Fansided

5 first-round picks that made us cringe

By Michelle Bruton

UT San Antonio defensive end Marcus Davenport is chosen 14th overall by the New Orleans Saints during the NFL Draft at AT
UT San Antonio defensive end Marcus Davenport is chosen 14th overall by the New Orleans Saints during the NFL Draft at AT /
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4. The Cleveland Browns reach for cornerback Denzel Ward at No. 4

It’s hard to straight-up say this selection made us cringe, per se, because Denzel Ward is a great player, he went to Ohio State and the Browns certainly needed help on the secondary. It’s just hard to overlook the fact that as they had defensive end Bradley Chubb — arguably the best player in this entire draft class — sitting there on the board, the Browns decided to reach for a cornerback who potentially could have been on the board for them if they had entertained offers from quarterback-needy teams to trade back.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Ward was their target all along and the highest-ranked cornerback on their board. So we’re not necessarily killing the Browns for making this pick, but given the surprise element and the fact that Chubb was still on the board, it definitely made us cringe a little.

It’s also interesting to think about the first time that Ward and new Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield meet in the locker room, thinking back to the night that Mayfield planted the OU flag on Ward’s home field at Ohio State.

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