The Cleveland Browns had two picks in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft and ended up with Cedric Tillman at No. 74 and Siaki Ika at No. 98.
Tillman was a bit of a surprise selection since there were no whispers of interest from the Cleveland front office. Ika wasn’t as much of a surprise but he was a major reach.
Cleveland did show interest in the Baylor product but they allowed their need for a nose tackle to cloud their judgement. Ika dropped roughly 20 pounds in an effort to prove he could be more athletic, then had one of the worst athletic showings we’ve seen from a defensive tackle.
Once on the team, that didn’t change. He struggled to see the field, playing in just four games after several injuries forced the team’s hand. Ika had zero tackles in those appearances and didn’t show improvement this year. That led to the decision to let him go, as reported by Mary Kay Cabot.
Ika was one of many players Cleveland waived as the Browns are trimming their roster to 53 players.
Browns GM shows growth with Siaki Zika release
While we never want to glorify a player’s release, it does show growth for GM Andrew Berry.
As good as he’s been in drafting players, he’s been criticized for hanging onto his own picks for too long. That was the case with Anthony Schwartz, who was still receiving chances heading into year three before they moved on.
Seeing him pull the plug on Ika after one season proves he can make the tough calls even when it involves someone he selected.
The Browns could still retain Ika via the practice squad as long as he’s not claimed by another team.
