Looking Forward to the 2019 AFC North

Yeah, I think they would on most of those...

It's not a difficult equation;



Alpha male.....Baker is an attraction.

Just listen to the remarks made by Steve Wilks and Todd Monken yesterday in their pressers
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...to-seize-opportunity-to-win-in-cleveland.html
....It's all about #6.

 

There are no guarantees in anything when ya bring a player in, whether F/A or the draft.....

Frank Clark and Grady Jarrett are both in their prime, and producing at a high level...Both age 25....What's not to like?

We just watched the Rams buy their way to the SB...

 

Nobody said it was gonna be easy...

 

That's news to me...A couple months ago he was considered a colossal bust.

So he works with Baker Mayfield for a few weeks and suddenly he's perceived as a #1 again? lol! Damn. That is the power of #6

 

So what exactly are you suggesting for the Browns? Is it that we are not an attractive place for free agents? Or is it that we just shouldn't invest in free agents because it might not work?

 

1. The price tag. Clark and Jarrett will get 20-30% more on the free agent market than they would get if they were being retained by their former team.

2. How many guys have signed the big money deal in free agency and then got complacent. Is it an accident that a lot of these guys have their best seasons in their contract years.

And if they won it no one would care what happens to them afterwards. It would have been worth it. What if they go back to being the team they were prior to 2017? Look at their free agent list:

Ndamukung Suh
Lamarcus Joyner
Roger Saffold
Dante Fowler Jr

And they only have 4 draft picks in '19 - including no 2nd or 3rd.

 

It's news to you that a 1st round wide receiver is perceived to have #1 WR ability?

 

After he completely flamed-out in his first contract, and was unemployed? Yes.

Nobody is looking at Perriman as a #1.....

 

I think the article you linked is spot on. Dip your toe in the water but don't overpay for guys that are going to get severely overpaid like Jarrett or Clark. Now should DeMarcus Lawrence become available I might reverse my thinking. Otherwise I think the value in this free agent class will be for someone like Adam Humphrey, Bradley Roby, Brent Urban, Jason Verrett, Jamison Crowder, Malcom Brown, Anthony Barr.

 

Well, obviously that happens on occasion...I'm not suggesting we should pull the "Dan Snyder" and just sign em all.... For that matter, I would tend to agree that more F/A's fail than succeed...It's far from an exact science, but we've seen success stories as well..

Bottom line is: It's a way to potentially improve your team....

(caveat emptor)

 

Really???

 

They say, because of contact rules, DT is among the toughest positions to develop in today's NFL....If you are gonna invest in free agency, and ya have the need, seems to me that might be the way to go...

Also, maybe Clark and Jarrett don't get "severely overpaid", simply due to the fact that this is a DT rich draft.....Just a thought. I know those two are still gonna cash in, but maybe it's not crazy money...

 

You're being obtuse. You know what I'm talking about. His ceiling is that of a #1. And he wouldn't be the first player to never find their way out of the John Harbaugh doghouse.

 

Well, there you have it... We would be in a similar situation in about 2 years...but we still have 11 draft picks in 2019 and all of our future picks as well. So, you COULD say, if we made these moves, we would already be ahead of the Rams..

 

So, Perriman, being a first round wide receiver is perceived to have #1 WR ability...even though he hasn't exactly shown it yet...

Ok, so your argument is a first round receiver has first round talent...but a first round LT who hasn't exactly shown it yet isn't perceived as anything until he does? Is that it?

Bottom line is this...both players have been huge disappointments thus far in their career. Both players came to the Browns on hope and hope alone, neither were really wanted by anyone. Neither really shined immediately when they got here...Then, once Baker Mayfield took over, everyone on the Browns team began getting better. They started getting better immediately, but Hue and Haley held everyone back. As soon as they were relieved of their duties...everyone started to improve. First game out of the chute was against the Chiefs (whom I believe we are trying to catch up to), after that...Robinson looked like a first round talent, Perriman had flashes of why he was taken in the first round, Landry looked like a guy who should have been traded for and given a HUGE extension...etc...and the team went 5-2 to end the year.

TD already said enough..but I can't help put in my two cents..

Chargers and Saints have QBs with at most 3 years left, possibly less...when they get to the final years, they usually start to decline rapidly...see Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, not Tom Brady. Their cap situation is also different...Saints have $9M and the Chargers have $21M. Chargers might be able to pick ONE free agent and go after, but the combination I mentioned for the Browns potentially could be franchise changing.

Ravens are in the same boat, they have their own to take care of and only have $24M in cap space. So, while they might like to get some of these guys, they can't afford them. Rams are in even worse shape with the free agents they have and only $32M in cap space..you've already mentioned who they need to re-sign or replace. Obviously they are looking up, but even going to the SB this past year, I wouldn't put them ahead of the Browns whom nearly anyone with an opinion thinks the Browns are contenders in 2 years...without making these two moves...

The Texans are a spot where defensive players would love to play, I'm not taking anything away from them...however, we are looking at the picture as a whole. Do the Texans need an edge rusher and DT? So, would the Texans even call their agents? I could argue the same with the Bears...

The Chiefs could certainly use them, the same as the Browns to make them a juggarnaut. However, they have their own problems with Dee Ford hitting free agency and only having $25M of cap space...Dee Ford is their priority right now, not the two guys I mentioned.

