It was another successful year for the Cleveland Browns during the 2021 draft.
General manager Andrew Berry continues adding veteran talent with a mix of young rookies.
There were a handful of experts that gave the Browns an A+ grade for their excellent work during the 2021 draft.
Cleveland had to wait until late in the first round to make their first selection, but that didn’t hinder them at all.
Now it’s time to lock up those players for the 2021 season.
Who Got Signed?
On Thursday, the team announced that they’ve signed three of their eight draft selections.
Those players include linebacker Tony Fields II, safety Richard LeCounte III, and running back Demetric Felton.
We've signed 3 of our 2021 draft picks!
LB Tony Fields II
S Richard LeCounte III
RB Demetric Felton📰 » https://t.co/DabRlceta3 pic.twitter.com/6PG0LXBkWZ
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 13, 2021
All three of those players were picked in the fifth round or later.
Despite that, Berry has shown a strong ability of finding hidden gems late in the draft.
Browns fans can certainly agree that tight end Harrison Bryant was a fantastic addition in the fourth round last year.
Hopefully, one if not all three of these players can find a way to contribute to the Browns roster in 2021.
Diamond In The Rough
The player with the highest upside out of the three who signed is likely Fields.
In 2017, Fields led Arizona with 104 tackles, which is the most for a UA freshman in more than 20 years.
He continued that success throughout his four years in college, but somehow didn’t receive much recognition on draft day.
Last season, he finished No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 27 nationally in tackles per game (9.8), so his freshmen year wasn’t a fluke.
Tony Fields II is a smart, high energy linebacker out of West Virginia. Flies around the field and has a ton of experience (46 starts in his career). Limited player but the type of guy you want to round out your linebacker group. Anthony Walker like imo pic.twitter.com/MyqUYQziB3
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) March 10, 2021
He’ll have an uphill battle securing significant playing time his rookie season with the Browns loaded at the linebacker spot.
Despite that, Fields has plenty of upside and was well worth a fifth-round pick.
LeCounte earned co-winner of Defensive Most Improved Player award in his junior season in 2019.
That season he recorded 61 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and one interception in 14 games.
Sadly, he’ll likely get lost in the shuffle with the Browns getting Grant Delpit back from injury and adding John Johnson III to their roster over the offseason.
Although, you can never have enough depth in the NFL, so LeCounte could be a possible rotational player.
Lastly, Felton was a running back and wide receiver during his time at UCLA.
He finished with over 1,000 rushing yards and nearly 100 receptions during his college career.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see him land on the Browns practice squad.
Felton is a versatile player that should be able to contribute at some point.
That leaves, Greg Newsome II, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Anthony Schwartz, James Hudson III, and Tommy Togiai as the remaining rookies needing to be signed before Week 1.
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