The Cleveland Browns completed last year in good shape with the defensive backfield group. But Ronnie Hickman wasn’t re-signed before the year ended, then was given a restricted free agent tender on March 26. Will he return? Will he end up with another club? Hickman did show up for the start of offseason programming.
Veteran Rayshawn Jenkins was not re-signed. Rookie Donovan McMillon showed a lot of promise but needs more experience.
Which meant the Browns needed help in the safety room. Daniel Thomas was signed late in free agency, having played in 83 NFL games but just six starts, and has 94 total tackles for six seasons.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was the No. 20 player on my board. No idea why he fell this far unless there's a medical that wasn't disclosed. Combine workout wasn't that bad. He's a fantastic in the box safety.
With the #58 pick in Round 2, Browns GM Andrew Berry selected Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. He was ranked #29 on most big boards, and NFL.com had him ranked #15. Cleveland had just one selection in the second round at #39 and chose Washington WR Denzel Boston, but late in the round, Berry traded back into the back end of the round.
#Browns trade 70, 107#49ers trade 58, 152 https://t.co/cSlL6MTfRN
Berry swapped pick #70 in the third round plus his fourth-round selection at #107 to acquire picks #58 and #152, second and fifth round slots, respectively, from the San Francisco 49ers. Before the draft began, Browns safety coach Ephraim Banda stuck a Post-it note on Berry’s monitor that simply stated: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
Who is McNeil-Warren, anyway? He went to Toledo, so is he an Ohio kid?
McNeil-Warren grew up in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, which is comprised of about 10 municipalities that surround Tampa Bay. He went to Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg. Lakewood has sent 20 players to the NFL over the years. McNeil-Warren makes 21.
He is one of nine children, and he is not the oldest, but the oldest male. He was raised by a single mom, Sharona McNeil, who also held a full-time job. Life was never fair or provided much. His father, Tarus Horne, entered McNeil-Warren’s life later in life and was one of the offensive football coaches at his high school.
He had some colleges talking to him about their programs, but a concussion early in his senior year required that he miss the first three games. Many schools quit communication with him, but Toledo kept up a relationship and was one of the first schools to contact him.
And he had some good schools offer him, including Indiana, UAB, Miami, East Carolina, Bowling Green, and Kansas State. But McNeil-Warren is a very loyal guy. He felt loyalty to Toledo and decided to give that back and accepted a scholarship at the Ohio school.
McNeil-Warren is the first person in his family to go to college.
His college stats: 48 games played, 214 total tackles, 1 sack, 11 tackles for loss, nine forced fumbles, five interceptions, two fumble recoveries, 13 batted passes, and one pick six.
McNeil-Warren’s nose for the football is undeniable. He was projected to be drafted late in the first round or early second. He has great size for a safety and is a very good tackler. Excellent coverage on tight ends in man. Spent most of his game time in the box in college and thrives on run defense. McNeil-Warren is the assassin that Cleveland will fall in love with. Great match with Grant Delpit.
Toledo manages to get a defensive player drafted every year and safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren will be the nextYou dont see too many safeties jump a curl route outside the numbers for a pick six pic.twitter.com/iozWlrKy2s
McNeil-Warren is a versatile safety who has made a name for himself with his playmaking ability, recording 13 turnovers in college. That makes him instinctive. He is one of the bigger safeties in this year’s class, and having grown up with so many brothers and sisters, he is ultra-competitive.
McNeil-Warren cleanly recognizes and fills run lanes. He takes some steep angles in run defense that occasionally cause issues against explosive runners. In college, they depended on him to carry out multiple alignments and needed his tackling expertise. He has a tremendous processing speed. A very tough kid without being loud. When it’s all over, this will be the Browns’ best pick in this year’s draft.
McNeil-Warren lacks the strength to stack and shed larger blockers consistently. Needs to show the Browns coaches that he is more than just a box safety, but is comfortable playing there. He does have an issue with man coverage against quick-twitch receivers. On sudden breaks, his feet get a bit heavy. Will sometimes lunge on open field tackles instead of just squaring up. Can be a bit jumpy pre-snap.