Browns Select Michael Hall With Pick No. 54.
CLEVELAND - The Browns draft another Buckeye with their first pick in the 2024 draft as they select Ohio State defensive tackle Mike Hall with pick no. 54.
This is the 38th time the Browns have drafted a Buckeye in their franchise's history which is the most out of any school they drafted from with the next closest being Purdue (23).
Hall, 6'2 290 lbs, played 3 years at OSU where he recorded a total of 6 sacks 10 tackles for loss, and 45 total tackles. He was 3rd-Team All-Big Ten Conference and played in 12 games for OSU last season. While it's true Hall did not light up the stat sheet, the Browns front office views Hall as a superior talent.
"The stats are sort of volatile, especially on the defensive line," Browns assistant GM Glenn Cook said, "Sometimes sacks are not indicative, but again it's a production business so we hope he is much more productive than that, but you just hang your hat on the traits and the ability."
Hall is a native of Cleveland Ohio, where he was born in Garfield Heights and began his freshman year at Benedictine High School and then spent the next three years at Streetsboro High School.
When asked about being drafted by his hometown team, Hall responded saying "It's the greatest feeling in the world, ya know?" Hall Continued later in his press conference "You know there's gonna be a lot of pressure on me playing in my hometown, a lot of people are gonna have expectations. But at the end of the day as a player, I still have demands I have to meet and I have to hold myself accountable and try to be the best player I can be."
Hall, who had an 84.8 Pass Rush Grade which was 1st amongst Big Ten DTs, joins a Browns defense that ranked 1st in yards allowed per game (270.2) and first in yards per play at (4.6).
"I mean, Jim (Schwartz) got on the phone with him and gave him a quiz and he was ready to roll," Assistant General Manager Catherine Raiche said when talking about how excited they are to bring in Hall. "He's about to be the engine of this defense, and I'm not gonna use the words that they used, (Schwartz) but let's just say he will 'mess things up' in the front there."
It's safe to say the Browns are very satisfied with their pick and have high expectations of molding Hall into a premier DT in the NFL.