Why Pro Football Focus's "C+" Draft Grade Is The Perfect Grade For Cleveland

The Browns draft wasn't filled with flash, it was filled with depth at key positions and was exactly what this team needed.

Nov 4, 2023; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. (51) / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Post-draft grades generally don't provide much value as they are a grade for a group of rookie players who have yet to play a snap in the NFL. I for one would be more interested in grading draft classes from two or three years ago to see how the classes actually developed.

But I digress. If you follow my writing during the season you know that I am a proponent of Pro Football Focus. While PFF is an imperfect system, it is the closest "internet coach" that we fans can get our hands on. Grading players on what they believe the responsibility was and if they accomplished it on each particular play.

PFF's draft grade for the Cleveland Browns was a C+ and I'm here to tell you that that is a perfect grade for Cleveland. The A+ grades were given out to the teams who made the biggest splash, drafted the biggest star or had the biggest class.

DRAFT GRADES ARE LIVE ⬇️https://t.co/77gmWkxOMz

— PFF CLE Browns (@PFF_Browns) April 27, 2024

For Cleveland, their draft goal this year was to establish depth at the most important positions and try to find a diamond in the rough playmaker late in the draft. If you look at the Cleveland roster, it is almost already set with veterans all across the roster so they didn't have much room to add talent.

Instead, they beefed up the interior of their offensive and defensive lines with two of the top prospects in the draft. Michael Hall Jr. falls to them at 54 and he was graded out as one of the best defensive linemen in the class.

That pick was followed by my favorite pick of the draft, Zak Zinter, the "bully" guard out of Michigan. Zinter was a projected first round pick in the draft until, ironically, Mike Hall Jr. rolled up on his leg during "The Game". Zinter will have the year to sit and learn from two of the best in football while continuing to heal back to 100 percent.

Dec 31, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive lineman Zak Zinter (65) against / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland then supplemented those picks with speedster Jamari Thrash, SEC leading tackler Nathaniel Watson, physical corner Myles Harden and then one of the biggest guys in the draft, Jowon Briggs.

There is no flash or fireworks in this group, just a class of guys that have a chance to build depth on the Browns and be long-term pieces to this roster.