The Browns selected wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, one of the fastest wide receivers of the NFL draft class, with the 91st overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Here are five things to know about the Browns' newest wide receiver:
1. Schwartz was a steady contributor across three seasons at Auburn, where he caught six touchdowns and recorded 1,433 receiving yards. When Schwartz wasn't used in the passing game, he was used as a runner — he scored five rushing touchdowns as a freshman in 2018 and two rushing touchdowns in 2019. Schwartz became the top receiving target for the Tigers in 2020 and led the team with 54 receptions with a career-high 636 passing yards in 10 games.
2. Schwartz is one of the fastest players in the NFL. Yes, that can already be declared. He ran a 4.25 40-yard dash — fastest among all 2021 prospects — and also ran track at Auburn, where he set the school's freshman record in the indoor 60 meters (6.59) and placed sixth at the SEC Outdoors in the 100 meters (10.21). As a high school senior, he was also named the 2018 Gatorade track athlete of the year and won the Florida Class 2A state championship in the 100 meters (10.07) and 200 meters (20.41). He also won the silver medal in the 100 meters (10.07) at the IAAF world championships in Finland and took the gold medal in the 4x100 relay (38.88) for Team USA.
3. Schwartz might not have the gaudy receiving numbers that come with the other top receiving prospects in the draft, but the Browns believe in his receiving abilities and see plenty of deep-ball potential. Wide receivers might not have been the Browns' biggest need in the first three rounds, but they believe Schwartz has plenty of talent to potentially add unique wrinkles to an offense already loaded with veteran players. "We like to think about the wide receiver position in terms of dimensions – thematically what does he add to the room?" said Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Vice President of Football Operations. "We love the vertical presence, and he is not your typical track guy. He has a run after catch mindset, he wants to finish plays, and you do not always see that from guys like that. We love the dimensions he brings to the room, the competition he brings to that room."
4. Schwartz will slot behind Pro Bowl veteran Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry in the receivers room and compete with Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and JoJo Natson — the next receivers on the depth chart with solid NFL experience — for additional receiver spots on the roster. Schwartz joins Peoples-Jones as the two receivers drafted in the last two seasons, and both give the Browns a promising young core of pass-catchers who could emerge as key players in future seasons.
5. Schwartz spent his high school football career at American Heritage High School in south Florida playing with some of the best prospects of the 2021 draft class. CBs Patrick Surtain II, Tyson Campbell and Marco Wilson are all former teammates of Schwartz's, and they were coached by Mike Rumph and Patrick Surtain, who are both former NFL players.
