2021 NFL mock draft: Cleveland Browns select Jayson Oweh

The Cleveland Browns are coming off the best season since returning from the NFL abyss in 1999. Due to an unfortunately difficult division, their 11-5 record was only good enough for third in the AFC North, but they made up for it by taking out the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs—their first playoff win since the 1994 season.

Now it’s time to get this lowly franchise over the proverbial hump. Hit on a few more draft picks, and this Browns team could turn the entire reputation of this team around in a jiffy.

The Browns have the 26th pick in the Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft. And to guide them through this pick, commenter Getoffmylawn has been given GM duties.

Before we get into the selection, see how the board has fallen thus far by checking out our POD Community Mock Draft tracker here.

With the 26th pick in the POD Community Mock, the Browns have selected Penn State edge defender Jayson Oweh.

Here’s Getoffmylawn with the pick:

The Browns are a team that may look to move up during the draft for one player this year having more picks than roster spots. If they stand pat, adding another defensive end to the roster to play next to Miles Garrett would be a wise move. Jayson Oweh is a high-end athlete who is raw as a defensive end but has some good habits and some bad habits that show up on tape. All of the other top defensive ends and linebackers that are worth a first-round pick are already off the board. Oweh has unequaled physical traits at the position, but limited snaps played, which is my main concern with this pick.

The other players I would have considered at this pick are the other first-round edge rushers Kwity Paye and Gregory Rousseau along with linebackers alongside linebackers Zaven Collins and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, but all of these players were off the board. At the beginning of the process I looked at what positions to target and concluded that the positions I could look at were defensive end and linebackers. I considered adding a safety as none had been taken so far in the draft but didn’t think any of them were worth a first-round pick in this draft class.

Erik Schlitt’s thoughts:

Oweh is a freaky athlete and most humans his size just don’t move like him. Teams will definitely gamble on that type of athleticism on Day 1 of the draft, but there needs to be realistic expectations for how much he will be able to contribute as a rookie.

In his first year and a half at Penn State, Oweh was a situational pass rusher and managed seven sacks over 17 games. Last season, his first as a starter, he failed to register a sack in seven games. So what happened to the production? As a situational pass rusher, Oweh was able to stay fresh and kept offensive linemen off balance with his change of pace. As a starter, the linemen adapted to his game, took advantage of his raw instincts and lack-of pass rush moves—basically he became predictable.

If the Browns feel they can afford to let him rotate with Takk McKinley in 2021 and work hard to develop his game, it could pay off with time. But in this competitive division, do they have time to wait? Because, at this stage of his career, he’s a sensational athlete with upside, but not a starter level contributor.