The Browns added another big piece to continue an offseason overhaul of the special teams unit by drafting kicker Cade York with pick No. 124 in the fourth round. York was the first specialist to come off the board and gives the Browns a powerful, accurate leg they believe will be able to force kicks through the often-strong winds that swirl by Lake Erie in the fall.
York converted 15 of 19 kicks of 50 or more yards in college and was considered by many draft analysts as the top kicker of the draft class. Berry said the Browns considered it a possibility that York wouldn't be on the board with their next pick at No. 156, so they made him the highest drafted kicker since Roberto Aguayo was drafted 59th overall by the Buccaneers in 2016.
Browns Vice President of Player Personnel Dan Saganey said scouts and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer did their homework on learning about York and his "mental makeup" They feel confident that York will be able to solidify a position that has had several new players since legendary kicker Phil Dawson made his final kick with Cleveland in 2012.
"This is a guy who kicked in a lot of big games for LSU at a high-powered program where every game is a huge game down there every week, and he made a lot of kicks," Saganey said. "When you combine that with the talent, that is something that we were really excited to get here."
Not every player drafted was at a position that was necessarily considered a "need."
The Browns opened the draft with Martin Emerson (68th overall), a tall cornerback from Mississippi State who will likely serve as depth as a rookie due to the deep amount of cornerbacks the Browns already had with Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Greedy Williams and AJ Green. The Browns subtracted a player from that group Saturday by trading Troy Hill to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2023 fifth-round pick, and Emerson will step in as a developmental piece who has starting potential down the line.
RB Jerome Ford (156th overall) was also added to a room that already has two Pro Bowl RBs in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They valued the depth he could bring to pair with D'Ernest Johnson and Demetric Felton, who was drafted as a running back but was used more as a receiver in his rookie season.
WR Michael Woods II (202nd overall) was the second player drafted at wide receiver in the class and one of three players the Browns drafted from Oklahoma, joining Winfrey and Thomas. The final pick was used at center with Dawson Deaton, one of the tallest centers of the draft class at 6-foot-5 and 307 pounds. He joins Nick Harris and Ethan Pocic at the position.
All of the rookies will be in Cleveland from May 13-15 when the Browns open up rookie minicamp. It's the most rookie picks the Browns will have at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berry's GM tenure, but the Browns feel good about how each of the players could fit into their 2022 plans and develop over time.
The work, however, isn't complete. Undrafted free agents will be signed in coming days and free-agent additions could continue to trickle in over the next several weeks. The rookie class is finalized, but the final look of the roster won't be known until the end of the summer.
"The reality of it is we still do not play until September," Berry said. "There is still work to do on the roster. After we go through the undrafted free agent process, we will take a quick breather and then really get right back on the saddle because there are still areas that we can fortify and add competition before camp. That will be our mindset moving forward."
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2022 Draft Analysis: Browns patch several needs but won't stop looking for ways to improve - clevelandbrowns.com
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