The Cleveland Browns traded their first round pick to the Giants, but still walked away with a first round talent, selecting Greedy Williams on day two of the NFL Draft.
It’s a strange new world as the Cleveland Browns continue to make smart decision after smart decision, positioning as one of the AFC’s top teams. After trading away their first round pick to acquire Odell Beckham Jr. earlier this offseason, the team still walks away with a first round talent after selecting LSU cornerback Greedy Williams with the 46th overall pick.
Williams was long regarded as the top ranked cornerback in the 2019 NFL Draft, and was among the biggest round one snubs. Only one first round cornerback was selected, but the run on corners started in the second round and Williams’s wait continued.
Washington’s Byron Murphy, Temple’s Rock Ya-Sin, Central Michigan’s Sean Bunting, Clemson’s Trayvon Mullen, and Vanderbilt’s Joejuan Williams were all selected in front of Williams. Finally, enough was enough and Cleveland moved up three picks, surrendering a mid-rounder in order to come up and grab the LSU defensive back.
Williams’s free-fall down draft boards was surprising. By all accounts, there isn’t a better cover corner in this draft class than him, but he reportedly slipped due to concerns over his work ethic and not being willing a willing tackler in run support.
The one flaw to his game is that he appears soft as a tackler, rarely being willing to stick his neck in and make plays against ball carriers. But that could easily be chalked up to a business decision at the college level, with Williams being aware of his worth and not wanting to risk injury.
That scared some teams off, but if Williams puts the work in and reaches his potential, the Browns might have the best young corner tandem in the NFL with Williams opposite last year’s first round pick Denzel Ward.
Grade: A