2023 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns pick DT Siaki Ika at No. 98

With the 98th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected DT Siaki Ika (6-4, 357 lbs) from Baylor. He is the second of the team’s two third-round picks; they took WR Cedric Tillman earlier in the night with the 74th pick. The 98th pick was given to Cleveland as a compensatory pick due to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah being hired by the Minnesota Vikings as their general manager in 2022.

Scouting Reports

Here is a scouting report from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who had Ika as his 8th-ranked defensive tackle on his board, a projected 2nd- or 3rd-round pick, and the No. 71 player overall in the entire draft:

A two-year starter at Baylor, Ika lined up at nose tackle in head coach Dave Aranda’s hybrid 3-3-5 base scheme, playing multiple techniques (1, 2i, 3) on the interior. After winning a national championship at LSU as a freshman, he followed Aranda to Baylor and earned All-Big 12 honors each of the last two seasons. Ika plays with the power, awareness and joint flexibility to press blockers off his frame and find the football versus the run.

For a player his size, he is light-footed with the short-area explosiveness and hand usage to defeat blocks, however, his best flashes can be found on the 2021 tape and he struggled to make backfield plays in 2022 (partly because of his role). Ika is a nimble, disruptive big man with stout, powerful traits, but all of his impressive parts don’t consistently add up to impact plays. He is a toolsy size prospect with a high floor as an early down NFL nose while also flashing the ability to be more.

How He Fits the Browns

The Browns were sorely lacking at defensive tackle last year, and did not retain Taven Bryan. We’ve also seen years of third- or fourth-round defensive tackles who haven’t quite panned out yet, like Jordan Elliott, Tommy Togiai, and Perrion Winfrey. Nonetheless, I’m still in favor of them trying again, and he’ll get a chance to potentially start alongside newly-signed DT Dalvin Tomlinson. Defensive tackle was the top position that Browns fans wanted addressed in our Reacts poll, and Ika was one of the few players still remaining on the DBN Big Board.

React Now

What do you think, Browns fans?