Why Michael Hall Jr. will have a chance to become a key contributor on the Browns defense as a rookie: Ashley Bastock [Video]

BEREA, Ohio — Allow me a short victory lap.

In the previous two years, without a first-round pick, it’s largely been difficult to predict what the Browns were going to do in the draft. No one had Martin Emerson Jr. on their radar for Cleveland in 2022, and really, no one was mocking Cedric Tillman to the Browns last year. And in 2024, they were keeping everything close to the vest heading into the second round.

But, I was adamant heading into Friday night that the Browns should take a D-tackle with pick No. 54.

And that’s exactly what they did, selecting Northeast Ohio native and former Buckeye Michael Hall Jr.

Hall was one of the three names I proposed they go after, and one of the handful of interior guys I figured would be there for the Browns. The other two, Maason Smith and Kris Jenkins Jr., were already off the board, gone to the Jaguars and Bengals, respectively, just before the Browns were on …