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5 Things to Know: Draft

5 things to know about Browns' Day 3 draft picks

Here’s one interesting thing to know about every pick from Day 3

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The Browns had six draft picks in their arsenal on Day 3 and used all but one of them, opting to trade their final draft pick at No. 229 overall in the seventh-round in a trade with the Ravens.

With five picks on Day 3, the Browns completed their seven-man draft class for 2023. Here are five things to know about each player from the final draft day.

"Biggest human I've ever seen"

Ohio State OT Dawand Jones is going to be very noticeable when he takes the Browns' practice fields for the first time.

Browns Director of Player Personnel Dan Saganey called Jones, who stands at 6-foot-8 and 374 pounds, "the biggest human I've ever seen." That size should help Jones, who also played basketball in high school, make a quick transition to the NFL, where his 88-inch wingspan should allow him to engulf edge rushers of all shapes and sizes.

"The good thing about Dawand, for a guy his size, he's so nimble and agile," Saganey said. "I think if you guys watch his high school basketball highlights, you will probably see how he moves. There's a lot of good highlights of him out there pulling, doing things that we ask our guys to do. For a guy that size, the athleticism and the quickness really stands out on tape. We think he can do a lot of things well that we do in our system and, again, really looking forward to seeing him develop as a player."

Jones is the biggest player on the Browns roster by a wide margin. The next biggest player is also a rookie — DT Siaki Ika, who is 6-foot-4 and 357 pounds. Joel Bitonio is the next biggest offensive lineman at 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds.

GM Andrew Berry might've had the best quote about Jones in his post-draft press conference.

"He's not just big," Berry said. "He's human-orca big."

Check out photos of Browns 2023 fourth round pick Dawand Jones.

Northwestern friends reunite

Fifth-round draft pick CB Cameron Mitchell is already close friends with his former Northwestern teammate and current Browns CB Greg Newsome II. The two have been best friends since they were 11 and played seven-on-seven ball together.

Now, they'll join forces in the Browns secondary.

"It seems like I can't get away from him," Mitchell joked on his introductory conference call.

"I've been up there before to visit him, but he's just excited, just telling me 'Let's go,' just hyping it up, talking about how we're about to lock everything down. So he's excited."

Newsome turned to social media to express his excitement immediately after Mitchell's pick was announced and called him after Mitchell got the call from Browns Executive VP of Football Ops and GM Andrew Berry.

A pair of Buckeyes

The Browns selected two Buckeyes on Day 3 in Jones and C Luke Wypler, who was selected in the sixth-round.

Wypler's pick solidified the first year since 1965 where the Browns had drafted multiple Buckeyes. That year's draft class featured Bo Scott, who was a third-round pick and Ed Orazen, who was drafted in the 19th round — the draft lasted 20 rounds in those days.

Both of the Browns' Buckeyes picks this year were mainstays in Ohio State's offensive line the last two seasons, and both will have a chance to carve roles as backups with the Browns as rookies.

The DTR-Watson Connection

QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round pick, won't need to make any introductions to his new teammate, Deshaun Watson.

Thompson-Robinson and Watson have worked out together before at UCLA, where Thompson-Robinson had been the starter for the last five years.

"Luckily, I've had plenty of times to be able to meet Deshaun," Thompson-Robinson said. "He's been able to come out to UCLA, work out there and me just wanting to go out there and get extra work in. Him allowing me to work out with him has been very beneficial for me throughout my college career. Now, to finally be able to join up with him, I think, will be really special for me and my development. I think it will go a long way and I think as well as his development. I think I can help him out, too, giving him an extra set of eyes and ears just from everything I've learned in college so far."

Thompson-Robinson also knows one of his draft class mates: WR Cedric Tillman, who was drafted in the third round. Thompson-Robinson and Tillman were high school teammates at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.

"Ever since high school and ever since the first time I met Cedric, super down-to-earth person, super humble," Thompson-Robinson said. "He's a workaholic and someone that just needs an opportunity and he can take the rest. That's the one thing I love about Cedric, is he has never needed any handouts or anybody to give anything to him. He truly is about his business and everything that the Browns got him for is definitely true. I have the utmost respect for Cedric and I can't wait to play with him."

A Mizzou sack monster

Fourth-round pick DE Isaiah McGuire proved his final two years with the Tigers that he knows how to get to the QB — he was Missouri's sack leader in each of his final two college seasons, starting with six sacks in 2021 and 7.5 sacks in 2022.

Saganey said the Browns view McGuire as a potentially versatile fit for their defensive line and could play both inside and outside positions.

Regardless of where he plays, they feel confident he'll be able to penetrate the pocket.

"Isaiah is a long defensive end with some good pass rush upside," he said. "A guy that we view as potentially having inside, outside rush flex. We're going to be attacking up-the-field defense and looking forward to seeing him rush off of the edge. We do think he eventually has the ability to rush inside, as well. High-motor player who has been very productive in the SEC and again excited to add to the D-Line any chance we get."

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