2023 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns pick DE Isaiah McGuire at No. 126

The Cleveland Browns selected defensive end Isaiah McGuire from Missouri in the fourth round on Saturday, the No. 126 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The 6-foot-4 and 268-pound McGuire is the fourth selection by the Browns in this year’s draft.

A three-year starter for the Tigers, McGuire led Missouri in sacks in 2021 with six and again in 2022 with seven-and-a-half while picking up Second-Team All-SEC honors.

McGuire is the second defensive end added to the roster this offseason by general manager Andrew Berry, joining Ogbo Okoronkwo, who was signed in free agency. McGuire will work with second-year defensive end Alex Wright for backup snaps behind Myles Garrett and Okoronkwo.

In his draft preview at The Athletic, Dane Brugler wrote that McGuire was:

a hand-on-the-ground defensive end in defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s 4-2-5 base scheme, although he also reduced inside at times. He led the Tigers in sacks as a junior and senior and planted his flag as one of the best all-around defensive ends in the SEC with his 2022 season. McGuire is stout at the point of attack with the long arms and lateral quickness to defend multiple gaps. Although he isn’t sudden as a pass rusher, he has strong strides and body flexibility to wrap the outside shoulder of offensive tackles or create forceful knockback with his bull rush. Overall, McGuire needs further polishing to truly maximize his skill set, but he is long, agile and powerful enough to effectively leverage blockers and disrupt both the run and the pass. He is a scheme-diverse prospect and projects as a future NFL starter.

While the sack numbers look nice, McGuire had a tendency in college to freestyle a bit, which led to some massive run lanes opening up, according to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, so new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will need to get McGuire to tighten up on that part of his game.

What do you think of the selection, Browns fans?