LOOK: Perrion Winfrey, Isaiah Thomas send message to Browns
Perrion Winfrey and Isaiah Thomas formed quite the pair on the defensive line for the past two seasons at Oklahoma. Now they’ll hope to do the same with their pro career in Cleveland, as both players were drafted to the Browns on Saturday in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The former Sooners are excited to remain teammates at the pro level, and took to social media to express their joy. Winfrey was the first off the board with the No. 108 overall pick in the fourth round, and tweeted his feelings shortly after.
“CLEVELANDDDDDDDDDD THIS CANT BE REAL WE GETTING STRAIGHT TO WORK DOG POUND,” he wrote, tagging Thomas in the tweet.
After Isaiah Thomas was taken with the No. 223 overall pick in the seventh round, he joined on the conversation by quoting the tweet from Perrion Winfrey, writing “LET’S GO P!!!”
Thomas was a second team All-Big 12 selection each of the past two seasons according to both coaches and media. He proved a problem for opposing quarterbacks, totaling a combined 16.5 sacks in 2020 and 2021, leading the Sooners in that category both years. He also totaled four forced fumbles, three of which came this past season.
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.
It’s clear that both Winfrey and Thomas have potential to be productive players with the Browns in the future. They’ll make their first appearance with the team at rookie minicamps in May, where the pair will hope to confirm to coaches the decision to draft them.