Minnesota and Green Bay...I would say the Vikings are a bigger draw than the Packers right now, Rodgers shine has gotten a bit duller after finishing 3rd in the NFL North two years in a row...they are trending down, where the Browns are trending way up...in a big way. The Vikings, everyone had high expectations for them this year and well, they finished a ONE game better than the Browns, despite the coaching turmoil we dealt with the first half of the season. I definitely wouldn't put these two teams on the list...especially with the Vikings $5M in cap space available.

Finally, Indy goes as far as a HEALTHY Andrew Luck can take them and he hasn't been healthy much the past few seasons..Baker has as much upside and possibly more than Luck these days.

Chicago would be the one place I would agree with you on. I would say most defensive free agents, if they were looking at situations, would look at the Bears and say... THAT'S Where I want to play my next 4 years of football. Again, the problem is, they don't need them and they only have $9.8M in cap space available...why? Because they already got their pieces on defense that they are paying, that's why.

It's perceived future, not the past...unless you are the Patriots whom everyone just assumes will happen every single year, because they have. The Browns are coming off a 5-2 finish, with one of the younger teams in the league, the hottest rookie (don't even go there with Barkley), whom just happens to be a QB and is perceived to be one that can lead a team to the Super Bowl. The Browns are exactly where the Rams were when they drafted Josh Rosen...in fact, I think they are further along than they were when he was drafted. The Chiefs were already a built team and they simply added the dynamic QB to the mix...That is what the Browns are right now. A couple of key pieces and this team will be perceived as the team to beat in the AFC, not just the AFC North.

I will predict, IF they were to sign these two players, or an equivalent two players, it won't be talked about a possibility, it will be EXPECTED that the Browns win the AFC North by anyone with a microphone.

A front 4 of Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, Grady Jarrett and Frank Clark? That could rival any other team in the entire NFL...all 4 players under the age of 26. It could be a defensive front for the ages...along with Emmanuel Ogbah as a backup.

Your perceived 20-30% more than being retained is way over stated, imho...Here's the thing, I DO believe Cleveland is perceived as a place that players and coaches alike want to be a part of in this ascention... So much so that I believe they would take less to play in Cleveland than stay in Atlanta(downward trend) or Seattle(downward trend)...At the very least, I think they would be on even playing ground in negotiations.

I would rather you break down the list of signees to that of...being signed by a franchise that was terrible and just trying to buy a little talent to stay afloat...AKA the Browns of the previous 19 seasons...and those that were added as final pieces of a puzzle on a team with actual Super Bowl aspirations. The Browns have real leadership, something nearly every team that signed a player and they failed lacked. I don't think Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, Christian Kirksey or Myles Garrett are going to let any players slide by. They are HUNGRY!!

 

We dipped our toe in the water last year...that's the type of players Dorsey got to get us to 7-8-1... We have a much bigger prize to strive for in 2019 and I think they feel it is time to go for it.

Obviously, I could be wrong...and honestly, there are other players that could also help this team. I would love for them to go after Anthony Barr...

So, let's sign Frank Clark and Anthony Barr, hell the money you are saving, sign Bradley Roby also...then you can really single in on a DT in this HEAVY DT draft and find a way to get him. If you have to move up to #9, use those 11 draft picks to move up and take him.

I could argue a that scenario could be better than the one I was proposing before and the cost per player would be lower, even if we were paying more overall...but taking care of 3 positions.

Another scenario for me would be Frank Clark, C.J. Mosley and Bryce Callahan

 

Frank Clark is my #1 F/A target....He's a baller, and maybe I'm reading too much into it, but he doesn't seem anxious to remain in Seattle, and he is from the Cleveland area. I'm in hopes that Cleveland is where he wants to be, but he's put himself in a good spot, and I'm sure it'll boil down to money...

Then I'd go get Dee Ford and we would have one helluva front 7 in Cleveland...

On draft day, look for a top CB, WR or maybe LT of the future....Maybe DeAndre Baker, Yodney Cajuste, and Deebo Samuel.

Or maybe Metcalf, Cajuste and Sheffield? Just some thoughts...Cajuste is rising fast.

I also love the idea of taking Devin White early....

One thing I've noticed in the mocks at least, is if ya don't grab a top DT early, you might be very disappointed...They go quick. Another reason that I'd love to have Clark all signed up.

 

So...you want to move Frank Clark inside? I don't see him in that role, if I'm being honest. It would limit his current repertoire of moves. He is very effective standing up in a 4 man front, that would be eliminated as well. Had he ever played down in the middle in the NFL?

 

You're right. My bad. I confused the positions...He's a DE (pass rush specialist)...I don't know why my mind keeps moving him over to tackle. lol! Im an idiot....Jarrett is the DT I want. Though I do believe we'll probably have to make him the highest paid DT in the league to do it...Some combo of Clark and Jarrett or Jarrett and Ford is what I'd like to see in Cle...

FWIW, Pete Carroll is talking very confidently about retaining Clark. So it looks like he's going to be tagged by Seattle anyway, if they can't get a deal done....Clark's agent implied that he expects him to remain in Seattle at least until 2020...