At pick 39, the Cleveland Browns had a decision to make. They could double down at the wide receiver position by selecting Denzel Boston, or they could draft the heir apparent to Grant Delpit in their secondary with Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
They submitted the ticket for Boston and in doing so, they waved their chance at McNeil-Warren goodbye, or so they thought.
Pick 40 submitted.
Cleveland celebrated as they addressed their biggest need, and that was the wide receiver position; the clock didn’t stop ticking. The Browns were up again at pick 70, so they were not even thinking McNeil-Warren.
Pick 48 submitted.
The wheels started to turn that Cleveland could use some of their new draft capital to get aggressive, but there was no way that EMW would stay on the board.
Pick 52 submitted.
Cleveland started making phone calls, and they found a potential partner with the San Francisco 49ers, who were at pick 58.
Pick 57 submitted, McNeil-Warren still on the board. Cleveland submitted the trade, and they were up to take the third-best safety in the entire draft, a guy who had a first-round grade from just about everyone who created a mock draft.
McNeil-Warren is such an impressive-looking player who has the character that any team is looking for. He stands at 6’4″ tall, weighing in just north of 200 pounds. He had opportunities in his college career to leave Toledo and the MAC for a huge Power 4 school. And by huge, I mean Alabama.
He stayed loyal to the program that took a chance on him, and he turned into a second-round pick in the NFL.
On Saturday, he was asked who he models his game after, and his answers were incredible. He listed three players who are all currently playing in the league. He said Derwin James, Kyle Hamilton, and Nick Emmanwori are all guys he watches and studies. He continued his answer by saying that the safety needs to be the quarterback of the defense.
He is so good for many reasons, and the three players that he listed all have something in common. They are able to cover pass catchers like a cornerback and defend the run game like a linebacker. It’s why those three players are such game changers and matchup nightmares.
If Cleveland got a guy who is even 75 percent of any of those players, they more than maxed out their value. Time will tell what McNeil-Warren will develop into, but for now, Browns fans can dream about a complete game changer on the back of their defense.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Who Browns’ rookie safety models his game after
Reporting by Anthony Moeglin, Browns Wire / Browns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
