Bye week and 1st quarter review: Browns 2023 NFL draft

There are generally a few times during an NFL season that reviewing a team’s offseason makes a lot of sense. For the Cleveland Browns, two of those overlap this week with the team’s bye week and the first quarter of the season (we are ignoring the mathematics involved with a 17-game season).

We start with the Browns NFL draft class from this year. With no selection before pick #74 due to the Deshaun Watson and Elijah Moore trades, GM Andrew Berry really focused on the future needs of the team with his seven selections.

Very little was expected of the draft class this year and that is mostly what the team has gotten so far:

WR Cedric Tillman - 3rd Round

• 4 games
• 45 snaps on offense
• 3 targets
• 1 reception
• 5 yards

DT Siaki Ika - 3rd Round

• Inactive for all four games

OL Dawand Jones - 4th Round

• 4 games
• 273 snaps on offense
• PFF grades: 55.5 overall, 71.5 pass blocking, 41.4 run blocking

DE Isaiah McGuire - 4th Round

• Inactive for all four games

QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson - 5th Round

• 2 games
• 1 start
• 19 of 36, 52.8% completion
• 121 yards
• 3 INTs
• 4 rushing attempts
• 24 yards

CB Cameron Mitchell - 5th Round

• 4 games
• 52 snaps on defense
• 76 snaps on special teams
• 3 tackles
• PFF grades: 43.8 overall, 44.2 tackler, 52.7 coverage

OL Luke Wypler - 6th Round

• Inactive for all four games

Overall, about what was expected from this group. Jones is only seeing time due to Jack Conklin’s injury. Ika got squeezed out when the team signed Shelby Harris while Tillman has a few players ahead of him on offense as well.

For the first four games, Cleveland’s draft does not look good. Given what appropriate expectations were when the draft happened, we will see what they look like at the halfway mark and end of the season.

What do you think of the draft class as of right now? Expectations for the future?