The Browns bolstered their defense Friday by selecting DT Jordan Elliott and LB Jacob Phillips in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Elliott is an interior defensive lineman from Missouri who will provide needed depth to a group that was mired by injuries and other issues last season. Phillips is a linebacker from LSU that rarely missed a tackle in his final season and will likely have a chance to compete for immediate playing time in the young group.
Here are five things to know about the Browns' third-round selections.
1. Elliott spent three seasons at Missouri after transferring from Texas before his sophomore year. By 2019, Elliott was a staple on the Tigers' defense as a team captain and led the team last season with 10 tackles for a loss. That earned him first-team All-American Pro honors from Pro Football Focus and second-team Associated Press All-American honors.
2. Phillips led the SEC with 113 tackles last season. He played in 39 games with 26 starts and started in all 15 games last season for LSU. Phillips followed in the linebacking footsteps of Devin White, who was the only LSU defender to make more tackles than Phillips in 2018 and went in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
3. Elliott didn't receive starts until last season as a junior, but he's been among the most consistent defensive tackles in the nation when it comes to production. His 91.4 pass-rush grade from PFF is first among all defensive tackles since 2017. Elliott has six sacks, four pass deflections and 68 tackles in that span.
4. Between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Elliott lost 30 pounds by cutting out red beef and chicken from his diet and mainly ate turkey, fish and vegetables. When Elliott started college, he was over 330 pounds. He'll leave Missouri and enter Cleveland at a much slimmer — and, perhaps, faster — 302 pounds.
5. Phillips was the 10th LSU player selected in the 2020 draft, which ties the record for most players selected from a school in the first three rounds of a draft. Phillips and Grant Delpit, who was selected in the second round, give the Browns five former LSU players on their roster and puts the school at a tie with Miami (Fla.) for the most players from one school on the Browns.
