Draft thoughts (Rounds 4-7)

After watching Andrew Berry slog through the final five rounds of the seven-round National Football League college draft this weekend, it became obvious he was quite satisfied with his team prior to that exercise.

With one eye on 2022 and the other on 2023, the Browns' general manager entered the weekend with seven selections beginning with round two and somehow emerged with nine overall picks after trading his second-rounder and beginning at the top of the third round, maneuvered deftly while picking up an additional fourth-round pick next year..

Along the way, he picked up a cornerback, edge rusher and wide receiver on day two and followed up with six selections in four rounds on day three Saturday, leaning heavily on players from Oklahoma University.

Berry filled gaps at defensive tackle with Perrion Winfrey, placekicker with Cade York, running back with Jerome Ford, wide receiver with Michael Woods II, defensive end with Isaiah Thomas and center with Dawson Deaton. Winfrey, Woods and Thomas played with the Sooners last season.

Berry's biggest get, perhaps of the club's entire draft class, was Winfrey, a loquacious, boastful and extremely confident young man who endeared himself to the Cleveland media with an entertaining self introduction via Zoom during which he all but crowned himself as a starter in his rookie season.

"I'm gonna give it my all on and off the field," said Winfrey, who sees himself playing next to Browns All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett. "On another level, I look to the left of me and I've got nine-five (Garrett's uniform number) right there. It's over with. Every third down, every second down, every first down. We're gonna get that ball. I'm telling you."

Projected as a second-rounder, Winfrey said he would use this draft slight as a motivational tool. "To be honest, I needed this," he said. "This is a wake-up call. This gave me all the fuel and all the fire I needed to come into the league and dominate. So I would not change a thing."

Winfrey, whose motor rarely misfires on the field, provided the perfect answer as to why he was there for the Browns in the fourth. "Because the Lord saw fit for me to be there today," he said. "I am a dawg now. I can't complain." 

It's obvious he is all bark. Now it's time to see if there is any bite backing it up. All he has to do is play as well as he boasts.  

The addition of York, selected shortly after Winfrey, ostensibly solidifies a recurring problem that has plagued the Browns for the last 10 seasons, or shortly after Phil Dawson was cut loose.

In recent years, they drafted Zane Gonzalez and Austin Seibert, only to drop them quickly for a a variety  of reasons that had to do with accuracy. Both have gone on to be successful with other clubs. Berry was determined to fix that.

York is said to have the strongest leg in college football. In his career at LSU, he hit on 15 of 19 attempts from 50 or more yards. Very impressive. But he has never kicked in Cleveland, where capricious weather off Lake Erie has stumped many kickers in the last decade. Strangely, York has never kicked off for LSU.

The other picks Saturday are destined for either special teams or the practice squad with no one sticking out to the point where they will become significant contributors this season. 

Ford, for example, comes with nice credentials, but there is no way he sees the field behind Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, D'Ernest Johnson and Demetric Felton. Woods joins fellow draft pick David Bell (third round) with no hope of cracking the top 53 unless it's on special teams.

Doubling up on edge rushers with Thomas' selection to go with third-rounder Alex Wright pretty much strongly suggests Berry and Jadeveon Clowney should rekindle the possibility of the veteran playing for the same team in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2017-2018 with Houston. He is needed now more than ever. I see one of the rookies landing on the practice squad and the other on special teams.

Deaton, a tall (6-6) center from Texas Tech, will not win the starting job to replace JC Tretter, That battle will be between veterans Nick Harris and Ethan Pocic, which means Deaton most likely will also wind up on the practice squad.

I know he was only a very late seventh-round pick, but I can't figure out why Deaton was the preferred choice over Penn State offensive tackle Rasheed Walker, who was more highly rated (obviously not by the Browns) and projected for the third round. He was taken later by Green Bay.

If you're looking for a surprise, the Browns did not draft a tight end, Shocking, I know. It means one of two things: Head coach Kevin Stefanski will fall out of love with tight ends now that Deshaun Watson is his quarterback; or Berry really screwed up when he thought he heard Stefanski say there's no need to tighten the roster.

Saturday's grade: B- (because it will produce two starters)

Overall grade: C

Sunday: Wrapping it all up.