Starting and finishing

There is an old saying in sports that rings true most of the time. Goes like this: It's not how you start that counts; it's how you finish.

Let's examine that with regard to how the Browns fared in the college draft that concluded Saturday as the City of Cleveland did a masterful job of showing itself off to a national television audience on three major television networks.

The Browns, whose brilliant offseason captured the imagination of the National Football League universe and boosted them into championship conversation this season, got off to a sensational start in the first two rounds, taking cornerback Greg Newsome II and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah off the board.

Both young men will be making vital contributions to that side of the football for a long time, injecting a dimension that has not been seen in Seal Brown and Orange for a long time. Combined with the offseason acquisitions, the Browns will field at least eight players on defense who did not suit up for them last season.

Well-deserved kudos poured in from around the league and all points of the media map as General Manager Andrew Berry artfully applied the finishing touches to what can only be described as an almost total remake of the defensive side of the ball.

After those two picks, the Browns are now in position from a roster and talent standpoint to be considered legitimate contenders to play football well into early 2022. No longer is the Super Bowl a dream, a fantasy. With this roster, it has become a reality.

Unfortunately, the draft is a seven-round exercise that all teams -- save perhaps the Seattle Seahawks, who seem to shun it like the plague -- participate in. It meant Berry took six more swings (five on Saturday)  and came up wanting. Those chosen are nowhere close to matching the quality of the first two selections.

In order, he took Auburn wide receiver Anthony Schwartz in round three Friday night; University of Cincinnati offensive tackle James Hudson and Ohio State defensive tackle Tommy Togiai in round four; West Virginia inside linebacker Tony Fields II and Georgia strong safety Richard LeCounte in round five; and UCLA running back Demetric Felton in round six.  

Newsome and JOK are plug-in starters. Newsome will partner with Denzel Ward; JOK will bounce between linebacker and most likely strong safety depending on the situation on a full-time basis. None of the other six are even close to starting or, in many cases, making major contributions.

Berry appeared to lose his magic touch on day three following his blunder with the speedy Schwartz in the third round Friday night. If you want speed,  Schwartz is your man. If you want production, look elsewhere. He will be, at best, a very limited part-time player.

He does get props, however, for his self confidence. "I take a lot of pride every time I touch the ball," he told the Cleveland media Friday night. "I want to score and it doesn't matter how I'm going to do it. I am either going to run through you . . . run around you or I'm just going to burn you." Can you say rude awakening?

As for the other five choices, the only one with a shot at more than minimal contributions is Togiai, the ex-Buckeye who will be given the opportunity to provide relief for interior defensive linemen. Hudson, Fields, LeCounte and Felton are nothing more than training camp fodder with an opportunity for a few to contribute on special teams.

At the time they were selected, other higher-rated players were eschewed by Berry and his staff. Hudson, for example, was lower ranked than 6-8, 320-pound Tommy Doyle of Miami of Ohio and Iowa's Alaric Jackson, an All-Big Ten first-teamer at 6-5, 320. One cannot go wrong with selecting an Iowa offensive linemen.Defensive linemen, too.

In the same round, Berry ignored another Hawkeye, higher-ranked defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon when he selected Togiai. Nixon went a round later to Carolina.

Round five produced Fields and LeCounte. Unless the Browns decide to cut returnees Mack Wilson, Sione Takitaki, Malcolm Smith or Jacob Phillips loose, Fields' best shot is special teams. The linebackers room -- don't forget defensive coordinator Joe Woods generally plays just two linebackers in his 4-2-5 base -- is getting awfully crowded.

Berry can correct the Fields pick by signing Alabama's Dylan Moses, who went undrafted. (This just in: Too late on Moses, who signed with Jacksonville. But the Browns did sign Florida State defensive tackle Marvin Wilson.)

LeCounte joins an equally crowded secondary. Berry ignored higher-ranked Hamsah Nasirildeen of Florida State, who at 6-3, 215 pounds dwarfs the 5-11, 195-pound LeCounte. A torn ACL limited him to only two games last season. The New York Jets grabbed him at the top of round six.

Berry silently signaled his satisfaction with the pass rush by ignoring edge rushers. Jonathan Cooper of Ohio State and Miami of Florida's Quincy Roche were still available. By selecting Felton, he apparently is looking for some competition for D'Ernest Johnson. 

This annual exercise is all a matter of judgment of course. Those who selected these young men do it for a living. They are challenged every year to unearth that gem in the later rounds. The sixth-round Tom Bradys of the NFL draft world.

Every year, I look for that late-round surprise who just might be that guy, that burst-through player who plays well above his drafted slot. Donovan Peoples-Jones, for example, was a sixth-rounder who surprised last season with his clutch performance, He stepped right in and flourished after Odell Beckham Jr. tore up his knee.

I don't see anyone like that this year. Togiai on the surface appears to be the closest. Nixon would have been even better had he been Berry's choice.

The final grade will be divided into two parts. The first two picks and the last eight. They were so diametrically different.

The first two selections without question were dynamite. I can't put enough plusses next to the A.

Everything else is a disappointing fail. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two fail to make the final roster. Awarding a C- is being extremely generous.

The finish wasn't nearly as strong as the start. Overall grade: C+.