2018 NFL DRAFT - GENERAL THREAD

lol

That was exactly where my mind went with that Ev.

Guess I'll need to drink again tonight so I can forget my age.

 

I said Ward was a surprise but it wasn’t devastating, nor mind-blowing... except they passed on Chubb, the consensus top defensive player in the draft. I considered Ward a Top-10 pick. Pick 4 v Pick 10 is not that big of a jump. Good job nailing the Ward thing. You are officially a world-beater.

 

I'm a fan of a lot of what Mayfield brings to the table, and have been for at least the last two years, now. What got me about the way he was discussed on the Browns' board here, though, was that the discussion never really touched on his flaws. There was a bombardment of regurgitated tweets and subjective numbers, and then worries about his attitude. But that was about it.

I'd love to see Browns fans here have an objective discussion about the fact that he flourished... in a distinctly college-style offense.

I'm happy for Browns fans that they got the pick of the litter, and that they avoided the Allen and Darnold landmines. I hope Mayfield is a huge success. But the discussion has never been very critical / realistic, and I think it's time that maybe Browns fans start having those more critical discussions.

 

lol! I know I can't believe how long it's been....Arguably my favorite player when I was a kid...He's why I've always gone by TopDawg. He and Minnie were as good as any tandem ever...Dixon would just eliminate his side of the field as an option for the opposing QB. He took "bump and run" to the extreme. Without Dixon, there is no Dawg Pound...He was the creator...

 

Or Barkley....

 

There is no reason to. He flourished in the system that the coaching staff asked him to play. It is all the intangibles that give me hope he will learn and flourish in what ever system he plays moving forward.

 

That will never happen.

Just like it will never happen that a non-Bears fan can visit the Bears boards without being insulted.

 

Obviously they passed on Chubb but like u said DB was loaded so why not take Chubb then Jackson is available at #33

 

Dixon and Minnifield were too short.......only 5'11" and 5'9". Not sure about their hand sizes.

 

Harold Landry...what you mean?

 

Are you saying they SHOULD’VE taken Landry?

 

Well friday is my designated weekly "fight time" night. And the outcome always seems to be hanging in the balance all night, until i wake up the next morning and learn that it was in fact a one-sided beat-down!

So tonight i think i'll order one for me, and one for my long faded football youth!

And i dunno what it was, but it was just such a likeable team back then. There just seemed to be so many iconic players. The CB's, Clay Matthews, Golic in his prime(?). Then on O you had Web catching passes from Kosar. Byner. I still contend that Kosar was one of the best "vision" QB's ever to play the game.

The Browns of the mid/late 80's do remind me a bit of the Bills of the mid 90's. And im not talking about playoff/SB outcomes or any of that. I just mean those teams that seemed to have iconic players. That you really didn't mind rooting for when they weren't playing your team.

I didn't know that Dixon went by the nickname Top Dawg. Must've missed that one.

 

No why not take Chubb at #4 instead of Landry at #33 or #35

 

I see your point. I do think Chubb was a no-brainer, but like I said yesterday, Ward is still a top-10 pick.

 

Because they had Ward rated higher than Chubb.

We got the best CB in this draft, like Mayfield, it wasn't really close. Personally, I felt that Fitzpatrick could do more...but, in reality he was less of a CB than Ward and less of a S than James, he was the hybrid that could play any position, even though other individuals could play a specific position better. Dorsey chose the pure CB, the best one in the draft.

 

There is also the issue of evaluating Emmanuel Ogbah...I believe this coaching staff is very high on him and would rather take the shutdown corner and find a rotational guy to spell Ogbah and Garrett, rather than another full time starter and miss out on that CB.

 

I won't disagree with you @Lyman , simply because that response could have been me had the Browns taken Sam Darnold or Josh Allen at #1 and made a different move at #4.

What I will do is give my two-cents on the picks.

Baker Mayfield. What else is left to say? This should have been more obvious than it was - he's the perfect marriage of "classic football guy" - no player has better game film in the last five drafts - and analytics (no metric he isn't a franchise-defining guy in). Are there risks? Yes... of course! There are with every pick and the "can't miss" Andrew Luck is a huge bust for multiple reasons - some talent, some freak injury-related. On paper, on film, and in person Mayfield has the potential to be a franchise-defining quarterback. He should push Tyrod Taylor for playing time early (I still hope he sits for a year, but I doubt it).

One last note... is there any chance the Browns aren't on Hard Knocks now after drafting the most interesting QB prospect in years and a polarizing figure like Baker?

Denzel Ward. Browns showed a lot of interest in Ward throughout the process and I even suggested a couple times he could be the pick at #4. After it was reported they wanted to "move down, but not far", the pick should also have been obvious. Just like Baker, he's undersized for the position, but plays much bigger than his frame, boasts elite speed/agility, and has the potential to be a lockdown corner. Jaire Alexander was my top CB, but so much of that had to do with his attitude. Ward comes straight from DBU where the recent additions to the NFL have been very successful.

Spoiler: Draft Analytics on Denzel Ward

So... on to reversing the offensive fortunes.

There's a lot of good offensive talent left on the board in a deep running back class (Guice, Chubb, Freeman, etc.) as well as offensive line talent (a need, at least from a developmental standpoint). They have three of the next 32 picks and a lot of the chatter has been about how this R2/R3 group is rich with talent everywhere.

Let's say they go...

33 - Courtland Sutton, WR
35 - Connor Williams, OT
64 - Royce Freeman, RB

... does that make you feel better about the offense? They get a great pass-blocking left tackle prospect, a big-bodied receiver to groom behind Josh Gordon, and an explosive, big back.

 

I know one other guy who's smiling ear to ear after the Mayfield pick...



#WWSD

 

For what it is worth, he is my favourite qb this year and in recent years. His accuracy is great and has the soundest mechanics of any qb i have seen in recent memory and he gets the ball out of his hands SO FAST- smart guy on top of that.

I think you guys finally got it right, and your follow up pick was great too and really showed foresight contractually.

It is hard to overstate how much better i think you just got but i suppose we will see.

Mayfield is going to be good or ill be fucking mega shocked.

2k

 

Hell I got the big 5-0 this year, which doesn't even seem possible, but i'm going to need truck load of Gray Goose to forget that. lol!....It is hard to believe how long it's been since the Browns were real contenders though. smh... I would very much like for my kids to someday see what it's like when the Browns are in contention in January. That would be nice....They can't even fathom the thought.