NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah: How the Cowboys & Browns Nailed the NFL Draft

The Cleveland Browns' draft, not their quarterback room, is what NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah keeps circling back to, and on Rich's show he made the case that the front office quietly pulled off the most useful weekend of any team in the league.

"I like the Browns," Jeremiah said. "I think the Browns can get solid quarterback play, you know, wherever that comes from. If they can just get solid, decent quarterback play, they've built up this roster pretty well."

Jeremiah pointed to the trade-back maneuvering as the move that unlocked the rest of the board for Cleveland. "To make them the smart move to trade back because you knew didn't have to take Fono, the tackle. They traded back, still got him. Then you're debating between whether they take Conpion and Boston. They end up getting both of them into the mix. And McNeel Warren comes in there. I just love what they did."

Rich pushed on the quarterback question that will dominate Browns coverage all summer, and Jeremiah did not blink off Deshaun Watson. "I think it's going to be Watson. It's just look, it's the investment, right? Comparing what you've invested into Shadour, even though he's younger, comparing what you've invested obviously into Watson, like it's not close. He's going to get the first chance at this thing. Now, if his failure is performance-based or he just can't stay healthy, then you pivot, but I would be surprised if he doesn't get the first crack at it."

The Cowboys, Jeremiah said, made their statement before the picks were even in. "They got no choice but to be better. They're going to be absolutely better this year. And I love Christian Parker, who they brought over as a DC from Philly, who did a great job with their young secondary. So you start with the coordinator move before we even get to the draft."

On first-rounder Caleb Banks and second-rounder Malachi Lawrence, Jeremiah liked the conviction even when the value was a reach. "DS is a great kind of a foundational piece, not only for what he is as a player, but the leadership, the intelligence, the communication. He's going to be a kind of a nerve center for that group." Of Lawrence, he said, "He's got all kinds of ability, but he's a little bit raw. You're going to have to be patient there with him. But look, they had conviction."

His sleeper, buried in the seventh round, was Oklahoma receiver Deion Burks to the Colts. "He almost fell completely out of the draft. This is the one receiver they drafted who I thought should have been a third round pick. I think that kid is way better than that."