Your Cleveland Browns draft picks are a head-scratcher
Cleveland, we just went through an entire draft weekend, and if you’re anything like me, you’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened. The word "confused" doesn't quite cover it. The Cleveland Browns picked Michael Hall Jr. out of Ohio State in the second round and then followed up with Zak Zinter, the offensive guard from Michigan, in the third. I saw some folks down on West 6th Street at Barley House giving each other looks like they just saw a ghost. We know our offensive line needs bolstering, absolutely, but some of these choices felt… unexpected, like a West Side Market vendor selling sushi instead of pierogies.
Hall Jr. brings some interior defensive line depth, which we do need after last season. He’s quick, got good burst, and could be a disruptive force. Zinter, on the other hand, is a mauler, a guy who could plug into that interior offensive line and bring some nastiness. You know, give us that old-school Cleveland grit we love to see. But after that? The Cleveland Browns went for Nathaniel Watson, a linebacker from Mississippi State, in the fourth round, and then jumped on a couple of defensive backs in Myles Harden from South Dakota and Cameron Mitchell from Northwestern. It’s like the front office had a shopping list, tossed it in Lake Erie, and just picked things out of the water.
The mood in Cleveland? It’s not euphoria, that’s for sure. It’s more like a collective "wait and see." We’ve been here before, haven’t we? This city, these fans, we’ve learned to temper our expectations, to live in the reality of what’s in front of us. We love our Cleveland Browns, but we also know what we’re watching. My one-word grade for this draft class? **Puzzling.**
From the East Side to the Dawg Pound — Cleveland, we don't quit.
Terrence Okafor, MiTL Sports Desk.
You know Kevin and the crew will be breaking this all down on the morning show, don't miss it at mornings.live.