Browns NFL Draft Profile: DT Jowon Briggs

The team selected Briggs in the 7th round on Saturday

The Cleveland Browns selected Cincinnati defensive tackle Jowon Briggs with the 243rd pick in the 7th round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The team added two defensive tackles this weekend, with Briggs being Cleveland’s last selection of the draft. He’s a scrappy, one-gapping defensive tackle who plays with a good amount of energy and grit at the point of attack.

Cleveland now has a surplus of interior defensive linemen, so there’s going to be some great competition at that spot throughout the summer and preseason.

Name

Jowon Briggs

Position

Defensive Tackle

Height/Weight

6’1.4”, 313 pounds

College

University of Cincinnati

Stats

2023: 12 games- 27 tackles, 6 TFL, 2 sacks,

Overall: 52 games – 169 tackles, 21.5 TFL, 12 sacks

Relative Athletic Score

“Big Board” ranking at time of publishing

265th

What experts are saying

“Jowon Briggs turned some heads at the Big 12 pro day by weighing over 15 pounds heavier than his roster weight and putting up impressive testing numbers, highlighted by a 5.0-second 40-yard dash and 39 reps on the bench press. He’s also a versatile defensive lineman who lined up at just about every technique in college.” – Matt Holder, B/R

“Squatty interior defender with short arms and a lack of ideal scheme fit. He won’t disrupt as a gap shooter and isn’t long enough to control blockers as a two-gapper. Briggs isn’t sudden off the snap but does play with good lateral quickness to hunt and tackle runners down the line. He does a decent job of utilizing hand fighting to knock a blocker’s hands off him, but he’s more likely to stay engaged early on than find quick wins. Briggs is active and plays with good hustle but might not have the traits or one-positional advantage to stand out.” – Lance Zierlein, NFL Analyst

Pros

• Known for his leadership in college
• Decent motor, shows the ability to be effective with secondary moves
• Very hard to move 1-on-1 in the run game
• “Shadows” opposing blockers well and takes good angles to ball carriers
• Thick, strong frame
• Displays fairly good lateral quickness
• Fairly decent athlete for his size
• Played multiple positions on the DL for the Bearcats

Cons

• Needs to work on pass rush repertoire and technique
• Slow of the LOS at times
• Doesn’t have great length
• Needs to work on keeping his pad level lower to improve leverage when anchoring

Browns player drafting will impact in 2024

Siaki Ika. Ika wasn’t able to showcase much in 2023 after being a healthy scratch for the first 13 games of the season. He’ll head into OTA’s and training camp with the goal of “winning over” the coaching staff, and showing why the team drafted him in the 3rd round last offseason. If he isn’t able to, Briggs is the type of scrappy player who could have a legitimate chance to make the roster.

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