Safety pinned: Browns select LSU’s Delpit in second round

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Browns added a national champion to their secondary.

Desperate for a safety, Cleveland made a trade in the second round before selecting LSU’s Grant Delpit with the No. 44 overall pick in the NFL draft Friday night.

Delpit won the Jim Thorpe Award as college football’s best defensive back last season, when he helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA title. He will be reunited in Cleveland with former LSU teammate Greedy Williams, a cornerback taken by the Browns in the second round last year.

The Browns were very thin at safety after choosing not to re-sign Damarious Randall. They added free agent Karl Joseph last month.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry made his first trade of the draft before selecting the 6-foot-2, 213-pound Delpit, exchanging second-round picks with the Indianapolis Colts for a fifth-round pick (No. 160) and their choice at 44.

“We really viewed him as a big, versatile playmaker,” Berry said. “Our appeal to Grant is his coverage ability. He’a a guy who can play the post. He can play near the line of scrimmage. He can cover tight ends, walk over a slot and hold his own against receivers and he’s been a consistent producer throughout his career.”

Berry said Delpit, who grew up in New Orleans as a Saints fan, played most of last season with a “high ankle sprain that would have put a lot of players out of commission for a longer period of time.”

Berry added that everyone the Browns spoke to at LSU raved about Delpit’s football intellect and that the 21-year-old was one of the most impressive players they interviewed at the combine.

The draft couldn’t have started much better on Thursday for the Browns, who stuck to their plan by addressing their biggest need and selecting Alabama tackle Jedrick Wills with the 10th overall pick.

Wills starred at right tackle for the Crimson Tride, but the Browns intend to switch him to the left side to serve as a protector for quarterback Baker Mayfield and to open up holes for Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb.

Chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta said Wills was the top-rated tackle on Cleveland’s board.

The Browns entered Day 2 of this virtual draft with three picks: No. 41, No. 74 and No. 97, the last acquired from Houston last year for running back Duke Johnson.