Cleveland Browns select Oklahoma defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey in 2022 NFL Draft

The Cleveland Browns have found the next piece of their defensive line in Oklahoma defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey. After spending the past two seasons with the Sooners, Winfrey was taken 108th overall Saturday in the 2022 NFL Draft.

A former JUCO transfer, Winfrey joined OU in the 2020 season out of Iowa Western after receiving offers from Alabama, LSU, Texas and others. In two years of junior college, he totaled 55 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

Winfrey went on to earn second team All-Big 12 selections both seasons in Norman and showed vast improvements as a senior. This past season, Winfrey started all 12 games for the Sooners to finish with 23 tackles (11 for loss), 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Although those numbers might not exactly pop out on paper, the Browns can rest assured after the defensive tackle’s performance both in the Senior Bowl and at the NFL Combine.

In the Senior Bowl, Winfrey finished with two sacks and three tackles for a loss. He was named the game’s MVP, going viral on Twitter and more for his performance throughout the week. At the combine, he dropped more jaws after finishing with an official 40-yard dash time of 4.89 seconds.

Todd McShay sings praises of Oklahoma defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey

Winfrey’s performance in both the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine caused him to quickly shoot up the draft boards of many league experts. One such pundit was ESPN’s Todd McShay, who quickly became very high on the former Sooners star.

McShay believes that Oklahoma’s defensive scheme doesn’t really show off Winfrey’s strengths, but that he did a good job of showcasing his assets at the Senior Bowl.

“The third player that really jumped out to me in terms of moving up my rankings, Perrion Winfrey from Oklahoma,” McShay said. “Where you been my man? And I know part of it was the scheme. They do a lot of slanting at Oklahoma. it didn’t really feature his strengths.

“His first step, quickness was the best of any defensive lineman, or defensive tackle I should say in Mobile all week long. It was like every single drop, flying off the ball, penetrating, getting on the edge of offensive linemen. And by the time offensive linemen could get set, they had no chance. He was already working around the edge of them. He was productive throughout the week in practice, he had a sack in the game on Saturday.”