Cleveland Browns Lose Former Amazing NCAA Champion And 2020 Draft Pick To The Houston Texans
The Cleveland Browns had one of the best seasons in franchise history last season, and every Browns fan is super excited for the 2024 season to start. However, one player who has been part of the franchise for the previous four seasons will not be on the sidelines this year.
Cleveland Browns Had A Great Defense Last Season
The Cleveland Browns had one of the best defenses in 2023, and much of that was due to a new defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, and defensive end Myles Garrett, who claimed his first NFL Defensive Player of The Year Award. Another bright spot on the defense was linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who turned himself into a Pro Bowler last year. Still, he will not be playing alongside another linebacker on the team since 2020.
Phillips was a third-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2020 and was a significant part of the 2019 LSU Tigers National title team.
Phillips was injured greatly in four years with the Browns and even missed the 2023 season. The most games he saw in a season was his rookie year when he played in nine.
Browns And Texans Have Gone At It For A Few Years Now
The Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans have been going at it the last few years, and it goes back to two years ago when the Browns traded for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, and then the Browns fell to the Texans in this year’s playoff, so the two teams know each other well.
Sending a mere fifth-round pick to Dallas, Berry swiped away No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper from the cap-strapped Cowboys. That savvy move preceded the blockbuster trades for All-Pro receivers Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams, who both went for a multitude of picks days later.
Cooper has since become the first Cleveland player to post back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Last year, he also broke a franchise single-game record with 265 receiving yards in a win against the Houston Texans on the way to a fifth Pro Bowl appearance.
Yet as successful as the Cooper trade has been, Berry and the Browns have otherwise struggled in targeting receivers. That has left them without an obvious No. 1 heir apparent to Cooper, who turns 30 this summer and has ended the past two seasons battling nagging injuries. And that is why, once again, receiver could be one of the positions to watch Friday night on Day 2 of the draft when the Browns make their first two picks, coming in at No. 54 and No. 85 overall.
Since taking over as GM in 2020, Berry has expended precious draft and financial capital attempting to bolster the receiver room. In the last three drafts, he’s used a third-round pick on a receiver (Cedric Tillman, David Bell and Anthony Schwartz). Before that, in his first draft, Berry took Donovan Peoples-Jones in the sixth round.
