This is part four of a five-part series looking at Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry's draft history with the team. In part five of this series, I will compare his hit rate with top GMs in the NFL.
Part One: 2020 Draft Revisit
Part Two: 2021 Draft Revisit
Part Three: 2022 Draft Revisit
Typically, when analyzing whether a draft pick has worked out, I prefer to have three years of tape. However, a decent idea can be formed after two seasons. We will take a look at Berry's fourth draft with the Browns in 2023, when he made seven total selections.
Round 3, Pick 74: Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee
The Browns traded back from their second-round pick to pick 74 to get wide receiver Elijah Moore from the New York Jets. They ended up taking Tennessee's Cedric Tillman to try to remake their wide receiver room. He was a very talented wide receiver who was still developing, and his 2022 season was underwhelming due to a nagging ankle injury that limited him for most of the year. As a rookie, it was a bit of a rollercoaster as he was developing the more technical aspects of playing the position. Then, in year two, he was really settling into a groove once he got decent quarterback play when Jameis Winston took over mid-season, and was playing very well when his season ended with a concussion. However, his grade is incomplete because of the small sample size, but he seemed to be figuring it all out.
Grade: Incomplete
Hit or Miss: Leaning towards a hit.
Round 3, Pick 98: Siaki Ika, DT, Baylor
The next pick was a pick that made me want to throw my phone at the wall as the team took Baylor defensive tackle Siaki Ika. I understand what they were going for: a half-decent athlete at the position who can shut down the run game up the middle. But Ika regressed his final year and got driven too far back far too often for a run-stuffing lineman. He struggled to play with leverage and didn't have the lower body strength to eat space and shut the run down. Ika struggled to impact the game at all and didn't play a snap for anyone in the NFL regular season in 2024.
Grade: F
Hit or Miss: Miss