General manager John Dorsey says the texts from Ohio State coaches won't stop now that the Browns have plucked Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Ward at No. 4 overall.
BEREA With the No. 1 choice in the 2018 NFL draft the Browns picked Baker Mayfield. With their next pick they took a cornerback whose team Mayfield picked apart.
Cornerback Denzel Ward, selected at No. 4 overall Thursday night, gave Ohio State two tackles on Sept. 9 in a 31-16 to Mayfield's Oklahoma Sooners.
The Buckeyes never thoroughly recovered, although Ward did. His 2017 season left him as the consensus best cornerback in this draft.
"He's an unbelievable player," Mayfield said shortly after he and Ward became new teammates. "He's been a great player for them the last couple of years."
Ward said he forgives Mayfield for infamously planting a flag on the field in Ohio Stadium.
"It was an emotional win, one we got a year after Ohio State came in and absolutely crushed us at our place," Mayfield said. "Now we're in it together."
Ward's selection gave much of Browns Nation a shiver of surprise. For months, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb were supposed to be the players between whom the Browns would find their mega-bonus pick at 4. Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was seen as the other option.
There was plenty of talk about perhaps trading down from and landing Ward.
"We had numerous phone calls," general manager John Dorsey said. "There were probably a half dozen teams that wanted to come up. We placed a value on the player against the value of what we might have gotten back.
"Denzel is a unique and gifted player," Dorsey said. "He's a great kid who loves the game of football. He's exceptionally fast, with a great change of direction and incredible ball skills."
Ward sounded jazzed about being drafted by a team that is a short drive from his high school, Nordonia, which he led to a 14-1 record and a Division II state runner-up in 2014.
"It''s an amazing blessing," he said. "It was my childhood dream to be drafted into the NFL, and to be picked as the fourth player in a draft by my hometown is a blessing."
He said choosing Ohio State after Nordonia was a natural.
"The coaches there set high expectations," he said. "They condition you to expect to be a first-round draft pick."
Three Buckeye defensive backs were first-round picks in 2017: Marshon Lattimore (No. 11, Saints), Malik Hooker (No. 15, Colts) and Gareon Conley (No. 24, Raiders).
Ward is tied for being the second-highest pick from Ohio State in the last 21 drafts, following the 1997 selection of tackle Orlando Pace at No. 1. In 2016, defensive end Joey Bosa went No. 3 overall to the Chargers; running back Ezekiel Elliott went fourth overall to the Cowboys.
While Ward was the draft's top-rated cornerback, he was analyst Mike Mayock's third-rated defensive back. Mayock had Fitzpatrick as the draft's fifth-best player and Florida State's Derwin James as the sixth-best. He ranked Ward at No. 15 overall.
Ward becomes a challenger for "fastest man in Berea," having run a 4.32 40 at the Combine. He is a bit undersized, rounding off to 5-foot-11, 190 pounds.
Mayock's overview: "He has the talent to handle the outside, but his lack of play strength and elite footwork might move him inside. He is an outstanding mirror-and-match cornerback with great route feel.
"He should become an early starter at nickel corner with the talent to make an immediate impact."
Dorsey thought a bit more of Ward, making him the first defensive back selected and the fourth overall player drafted.
"Right after we drafted him, (defensive coordinator) Gregg Williams came up and said, 'Look at all these texts I'm getting from Ohio State coaches,'" Dorsey said. "They really like him down there."
Reach Steve at 330-580-8347 or steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP