NFL Draft: Browns trade up to get Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who says they feel like family

When Emmanuel McNeil-Warren took his visit to the Browns facility in the leadup to the NFL Draft, the University of Toledo All-American safety found something more than just an organization interested in selecting him as a player.McNeil-Warren found a comfort level with everyone in the building, so he was grateful to get the call from the Browns on Friday night that they were selecting him with the No. 58 pick in the second round.NFL Draft: Andrew Berry makes 3 trades on Day 2, moves out and back into 3rd round"Ever since getting out of the combine, I feel like the Browns, they love me," McNeil-Warren said on a conference call. "They supported me. They've been telling me how good a player I am, as a person, too, so I had a feeling it would be someone with the Cleveland Browns."Going up on a visit, it felt like home, family. All the coaches are cool. I feel like it was just a blessing for just being on the same team back in Ohio with them."The Browns used their original second-round pick, No. 39, on Denzel Boston, a wide receiver out of the University of Washington. Then as the selections continued, a bold decision was made.Instead of trading back, which is the default for general manager Andrew Berry, he traded up, sending pick Nos. 70 and 107 to the San Francisco 49ers for Nos. 58 and 152.NFL Draft: Spencer Fano finds 'no greater joy' than dominating a defender, grateful he'll practice against Myles Garrett but not face him on Sundays"Man, it means everything in life," he said when asked about the trade up to select him. "I'm going to give all I got. We're going to put in that work and try to win and get that Super Bowl. I appreciate them for giving me a chance, not giving up on me."Assistant general manager/vice president of football operations Catherine Hickman expressed appreciation for his versatility and ability to play in a variety of spots within a defense that has Pro Bowl talents (end Myles Garrett, cornerback Denzel Ward and linebacker Carson Schwesigner) at all three levels."Two things that Andrew harps on us all the time is to bring guys here in this building that are tough and competitive, and he embodies that," Hickman said of McNeil-Warren. "The way he plays is exactly the type of football that we want to play, and he'll continue to do that here at our level."You're thinking of a player that can play high, can play low, a player that has excellent ball skills, size, strength, physicality. Really, he's a player that plays the way we want to play defense, just gives our defensive coaches so many options. And I think they're going to be extremely — I don't think — I know they're going to be extremely pleased to work with him."Zone Coverage PodcastDuring his four-year career at Toledo, McNeil-Warren registered 106 solo tackles and 108 assists over 48 games. He made 11 tackles for loss, including a sack. He collected five interceptions, 17 passes defended, nine forced fumbles and two recoveries."Ballhawk is definitely in the description, and really just someone with his size, his athleticism, the way he moves for his size, I was down at his pro day, and it's pretty impressive," Hickman said. "I think he's really someone that's going to be able to give us options."In addition to the play on the field, the Browns felt McNeil-Warren was "a really mature, impressive young man."That includes remaining at Toledo to finish his career when chances presented themselves to enter the transfer portal and go to a bigger school, where Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities could have been lucrative for the Tampa, Florida, native."It's something pretty rare nowadays," Hickman said. "He just was really loyal to the school that gave him a chance. He wanted to do the best he could there, and he did that. Really, we're welcoming someone that's going to really add to our culture and someone that's extremely, extremely mature and well-rounded."It's not really a matter of judging whether you're transferring or not. It's more a matter of giving him the credit to staying loyal to the school and really wanting to give back to the school that gave him a chance when he didn't really have any offers. Now that he was producing, he could have just left. He said something to me that really stuck out. He said something along the lines of 'the long-term financials or the big financial gains will come when I make it to the NFL.' That kind of was his mindset, so it's just a testament to him and his maturity and his process."While loyalty may be rare in the ever-evolving world of college football, staying at Toledo was not even a question for McNeil-Warren, not after opportunities at bigger schools like Miami, Indiana and Maryland dried up due to unfortunate timing with an injury."In my late high school career, I got hurt and they stopped texting, but Toledo, they stayed true to me," McNeil-Warren said. "They never gave up on me, so I feel like I owe it to Toledo."They developed me as a player. I feel like why switch up from them. They never switched up with me, so I built a brotherhood and a bond there. The coaches, they're like family to me. I just wanted to build a legacy."Like he was for the Rockets, McNeil-Warren wants to be an impact player for the Browns. In whatever roles and opportunities he carves out for himself through the offseason workouts and training camp, McNeil-Warren wants to make his presence known when the games count."I'm a playmaker," he said. "I'm going to just go to that ball. Wherever I see that ball at, I'm going to go to that ball, so being able to do that for the Cleveland Browns and just help us win."The post NFL Draft: Browns trade up to get Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who says they feel like family first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.