BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Size mattered Friday night to the Cleveland Browns with the selections of Tennessee receiver Cedric Tillman and Baylor defensive tackle Siaki Ika in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Tillman, listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, was picked 74th overall and Ika, also 6-foot-3 but is a massive 335-pounds plus, was taken 98th overall.
“These are two guys that we liked a lot throughout the draft process,” Browns executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry said.
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Last season for the Volunteers, Tillman was limited to six games due to a left ankle injury which required surgery and he had 37 catches for 417 yards and three touchdowns.
“We just felt that Cedric was the right fit for us,” Berry said. “Very clean profile, adds an element to the receiver room that we don't currently have with just his excellent size. We were really excited when he was there at 74.”
Tillman caught a touchdown in nine of his final 13 games at Tennessee where he finished with 109 catches for 1,622 yards and 17 scores. Over the last two years he caught 101 passes for 1,498 yards and 15 TDs.
During the 2021 season Tillman became the first Tennessee receiver to record a 1,000-yard season since Justin Hunter in 2012 and his 12 touchdown receptions that year ranked second-most in a single season in school history.
This is the fourth consecutive draft Berry has picked a receiver and the third straight one he’s done it in round 3.
“I'd say in general, you can never have enough playmakers, guys that can do something with the ball in their hands,” Berry said. “I also have mentioned in the past here that part of our job in building our roster is to think about both the present and the future.
“I think, specifically with the pass-catching group, we like the variety that we have in that position room, where guys can produce and win in different ways. We're optimistic that it will grant Kevin and the offensive staff more flexibility as they gameplan.”
The selection of Tillman gives head coach Kevin Stefanski a crowded receiver room and it will lead to what should be some difficult decisions come the end of August.
“I think competition is great. As you know, you can't keep everybody and when you add great players to the room, it elevates everybody's play,” Stefanski said. “It adds competition to rooms and that's what our guys love to do. We've talked about it already this offseason, we want to compete every day. You add new faces into a room via the draft, via free agency, whatever it is. I think guys are always welcoming new teammates. Ultimately, we're looking to make the team better and looking to make individuals better through competition.”
Dane Brugler of the Athletic noted in his annual ‘The Beast’ draft guide that Tillman had just five drops in college. Receivers that can catch the football when it is thrown to them is always a good thing considering that’s the primary part of the job description.
"It's certainly something that's important with this profile,” Berry said. “His size, his strength, he is a very good athlete, despite his dimensions, and has really strong hands. That being said, while he's not necessarily your vertical stretch player, his speed is just fine, so we thought it was a nice wholistic package more than anything. Certainly, the hands were a big part of it.”
Prior to the selection of Tillman, the Giants jumped in front of the Browns in a trade with the Rams to select his teammate, Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt. Ironically, the 73rd overall pick originally started with the Browns, who traded it to Houston in the Deshaun Watson trade. The Texans moved it to the Rams.
Ika was selected with the second compensatory pick awarded by the NFL after the Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their general manager last year.
Not only is Ika big, but he is very athletic for his size which needless to say new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will love.
“I'll call it a 'Schwartzism.' He [Schwartz] wants guys to be as big as they possibly can, without sacrificing movement,” Berry said. “For some guys at defensive tackle, that may be 305 and others that may be 355. Siaki has been anywhere from 335 to 355. depending on what the scheme required. For us, we'll work with him when he gets on site for what we're going to ask him to do, but he has played effectively throughout that weight range.”
The Browns were gashed for over 100 yards rushing in 11 games last season, a problem the additions of Ika as well as free agent defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson should solve.
“I think year in and year out, you look at what your strengths are, some things that you struggled with [and] you hope to address that,” Stefanski said. “Sometimes in free agency, sometimes in the draft, sometimes schematically, whatever it may be. Certainly trying to have a well-rounded defense and I think adding some of the guys that we did up front, I think, will make a big difference come fall.”
A 2022 All-Big 12 First Teamer, Ika registered 24 tackles, two for a loss, and a pair of pass break ups for the Bears where he was a starter for two years. He had 4 ½ sacks and 6 ½ tackles for loss in 2021, his first season with Baylor after transferring from LSU.
“Honestly, his power really stood out,” Berry said. “Even on the LSU film, even at a young age, he was a pretty big human being. Even though he didn't necessarily know what he was doing and was just kind of part of the rotation, you can see a really big disruptive presence in the middle of the line of scrimmage. When he was really allowed to attack in the manner that we are going to ask our defensive line to do so, we thought the skills were certainly transferable.”
With two selections Berry, who is building depth while providing his coaching staff with flexibility, made sure the Browns got bigger.
The hope is Berry made the Browns as better on the field as they appear to be on paper.