The Pick Is In! This series is coming to a close as we bring you the last few teams in our series. If you’re unsure what this series is… You will see members from our Draft Team play GM and select a pick for an NFL team. In some articles we’ll have a special guest write a pick too! You’ll see plenty of first-round selections but a good dose of day two and three picks as well. We hope you enjoy this series! The clock is ticking as the Cleveland Browns are on the clock…

Matthew Townsend

The Pick Is In: David Ojabo EDGE – Michigan (44th Overall)

After going all in with the Deshaun Watson trade, the Browns find themselves moving from the middle tier of teams to the top tier of teams. Legal issues aside, Watson makes the Browns much better than Baker Mayfield ever could. Having that safety cushion at QB allows for teams to make different sorts of moves in the draft, mainly taking bigger risks. Risks like acquiring a player who because of non-football issues is going to slide much later than they should. I would argue that of the players that would be available at that 44th pick, none would be better than David Ojabo.

Now, why is a player this talented available at 44? Of course for Ojabo, that answer is the brutal Achilles tear he suffered at his pro day. Make no mistake, Achilles tears are notoriously brutal to come back from, but if he can return to full form, he will change this Browns defense in a big way. He was one of my favorite prospects to watch in the draft, with his toolset of rush moves constantly being added to throughout the season. He is also a freakish athlete, with 9.35 RAS out of 10, putting him in the top 7% of edge rushers athletically. That’s the scary part of his injury; Achilles issues have a tendency to sap athleticism, but he is young enough that he should be able to make a full recovery. If he does, he’ll be a menace in this league. Ojabo was a top 15 player for me in the pre-combine process.

David Ojabo’s dip and bend 🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/lMcFmpN5Sd

— Damian Parson (@DP_NFL) January 3, 2022

The most enticing part of his profile is the unbelievable room for growth he has. Being born in Nigeria and spending the better part of his formative years in Scotland meant that he didn’t pick up football until he was in high school. This led to him constantly evolving throughout his college career, seemingly improving every single game. You would expect such a raw prospect with the tools he has to be a one-note speed rusher, however he has a bountiful toolset that he deploys carefully and meticulously. His pure speed rush is indeed very strong, but he has multiple counters to that rush, along with counters to those counters. Spins, hesitations and stutter steps are thrown in constantly to mess with the blockers’ timing and keep them off balance. 

David Ojabo’s pass rush skills are INSANE pic.twitter.com/FhuK2IBo8p

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) January 27, 2022

Ojabo’s work ethic is also tremendous, as you’d expect with such a meteoric rise. He worked his butt off to get to where he is now. He won the scout team player of the year award in 2019, showing that he’s willing to put the work in to get better — something that will serve him well during his recovery. This work ethic shows up on the field too, where he has a fantastic motor, and combined with his athleticism leads to him tracking down tons of plays from the back side. All of this speaks to him being a lead-by-example kind of player, which is the kind of guy you always want in your locker room. I expect him to make a full recovery and be an impact player in this league, which are the kind of guys the Browns should be trying to draft.

I love David Ojabo's motor. He plays hard every play. pic.twitter.com/polijZ9nWM

— Ryder McConville (@RyderM25) March 13, 2022

Liam Blutman

The Pick Is In: Skyy Moore WR – Western Michigan (44th Overall)

The Cleveland Browns are without a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but they do hold three picks in the top 100: 44, 78, and 99. In total, they currently possess seven selections. I’m ecstatic about pick 44 and am not hesitating one second to select Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore. And if we need to move up a few spots to secure him, we’ll do it.

Skyy Moore and his releases 😳 pic.twitter.com/F4fremzsLG

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) February 27, 2022

The Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver room currently consists of Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz, Jakeem Grant, Javon Wims, and Ja’Marcus Bradley. It is with great confidence that we all assume the Browns will be adding to this position to help protect their investment of Deshaun Watson. Skyy Moore will be a 22-year-old rookie as he stands at 5-foot-10 and boasts some wicked stats. His college dominator score ranked at 44.8%, which is good enough to place him in the 90th percentile. He broke out in 2019 with a stellar freshman season in which he caught 51 passes for 802 yards. Moore ranks in the 99th percentile in college target share with 39.5%. Stellar. He crushed it in 2021 by accumulating 1,292 receiving yards and 10 tuddies on 95 catches!

It was in a shocking win over Pitt where Moore torched an ACC defense for 124 and a TD on 11 grabs. After a few more electric performances, I rushed to write about him and wrote the following, “There is just something about Skyy, another sensational talent at a MAC school. If you watch him play, you’ll see that he’s an NFL receiver. We know that the MAC always has these NFL guys. Skyy Moore is next — he just needs that opportunity because the Skyy is the limit.”

Moore would fit in really nicely in Cleveland, being able to learn some things from a vet like Amari Cooper would be a tremendous help for the young receiver. I can already envision Moore taking a slant from Watson and then exploding after the catch and creating a big-time play. He’s lethal after the catch with top-end speed and shifty footwork. Watson had plenty of success throwing to Brandin Cooks on deep routes in Houston, and I could see Moore trying to replicate that. I actually think Moore’s toughness is another great trait of his; he’s super aggressive and fears nobody. I think he’s underrated as a route-runner. He can do so much more than just win deep. He wins with quick feet and smooth release packages. Moore shows off great pace and deception as well.

The Cleveland Browns need to take a receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft. I’m telling you that Skyy Moore is that guy and he’s exactly who Cleveland needs to select. Will it happen? We’ll see and I’ll actually go with yes. I really do see Skyy Moore being drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

Andrew Wilson

The Pick Is In: Travis Jones DT – UConn (44th Overall)

Cue the clip of Marcus Spears saying “it’s all about the trenches.” The Browns have put themselves in a great spot to compete in the AFC North after acquiring Deshaun Watson to be their new franchise quarterback. Although the receiving core is not even close to ideal, I would love to see the Browns address the defensive line. If they can get after Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and whoever is under center for Pittsburgh, they will give themselves a big advantage in the division race. Since they no longer have the 13th pick, all eyes go on the standout from UConn, Travis Jones. 

UConn’s Travis Jones has a rare mix of strength and agility for 6’5 330 😳 pic.twitter.com/v17vfBspMS

— Kendall Mirsky (@MirskyKendall) January 25, 2022

Jones didn’t have a lot of eyes on him right after the season, then the Senior Bowl came around. The first thing people took notice of when the first practice had started was how Jones was obliterating anyone in his path. Not only is he extremely powerful, but he’s quite quick for a player his size. If you lined up against him with no knowledge of his game, he would probably run around and leave your jaw on the floor. He deserves more recognition as a possible riser into the first round, but this range is more likely when you realize that the Georgia defenders will likely go ahead of him. I love the value of getting a really talented defensive tackle who can impact the game right away and will only get better.

UCONN DT Travis Jones has that "I can do whatever the hell I want" strength@seniorbowl pic.twitter.com/tOPF0bCNSe

— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) February 4, 2022