The 2022 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, April 28. As a lead-up to the draft, we’ll be giving a team-by-team breakdown for positional needs. For each team, we’ll give an overview of the current depth chart and how big of a need each position is in the upcoming draft. You can find the rest of the team needs (as they’re updated) and the rest of our draft content in the 2022 NFL Draft hub.
What Picks do the Cleveland Browns have in 2022
The Cleveland Browns have seven picks.
Round 2 (44)
Round 3 (78)
Round 3 (99)
Round 4 (118)
Round 6 (202)
Round 7 (223)
Round 7 (246)
Cleveland Browns Top POSITIONS OF NEED
WR, iDL, EDGE,C, RT
Cleveland Browns Strength of Schedule, 2022
The Cleveland Browns have the ninth easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2022 NFL season.
Cleveland Browns Offense
By Rich Hribar
QUARTERBACK
Deshaun Watson
Jacoby Brissett
Baker Mayfield
The Browns made the largest move of the offseason in trading for Deshaun Watson and then signing him to a massive contract extension.
Even if Watson is suspended for a time in 2022, Cleveland went out and added veteran Jacoby Brissett as a band-aid for that scenario. Brissett was rough when called upon in Miami a year ago, but he has 37 career starts under his belt.
Cleveland still has Baker Mayfield on the roster as we wait for a trade to be resolved at some point this offseason.
RUNNING BACK
Nick Chubb
Kareem Hunt
D’Ernest Johnson
John Kelly
Tre Harbison
Johnny Stanton (FB)
The backfield remains the strength of this offense. Cleveland ranked fourth in the league in expected points added via rushing in 2021 (54.7) while rushing for 2,471 yards (fourth) and 20 touchdowns (seventh).
Nick Chubb remains an elite running back per touch, and really puts emphasis on the “running” part of elite running back output.
Chubb accrued another 1,433 yards and nine scores in 2021 while averaging 5.5 yards per carry, becoming the first running back ever to average over 5.0 yards per carry with over 100 attempts over their first four seasons in the league.
Kareem Hunt remains one of the best 1B running backs in the league while D’Ernest Johnson popped in 2021, producing 168 and 157 yards in his two starts last season with both Chubb and Hunt unavailable.
Both Hunt and Johnson are unrestricted free agents after 2022, but this is the furthest thing from a need for this offense.
WIDE RECEIVER
Amari Cooper
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Jakeem Grant
Anthony Schwartz
J’Marcus Bradley
Demetric Felton
Cleveland was at the bottom of the league in terms of counting stats from their wide receivers in 2021. They closed the year 30th in wide receiver targets per game (15.4) and yardage per game (120.8 yards) and touchdowns receptions (nine).
The team moved on from Odell Beckham in-season while moving on from Jarvis Landry and Rashad Higgins in free agency.
The first move that Cleveland made in improving this unit was acquiring Amari Cooper, who then received a restructured contract.
After Cooper, the reaming depth chart is a question mark.
Donovan Peoples-Jones was tasked as a lid lifter only in his extended run during his second season. Peoples-Jones has now averaged a robust 18.8 yards per catch on an average depth of target of 16.7 yards downfield. Peoples-Jones is a fit playing alongside Watson, but he will need some dominoes to fall in his favor and development outside of his vertical game to command targets before being archetyped into Cleveland’s version of Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Jakeem Grant is more of an addition in the return game while Anthony Schwartz still has a ways to go in his own development as a nuanced receiver, but the Browns certainly do not lack speed here.
Cleveland has been linked to other wideouts that could be available in Brandin Cooks and Will Fuller (while also a potential return with Landry), so they certainly are not done adding to this part of their roster.
TIGHT END
David Njoku
Harrison Bryant
Miller Forristall
Nick Guggemos
Cleveland used the franchise tag on David Njoku as the team is working on a long-term deal.
Njoku will still only turn 26 years old this July, coming off a career-high 13.2 yards per catch and 9.0 yards per target despite only playing 64% of the offensive snaps.
Cleveland still has Harrison Bryant as TE2, who they selected in the fourth round in 2020.
Byrant is the only tight end currently signed beyond 2022, but with the expectation that the team is working on extending Njoku, they do not need to pursue the position in the draft.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT: Jedrick Wills/Blake Hance/James Hudson
LG: Joe Bitonio/Michael Dunn
C: Nick Harris/Ehtan Pocic
RG: Wyatt Teller/David Moore/Drew Forbes
RT: Jack Conklin/Chris Hubbard/Elijah Nkansah
The Browns once again fielded one of the best offensive lines in the league last season, ranking fourth in ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate (67%) and eighth in Run Block Win Rate (72%).
Despite the overall success, the Browns’ offensive line is an example of how fluid and fragile things are in the NFL up front in terms of personnel.
Due to injuries, their starting five offensive linemen entering the year played together for just 208 snaps (19.7% of the team total).
Cleveland has locked-in starters Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio, and Jedrick Wills signed for multiple years, but now have openings at center and right tackle due to releasing J.C. Tretter while Jack Conklin remains a question mark coming off torn patellar tendon in November.
