The Browns Were Wrong to Draft Caleb Brantley

Editor's note: Since publication of this blog, the case against Caleb Brantley was dismissed by authorities without bringing a charge.

It’s hard to make headlines with a sixth-round draft selection, but the Cleveland Browns managed to do just that by taking Florida defensive tackle Caleb Brantley with the 185th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

If one were to look at this as a pure football move, there’s no denying that Brantley has talent. His predraft projection was second-to-third round pick and his production at Florida — which plays in one of the toughest conferences in FBS — pops out. He had 9.5 tackles for loss and two sacks and played since his redshirt freshman season. He averaged nearly seven tackles for loss during his three years with the Gators.

But none of that matters, because on April 21 Brantley was charged with misdemeanor simple battery, allegedly punching a woman in the face, causing her to lose a tooth. Let’s just get this out of the way right now: This kind of behavior is unacceptable and shouldn’t have been tolerated by the Browns.

They sent the wrong message by picking Brantley.

Sashi Brown — director of football operations — came down to address the media immediately following the pick. He made it clear that the team does not tolerate this kind behavior, and said they could cut Brantley at any time if they’re unable to “get comfortable” with the situation.

His explanation raises a couple of questions, for starters Brown made it clear that Brantley was no lock to make the roster and could be cut at anytime. Why waste a draft pick, regardless of the round, on a player who might not even make it to training camp? Obviously a sixth-round pick has a higher risk of being cut than a first rounder, but it seems silly to increase that risk further by taking a player with a serious legal situation.

Brown also used a curious phrase throughout his press conference, “get comfortable,” implying that the team still wasn’t even after selecting Brantley. If the Browns weren’t comfortable with the situation before selecting him, why even bother? If you’re going to make a pick like that, you better be comfortable with the kid because most people won’t be comfortable with the selection.

Count me as one of them.

One thing I’ve enjoyed about this Browns regime is that during the last two drafts it’s placed a premium on character and overcoming adversity. Countless picks — Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib and Larry Ogunjobi to name a few — fit the profile of “guys you want to succeed.”

Ogbah’s family migrated to the U.S. from Nigeria when he was nine to “find a better way of life,” Nassib was a preferred walk-on at Penn State who went from special teams to leading the nation with 15.5 sacks as a fifth-year senior (also forced six fumbles) and Ogunjobi lost more than 100 pounds when his parents forced him to turn off the video games and take up football in high school.

The Brantley pick goes against all of that. It’s the first pick I felt went against the overriding philosophy of the front office.

And it’s not like there weren’t other players available including two safeties, Chuck Clark of Virginia Tech and Michael Tyson of Cincinnati, who could have potentially added depth to a seriously thin secondary. They were selected by two teams that have a history of drafting well — the Ravens and Seahawks, respectively — immediately following the Brantley pick.

Do Clark and Tyson have better odds at making a roster than any other sixth round pick? No, but they also don’t have a serious legal situation compounding the matter.

We’ll see if Brantley makes it to July, all the Browns can do now is wait out the legal process and hope nothing more comes out. Because if a Ray Rice-like situation develops in the coming months, there’s going to be plenty of people uncomfortable in Berea, Ohio.