CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It’s not easy to make the Pro Bowl off an 0-16 team. In 2017, Joe Schobert did that. In 2018, the Browns saw how much they needed him when he missed three games with a hamstring injury. Getting that from a fourth-round pick? That makes Schobert worthy of a top-10 spot in our list of 25 moves that transformed the Browns.

The move: Pick linebacker Joe Schobert out of Wisconsin with the first selection in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, No. 99 overall.

The context: Schobert was the sixth Browns draft pick in 2016 and all five ahead of him are gone. Only two of the eight players drafted by the Browns after him that year remain -- Seth DeValve and Rashard Higgins. But like Larry Ogunjobi with the 2017 class, Schobert stands out as a hit in a sea of late-round misses, giving the Browns something to hang on to from 2016.

Named the Big Ten’s best linebacker as a senior, the former walk-on played outside linebacker with the Badgers. The Browns thought he could play inside or outside, but Schobert was uncertain enough about his future to play up his special teams credentials as a draft prospect.

“He’s been able to be an incredibly productive college football player,” Browns VP of personnel Andrew Berry said after Schobert was picked. “We see him as a guy who can play outside and inside, he can rush the passer, he can drop, he can cover, great tackler, obviously plays with non-stop energy.”

The result: Schobert started at outside linebacker as a rookie, but lost time after the trade for Jamie Collins. In 2017, he moved to the middle, starting every game, playing every snap, tying for the league league in tackles and making the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement. That established him for 2018, where his loss in the middle of the defense for three games in the middle of the season blew a hole in the Browns’ plans.

Their 5-2 record to end the season coincided with Schobert’s return to the lineup, and interim coach and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams stressed how vital Schobert was to running the defense. He consistently graded out the last two years as one of the best coverage linebackers around, though he also led the Browns in missed tackles, a statistic in which the team was the league’s worst.

Some of that can be attributed to Williams’ scheme. But that’s an area where Schobert needs to improve. However, while playing 29 games the last two years, it was his three games away last season that helped show how much the Browns rely on him.

The alternative: With Christian Kirksey, Genard Avery and Schobert, the Browns have solid starters at linebacker but are expected to draft help at the position after only adding backup Adarius Taylor in free agency. I don’t think they’re as desperate for help here as some others do, at least when it comes to the top three guys, but after letting go of Collins, they need some depth.

The Browns could have retained Demario Davis, who started inside with Kirksey in the 3-4 when Schobert was a rookie in 2016. Instead, the Browns traded Davis to the Jets before the 2017 season. He started all 16 games in 2017, and then signed with New Orleans on a three-year, $24 million contract and started every game there in 2019. He might have worked out long-term in Cleveland, but he would have cost more than Schobert, who’s in the last season of a four-year rookie deal for less than $3 million in total.

As for the draft choice, five players drafted in the fourth round or later in 2016 have made a Pro Bowl: Schobert, kicker returner Pharoh Cooper, quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Jordan Howard and receiver Tyreek Hill.

The credit: Among all the picks that didn’t work for Sashi Brown in his first draft in 2016, from Corey Coleman to Cody Kessler to Shon Coleman, this one did. A lot has been made of the 2016 draft for the Browns, and the best thing they did in that draft was trade down and gather future draft assets that helped lead to players like Denzel Ward. But the actual player selections didn’t do much. Schobert is the exception, and a bright one.

The future: Schobert is in the final year of rookie contract. He should be on track to join Myles Garrett, Ward, Damarious Randall and Larry Ogunjobi as one of the young pieces of this defensive foundation. He may need another productive year in his fourth season to make that point, and if that happens, the Browns should extend him before his contract runs out.

At one time, Schobert, like Christian Kirksey, could have been viewed as the best player on this defense. In 2017, he was a first Pro Bowl alternate, and guard Joel Bitonio was a second Pro Bowl alternate, and that was it from a team that went 0-16. Now Schobert doesn’t have to be the best player on the defense. But he might be the right guy in the middle of it to keep that defense running for years to come.

PREVIOUS MOVES THAT TRANSFORMED THE BROWNS

No. 25: Signing Kareem Hunt

No. 24: Drafting and keeping (for now) Duke Johnson

No. 23: Picking Austin Corbett and creating a job for him

No. 22: Finding Terrance Mitchell while reshaping the secondary

No. 21: Snagging Gerard Avery in the fifth round

No. 20: Creating receiver depth with Rashard Higgins and Antonio Callaway

No. 19: Retaining linebacker Christian Kirksey as a steadying influence

No. 18: Revitalizing Greg Robinson as an NFL left tackle

No. 17: Betting on the upside of David Njoku

No. 16: Beefing up the defensive line with Sheldon Richardson

No. 15: Acquiring Olivier Vernon to complement Myles Garrett

No. 14: Absorbing Brock Osweiler’s contract for a second-round pick

No. 13: Fortifying the interior of the offensive line with JC Tretter and others

No. 12: Choosing Nick Chubb as the tailback of the future

No. 11: Landing Larry Ogunjobi on the line

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