The Browns re-worked Conklin’s deal to create a void year after this season, giving them an out if Conklin is unable to return to the field to the level where he was prior. The team re-signed Chris Hubbard on a one-year deal, but right tackle is more of a big picture question mark than it was at this time a year ago.
At center, the Browns have Nick Harris, who they selected in the fifth round in 2020. Harris has played just 214 snaps through two years in the league, but did not allow a single pressure on his limited 42 pass blocking reps a year ago.
The team also added veteran Ethan Pocic, who has started 24 games for Seattle the past two seasons. Pocic allowed a 5.2% pressure rate in 2021, the seventh-highest among all centers with over 100 pass blocking snaps.
Cleveland Browns Defense
By Dan Pizzuta
Interior Defensive Line
Jordan Elliott
Tommy Togiai
Taven Bryan
This is a position that has mostly turned over from last season. Malik McDowell and Malik Jackson were the leaders in snaps inside last season but neither are on the roster. Jordan Elliott is the leading returner a 2020 third-round pick who played 40% of the defensive snaps last season.
Elliott didn’t add much as a pass rusher, but he can be an overall disruptor behind the line of scrimmage with 16.5 combined tackles for loss in his final two college seasons.
Taven Bryan is an interesting name added to the rotation here. Bryan never fully lived up to his billing as a first-round pick in Jacksonville, but he had consistently had production rushing the passer. Bryan was 24th among defensive tackles in pressure rate last season, per SIS. He’s given little as a run defender, but that’s where the others on the line can fill in.
Tommy Togiai, a 2021 fourth-round pick, only played 11% of the defensive snaps as a rookie.
EDGE
Myles Garrett
Chase Winovich
Curtis Weaver
Myles Garrett is one of the league’s best pass rushers. You are here for that type of deep analysis. Garrett was fifth among edge rushers in pressure rate in 2021 and was first in ESPN’s Pass Rush Win Rate. Garrett’s presence tilts the defense and makes life easier on the other pass rusher — Jadeveon Clowney ranked fourth in Pass Rush Win Rate last season.
The Browns acquired Chase Winovich in exchange for Mack Wilson. Winovich, a 2019 third-round pick, had an interesting career arc with the New England Patriots. Winovich didn’t see the field much in his rookie season, then had the highest pressure rate among edge rushers in 2020, and then didn’t see the field much in 2021. Getting Winovich consistent playing time as a more traditional pass rusher should bring out more of that upside from the 2020 season.
Curtis Weaver was a productive college pass rusher but hasn’t been able to get on the field. Cleveland claimed him from Miami during his rookie season while was on injured reserve the entire year. He bounced up and down from the practice squad in 2021 but he saw just six defensive snaps.
Just for depth, there will be more pass rushers added.
Off-ball Linebacker
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Anthony Walker
Sione Takitaki
Jacob Phillips
Tony Fields II
Willie Harvey
As a second-round pick, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was instantly one of the league’s best coverage linebackers. He ranked fifth among linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap. He only played 54% of the defensive snaps as a rookie, but that’s likely to increase this coming season.
Anthony Walker led the team in snaps at the position. Walker was 27th in yards allowed per coverage snap among 85 qualified linebackers. He was also all over the field, avearging 8.7 tackles per game. Walker re-signed for a one-year deal to return in 2022.
With Sione Takitaki and Jacob Phillips, the Browns have some depth here and they had three linebackers on the field for 26.5% of their defensive snaps, which was the 12th-highest rate of base in 2021.
Cornerback
Denzel Ward
Greg Newsome
Troy Hill
Greedy Williams
A.J. Green
Herb Miller
Denzel Ward has established himself as a top-tier No. 1 corner. He ranked 17th in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap, which includes touchdowns and interceptions, among 93 qualified cornerbacks. Ward is playing 2022 on his fifth-year option and should be in line for a big extension in the near future.
Greg Newsome ranked 68th in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap, which is more than fair for a rookie. Newsome played 61.7% of the defensive snaps last season, which eclipsed Greedy Williams at 52.7%.
Williams had his first healthy season and played quite well when he was on the field. He ranked 43rd in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap, while almost exclusively playing on the outside. Williams is also in the final year of his rookie contract.
Troy Hill was brought in to be the team’s slot corner and there was some up and down play in his first year in Cleveland. Hill played 47% of the overall defensive snaps and played in 12 games. He ranked 76th among cornerbacks in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap.
Safety
John Johnson III
Grant Delpit
Nate Meadors
Richard LeCounte
John Johnson played 80.8% of the defensive snaps after coming over from the Los Angeles Rams. He was a 100-tackle player like he was in his final season with the Rams, but he wasn’t tasked with fitting the run as aggressively as he was in the Rams’ system. Johnson also played much more deep safety with the Browns (65.5% of his snaps) than he did in 2020 with Los Angeles (30.9%).
Grant Delpit played 53.5% of the defensive snaps and flashed the potential he showed in college after missing his entire rookie season. Delpit was able to play all around the defense and should grow in that role going forward.
Ronnie Harrison played significant time at safety but he’s unlikely to return as a free agent. That leaves some depth needed behind the two starters.
