Tag: jordan elliott

The NFL Draft Not Really Big For Browns’ Fans This Year.

The annual NFL Draft takes place this week in Las Vegas and as a Browns’ fan, we can’t imagine it having any less buzz.

GM Andrew Berry traded his first round pick this year and the two years following to get QB Deshaun Watson from Houston. And as we have said before, despite anyone’s personal feelings about Watson’s situation, he is (in our opinion) a top five quarterback in the NFL.

So, no debates on what the Browns need to do about that position for several years.

When you take a broad picture of this football team, it’s a pretty solid roster right now.

Berry has seven picks at his disposal, the earliest being #44, and the Browns have two more selections in the top 100, the 78th pick and the 99th pick, both of those in the third round.

Cleveland could still use another wide receiver, even after dealing for Amari Cooper earlier this off-season, and probably get another tight end, to replace Austin Hooper, who was a salary cap casualty.

On the other side of the football, the defensive line needs bolstering, although the possibility still remains that Jadeveon Clowney could return to the team as a free agent.

Defensive tackle is a position of need, although it depends on whether the coaching staff thinks Jordan Elliott and Tommy Togiai can be starters next season. We would feel better if a high draft pick were to be used on this position.

But we would say there is no expectation any player drafted next weekend will be starters when Cleveland kicks off their season in September. Even if a wide out is picked at #44, no one will be concerned if the rookie starts the year as a third receiver.

That shows how talented this current roster is. And Berry has set up contracts so the Browns still have plenty of cap space despite the moves for Watson and Cooper, the presence of Myles Garrett, and even Denzel Ward’s new deal.

There are national writers who believe the Browns may have the most complete roster in the NFL, even though they finished 8-9 last season.

Think about it, they have arguably the best pass rusher in the game in Garrett. They may have the best running back in Nick Chubb. And they have a top cornerback in Ward.

They have perhaps the best guard tandem in the NFL in Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.

And now, they have a top passer in Watson.

One area they still need to address is kicker. Chase McLaughlin was one of the worst field goal kickers in the league last year. When you lose six games by six points or less, that weakness is even more noticeable.

Also, they are in a division where the best in the league resides in Justin Tucker of the Ravens, and the Steelers and Bengals also have more than solid guys.

It’s something Berry needs to fix. The Browns have to know when they get inside the opponents’ 40-yard line, they are going to come away with points. It’s been awhile since that’s been the case. You have to go back to Phil Dawson.

We wouldn’t be shocked if a later round pick is used to bring one in.

It’s been a long time since Browns’ fans haven’t been obsessed about the NFL Draft. Not having a first round pick does that.

Cleveland will likely be observers on Thursday night, but the fun begins on Friday, when all fans become amateur GMs.

Browns Draft For Talent And Need. The Way It Should Be.

Coming into the NFL Draft, we thought the Cleveland Browns were a good bet to trade down, out of the 10th overall pick.  The only way they wouldn’t, we thought, was if someone like Chase Young or Isaiah Simmons dropped to ten, or the tackle they thought was the best was still there.

The latter came about, and the Browns didn’t hesitate to take Jedrick Wills Jr. from Alabama.  Now, the naysayers pointed out right away that Wills played right tackle for Nick Saban, and the Browns are playing him on the left side.

Since we started looking at mock drafts back in January, pretty much everyone didn’t think it would be a big deal for Wills to make the switch and be Cleveland’s left tackle for a long time.

Plus, Wills was projected by most draft ratings as a top 15 pick, so it isn’t like GM Andrew Berry reached for him at #10.

We preface all draft analysis by saying no one knows until the players get on the field, so to analyze, you have to look at two things:  1). Was the player chosen ranked a lot lower by the people who put grades on the players?  or 2).  Was the player chosen not fill a need for the team? (i.e. Green Bay taking a quarterback).

In the second and third rounds, the Browns did the same thing, it doesn’t look like they reached and they filled more positions of need.

Their second round pick was S Grant Delpit from LSU, who was projected as a first rounder before the season started but had some injury problems.  If those problems are behind him, he should receive a lot of playing time next season.

The formula was followed with the next two picks in DT Jordan Elliott from Missouri and run stopping LB Jacob Phillips from LSU.

Along with free agent signee Andrew Billings, Elliott could give new defensive coordinator Joe Woods a chance to give starters Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson rest at the defensive tackle spot.

As for Phillips, if you didn’t like Joe Schobert being a pass defender first and foremost at middle linebacker, you will like Phillips, who is most definitely is a run stopper.  He will need to work on covering backs out of the backfield.

The first curious selection was TE Harrison Bryant from Florida Atlantic, which makes you wonder about David Njoku’s future with the team.  On the other hand, Kevin Stefanski loves tight ends.

And the scouting reports say Bryant likes to block too, and he did win the Mackey Award as the best tight end in college football.

The last two picks were a little curious considering the defense could still use another defensive end and some linebacking help.

Instead, they took an offensive lineman in center Nick Harris.  While not an area of need, you can never have too many good players in the trenches.

The last choice was probably “this guy is too good to be here” in Michigan WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, who was projected to go in rounds 3-5, and Cleveland got him with a 6th rounder.

The Browns do need another wide out, so it’s hard to be too critical of the pick.

Actually, it’s hard to be angry about any of the picks.  What we can say is the “analytics” people don’t appear to have botched the entire process, and they took players most draft analysts figured to go around where they went.

The next step is to see them in uniform and playing other teams in exhibition play.  Hopefully, all of these players can be contributors to the 2020 Cleveland Browns.

MW