Should we have expected anything less?
It might have even surpassed the homeless guy telling Jimmy Haslam to pick Johnny Manziel in 2014.
Yes, it was that good.
General manager John Dorsey started the festivities off by doing what he does best – making a trade, this time with Indianapolis to swap spots in the second round going from 49 to 46, and all it cost him was the pick he got last year from Jacksonville for Carlos Hyde – No. 144 in round 5.
Mr. Dorsey, as he likes to introduce himself when he makes the selection call to his picks, selected dynamic, ball-hawking LSU cornerback Greedy Williams to pair with last year’s fourth overall pick and Pro Bowler Denzel Ward.
Hall of Famer Jim Brown announced the pick at the podium in Nashville, Tennessee with a twist. Brown introduced it as the 46th pick of “the 2013 NFL Draft.”
Not quite, but it’s Jim freaking Brown, so let’s not get overly worked up over a slip of the tongue, or time.
Then the fun really began.
As it turns out, Williams actually missed Dorsey’s initial call but quickly recovered and called the team’s headquarters and asked to speak with the Browns GM.
“I wasn’t paying attention to the draft phone,” Williams explained. “The 216-number popped up on the screen, and my girl like kind of tapped me and it said missed call from a strange number. I called back, and I guess it was one of the guys at the front desk. He answered the phone, and he said he was about to transfer me to the GM. The GM told me it was the Cleveland Browns.”
Two or three years ago the headlines nationally would’ve read “Draft pick doesn’t take call from Browns,” but with the team on the rise, it makes for a fun story to tell for a lifetime, but that wasn’t all from Williams.
On a conference call with reporters Williams was asked what he actually knew about the Browns to which he responded, “I know one thing, the Browns are going to the Super Bowl this year.”
He hit Cleveland’s ‘Gets us’ meter on the bullseye.
“John Dorsey did a great job,” Williams said. “I think once the team gets together, it is going to be a dominant team, we are going through the whole league and we are definitely making that Super Bowl.”
Williams revised his bold prediction, “I feel like this team will be the Super Bowl champs, this year.”
During an interview with the Browns radio network, which aired on 923 The Fan, Williams learned his new head coach quarterbacked at Alabama, which added another layer of, shall we say, lighthearted drama.
“I did not know that,” Williams said. “You just gave me a reason to talk to him as soon as I get up there.”
That rivalry runs deep.
“Alabama is a team that we don't like here in Louisiana,” Williams said.
Dorsey surprised everyone with his third-round pick at No. 80, including the player he selected – BYU linebacker Sione Takitaki.
Takitaki had no idea the Browns were even interested in him, which led to the story of the night.
“Funny story, I was watching it on TV and I saw the Rams going and their pick was in, and I saw Cleveland was next, I was like, ‘Ah, I never really talked to Cleveland in the past, except at the Combine,’” Takitaki said. “I went to use the restroom and as I sat on the toilet, I got a call and I jumped right up and didn’t have to use the restroom anymore.”
You can’t make this stuff up.
“It is something I will always remember,” Takitaki said. “I was looking at the TV like Cleveland is next man; I haven’t talked to them since the Combine. Then I walked away and go shut the door to the restroom, kind of pondering and thinking like, ‘Man, what’s up?’ Then, I get a call it says Cleveland, Ohio and I’m like, ‘Oh, man.’ Then, boom, it happened. So blessed.”
In one night, in the span of two picks, the conversation spanned from one Super Bowl to another.
Only the Browns.
The legend continues.