CLEVELAND — The Browns draft picks will be able to buy their moms something nice for Mother’s Day on Sunday.
Five of them signed their rookie contracts as rookie minicamp began Friday, with one to go.
The lone unsigned pick is their first: No. 54 pick in the second round Mike Hall Jr., the defensive tackle out of Ohio State, who was born an raised in the Cleveland suburb of Garfield Heights, Ohio and then moved to Streetsboro, Ohio, which is closer to Akron.
The five who signed are:
Guard Zak Zinter, No. 85 in the third round out of Michigan.Wide receiver Jamari Thrash, No. 156 in the fifth round out of Louisville.Linebacker Nathaniel Watson, No. 206 in the sixth round out of Mississippi State.Cornerback Myles Harden, No. 227 in the seventh round out of South Dakota.Defensive tackle Jowon Briggs, No. 243 in the seventh round out of Cincinnati. Their projected salaries for their four-year contracts, according to Spotrac, are as follows, with the total first, followed by the yearly average and signing bonus:
Zinter: $5.734 million, $1.433 million, $990,720.Thrash: $4.345 million, $1.086 million, $324,408.Watson: $4.182 million, $1.045 million, $162,724.Harden: $4.130 million, $1.032 million, $110,332.Briggs: $4.108 million, $1.027 million, $88,564.When Hall signs his contract, it will be about $7.069 million, with a yearly average of $1.767 million and signing bonus of $1.961 million.
The draft picks, undrafted rookies and tryout players will participate in the three-day camp beginning on Friday. It gives the rookies a chance to get to know their draft class and coaches before they join the veterans in voluntarily organized team activities on May 21st.
Berry looked right in his own backyard to find a defensive tackle who could wreak havoc on quarterbacks, especially the formidable lineup of them this season, including Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa.
“With Mike, he’s really tailor-made for our attack front,” Berry said on draft day. “He’s explosive, he’s quite quick. He can rush the passer. He’s long, and he plays, really with a very high motor. He’s really the quintessential three-technique in our defense.
“And for us, pass rushers will always come at a premium, especially those that can affect the pocket from inside and we think that’s something that Mike will be able to do along our front. So, we’re really excited to kind of keep him home, so to speak, and think his skillset and passion really matches perfectly for our organization.”
Zinter, coming off his broken left fibula and tibia from when Hall was blocked into him, will learn the ropes from Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.
“You guys all know that we’ll be a team that invests in the trenches, invests in the O-line, Berry said on draft day. “Zak, we just thought, was a rock-solid all-around player his entire career at Michigan. He was really the heartbeat of their culture when we met with him throughout the pre-draft process. You know, very smart, professional, passionate about football, and I think his blue-collar mentality will really fit well within our offensive line room.”
As for Thrash, the Browns hope he can play himself onto the roster by excelling at the choice routes they’ll run under offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, like the ones Cole Beasly ran for him in Buffalo, where the receiver makes his break based on the leverage of the defender. It takes great feel on the part of the receiver, and excellent communication between the quarterback and receiver.
“We liked his route skill and his separation ability,” Berry said. “This is a guy that both was very productive at Georgia State and then transferred up to Louisville, really answered the bell there and then really, even through the Senior Bowl in January. We view him as a guy who can play outside and inside. He’s good with the ball in his hands. We think he’s a guy that has position flex.”
