After a fairly aggressive free agency period, it's time to focus on the Draft.... We hold overall pick #10, and there are plenty of rumors circulating. The one that keeps popping up is how much we evidently like the Boise State OT, Ezra Cleveland.....He's got the name, but is he worthy of #10 overall? Maybe the Browns are thinking trade down?? Or maybe it's smokescreen..Who knows? Just figured we needed a thread devoted exclusively to draft talk. Feel free to throw down mocks, or any other draft thoughts...
I think there are, at most, four LT's worthy of being drafted in the 1st round. Your guy (Becton) is one of them. Overall, all four are fairly close to each other as far as college production and professional upside goes. The difference, IMHO, is that three of them performed well against SEC and BIG10 competition whereas Becton posted his numbers in the ACC. The other three are: Wills - Alabama, Wirfs - Iowa and Thomas - Georgia.
Just to clarify . . . I'm not trying to throw shade at Becton. He could very well be the 1st LT off the board. I just have him at 4 for the reason stated.
I like all three...Thomas was originally my fave, but as usual I get swayed by the Combine. Honestly, I think Becton is off the board in the top 6 or 7 anyway, so it doesn't matter. I'd be shocked if he's still there for Cleveland. The good thing is, this is a great draft for LT prospects and we got the #10 pick!
Worth noting that Wills and Wirfs are/were right tackles throughout their collegiate careers. Wirfs projects to a guard at the NFL level by a lot of experts. Becton played a season's worth of games on the left side of Louisville's line after playing the right side to begin his career. Andrew Thomas started as a true freshman on the right side but switched to the left side for his sophomore and junior year campaigns -- offering the most experience of the group. If we're taking a tackle at #10, for me, it's Andrew Thomas.
Also worth noting . . . Don't be surprised if Chris Hubbard is moved to RG now that Conklin is penciled in at RT.
Definitely depends on how the board shakes out. Without trades, I'd guess... 1.1 Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow, QB LSU 1.2 Washington Redskins: Chase Young, DE OSU 1.3 Detroit Lions: Jeff Okudah, CB OSU (**definitely a trade-out option here**) 1.4 New York Giants: Mekhi Becton, OT Louisville 1.5 Miami Dolphins: Justin Herbert, QB Oregon 1.6 Los Angeles Chargers: Jordan Love, Utah State 1.7 Carolina Panthers: Isaiah Simmons, S/LB Clemson 1.8 Arizona Cardinals: Henry Ruggs III, WR Alabama 1.9 Jacksonville Jaguars: Jacob Eason, QB Washington Gotta figure Cincinnati, Miami, Los Angeles, and Jacksonville need to go after quarterbacks. Really, after free agency so far, only the Raiders should be a team in the market for a QB too, but it remains to be seen how interested in keeping Carr around there is. Means four of those guys could be off the board in the top nine picks (Tua could easily slide to Las Vegas). Gives the Browns a good number of players to choose from.
I think you've suggested this before and I like the idea. Wyatt Teller may still end up being "the guy" there, but competition between the two would be healthy.
I'm no draftnik, but even I understand the critical importance of getting the LT right. All our shiney toys on O are for naught if we don't keep Baker upright, with enough time to find recievers, and for Chubb to bust some runs. All that said, what do we think of the chances this season even starts in the fall? Gotta admit that with a new HC, and what certainly appears to be a limited amount of "team time", it's going to favor franchises who are coming in with an established organization. Thoughts?
If you look at the updated depth chart I just copied into this thread, you can't help but notice that Andrew Berry has (through free agency and one trade), at least, positioned the roster to be two deep at every position (Slot Receiver and Nickel Corner are debatable depending on how you look at it) with the glaring exceptions of Left Tackle and Outside Linebacker. I fully expect him to double down on these two positions during the course of the draft.
Nice work. As far as starting line-up goes, you could probably alternate that slot position with a 2nd TE position. I'm expecting to see a lot of sets that feature both Nkoku and Hooper on the field simultaneously, based on what I know of Stefanski. It's impressive on paper. There is no doubt Bake will have a lot of weapons to work with. So if we can iron out the O-line issues, this offense should be very good. Unstoppable.
Expanding on this just a little . . . I fully expect Berry to stand pat with pick 1-10 and go with one of the four Left Tackles we've already discussed. My wish = Andrew Thomas - Georgia Now, given the number of players already on the roster that (frankly) equate to day three picks, I think he has the opportunity to bundle pick 2-9 with some late rounders and move back into the late 1st round depending on how the 1st round actually shakes out. My wish = Zach Baun - Wisconsin
It's probably too early to get excited about it, but there is a report circulating that says the Browns are showing major interest in EDGE Jadeveon Clowney. Dude had his way against us last year. I could certainly embrace that plan.... Still one of the most memorable hits of all time;
I thought this one was interesting; BROWNS MOCK 1.10 Traded to Tampa for 1.14 and 3.12 1.14 Javon Kinlaw, DE - South Carolina 2.9 Traded along with 3.12 to move to 1.27 (SEA) 1.27 Ezra Cleveland, OT - Boise St 3.10 Kenny Robinson, S - WVU/XFL 3.33 Saahdiq Charles, OT - LSU 4.9 Cameron Dantzler, DB - Miss. St. 6.8 Khalil Davis, DT - Nebraska 7.30 Dalton Keene, TE - Va. tech
Interesting. Now, I don't feel there's a chance that Isaiah Simmons is available at #10, so the answer becomes a lot easier as a Browns fan. Right now, if Simmons *somehow* drops, he's the pick at #10. If not, I don't hate the idea of Willie Gay Jr. in the second to replace Joe Schobert inside. Guy's an athletic freak like Simmons (0.98 SPARQ percentile -- just like Simmons). Some might say "red flags", but I'm good with his minor infractions: (From NFL.com)
