Ex-Bishop Gorman QB drafted by Browns in 5th round
The Browns selected former Bishop Gorman quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson with the fifth pick of the fifth round in the NFL draft Saturday.
Thompson-Robinson, who played at UCLA, will be reunited with former Gorman teammate Cedric Tillman, a wide receiver who was drafted by Cleveland on Friday with the 11th pick of the third round.
“I plan on coming in and, obviously, working as hard as I can to gain the team’s trust,” Thompson-Robinson said on a call with Browns reporters. “At the same time, my development, I think, is going to be the most important part in this whole piece.
“Obviously, you guys have Deshaun (Watson as the starter), and he’s going to do wonderful things this year. For me to be able to learn from him and then, ultimately, be able to take the reins later on, I think will be very beneficial for me.”
Thompson-Robinson played 49 games at UCLA over five seasons, running for more than 600 yards in each of his past two campaigns.
He had 27 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing TDs in 2022, his best season with the Bruins.
“If you look at how he played last year versus the big step forward he took this year, I think that was a big piece of the puzzle,” Browns area scout Dan Zegers said on the team’s website. “Then, how he performed at the East-West (Shrine Bowl) Game, how he performed at the combine, how he was in carrying himself in interactions with us. Those all played big pieces of the puzzle.”
Thompson-Robinson’s mobility was certainly one of the more appealing aspects of his game for the Browns.
“We all know the game has changed a lot, where mobility for the quarterback position is crucially important,” Zegers said. “That’s one of the pieces of Dorian’s skill set that is admirable. He’s very quick, he can escape, create plays with his legs.”
Tillman was on his way to Cleveland on Saturday when he heard the news that Thompson-Robinson would be joining him on the Browns.
“I was very excited,” Tillman said. “I was on the plane, and my mom just showed it to me. I was just talking about how it would be cool if Dorian came, too. Kind of just throwing it out there. Life is funny sometimes.”
The two could have some interesting matchups with the Ravens, the Browns’ AFC North rivals who selected a former Gorman teammate, Stanford cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly, in the fifth round.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.