Former Florida defensive tackle Caleb Brantley was expected to be a second-round pick in this year’s draft. He stood out as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the entire draft.
That all changed when reports surfaced that Brantley allegedly punched a woman outside of a bar and grill in Florida earlier this month. Brantley was then charged with knocking the woman unconscious.
Proving once again that character doesn’t necessarily matter to NFL teams, Brantley was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the first pick in the sixth round of the 2017 draft on Saturday afternoon.
Welcome to Cleveland, Caleb Brantley!https://t.co/xijtGu0Wk2#BrownsDraft pic.twitter.com/l84d5Uj24Y
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 29, 2017
Cleveland surely gets a potentially dominating player on the field. But the team will take a PR hit for this selection. It’s also not yet known whether Brantley will actually be a free man after the legal situation itself plays out.