year at Purdue, he broke out for 1,361 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. His best season previously was 395 receiving yards and three scores as a freshman with Buffalo.

Cleveland needs to add another wideout, but there will be better options out there in rounds four through seven. Grabbing Benton would be ideal in the second round.

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