CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The third round of the draft began just like the second for the Browns – with a trade.
The run on SEC players continued too.
Cleveland moved down from 74 to 88 in a trade with New Orleans that also saw them send their seventh-round pick – No. 244 – to the Saints while also getting a 2021 third-round pick from New Orleans.
“When the opportunity with New Orleans came up, we felt like it was an opportunity for us where we could move back really a small amount in the third round and still pick from a number of players that we thought were really good fits for the roster,” executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry said.
“We felt like we did have a number of guys that we would like to have on the roster so we did not feel like we weren’t necessarily trading away from talent, so to speak. We felt good about the guys we added.”
Berry selected Missouri defensive tackle Jordan Elliott 88th overall and then added LSU inside linebacker Jacob Philips with the 97th overall pick, the proceeds from the Duke Johnson Jr. trade to the Texans last summer.
Elliott, who kept details of the draft process from his family, said his mother’s boyfriend dreamt that he would end up with the Browns.
“I just felt like it was something that was meant to happen,” Elliott said.
Bolstering the depth on the defensive line was on Berry’s radar despite adding Adrian Clayborn and Andrew Billings in free agency and he feels Elliott does that.
“The defensive line, they are almost like hockey lines. We are really past the days where you just play your starters and those are the only four guys that play,” Berry said. “For us, it is important to have depth within that position group where you can wave guys in and out of the game. If you look at some of the things that we have done over the course of the offseason, it really is to bolster the talent, particularly with that second group.”
Elliott, a 2019 second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC selection, recorded 44 tackles last season, including a team-high 8.5 for loss for the Tigers.
“We see Jordan as a player that has the right physical skill set to be a 3-technique in our defense,” Berry said. “A guy with quickness gap, penetrating ability and who was very disruptive at Missouri. A really good fit in our scheme. Like the guy’s talent and like the guy’s upside for our defense.”
Phillips was the leading tackler for the national champions last season. He started the final two years of the three he spent in Baton Rouge where he totaled 218 tackles, 13.5 of them for a loss, two sacks, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and an interception that he returned for a touchdown.
“Jacob, really has the physical characteristics of what we would consider our modern-era linebackers,” Berry said. “He has length, athleticism and speed. A really rangy guy, who is also good in pass coverage. We love his ability to play in space. We love his ability to run. We think he is going to be a really good fit within our group.”
The Saints used the 74th overall pick from Cleveland to select Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun.
