The Browns didn't make a pick until the No. 54 selection, but that doesn't mean Cleveland didn't add any playmakers to the roster.
The team mostly took defensive players after the Browns drafted two defensive linemen, one linebacker and one defensive back compared with one offensive lineman and one wide receiver.
Here are the full draft grades and an overall grade as well as favorite and least-favorite picks.
2024 NFL DRAFT: Full list of picks | Winners & losers
2024 Browns’ Draft class grades and superlatives
Picks and player grades
- Round 2, Pick No. 54: Ohio State DT Michael Hall Jr. (B+)
- Round 3, Pick No. 85: Michigan OG Zak Zinter (B)
- Round 5, Pick No. 156: Louisville WR Jamari Thrash (B-)
- Round 6, Pick No. 206: Mississippi State LB Nathaniel Watson (A-)
- Round 7, Pick No. 227: South Dakota DB Myles Harden (B+)
- Round 7, Pick No. 243: Cincinnati DT Jowon Briggs (C)
Overall Grade: B
Best Pick — DT Michael Hall
If the Browns deploy Hall correctly, they could have a great long-term starter on their hands. Hall played a bit out of position at Ohio State, which lean to some drop in production, but his tape is solid for a smaller defensive tackle.
Cleveland needed interior defensive line help and Hall gives the Browns much-needed depth alongside starters Dalvin Tomlinson and Shelby Harris.
Best Value — LB Nathaniel Watson
Watson isn't a do-it-all linebacker, but the Browns don't need him to be in 2024. While Cleveland has a solid stable of linebackers, Watson should provide great support as a situational player in the box who can make tackles at, around or behind the line of scrimmage.
SN's NFL DRAFT HQ: Live tracker | Pick-by-pick grades | Top 250 big board
Least favorite — DT Jowon Briggs
It's hard to call one of the latest picks in the draft a "least favorite," but Briggs might not even crack the 53-man roster when all is said and done. There were other positions of need the Browns could have taken a flier on this late in the draft rather than a defensive tackle who is just more stout than Hall.
Wildcard — OG Zak Zinter
Zinter could have been a top-picked offensive lineman had he not suffered a season-ending injury this past season. Instead, the Browns get an interior lineman who will get more time to recover and learn from some of the best in the NFL in Cleveland. Zinter is a long-term play by the Browns and one who could take over in 2025.
