Tag: takk mckinley

On The Clowney Addition & Other Stuff On The Browns

With two weeks to go before the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns made probably their last splash in the free agent market, signing perhaps the best remaining player available in DE Jadeveon Clowney, who was with Tennessee last season.

Clowney is a former first overall pick in the draft and a three time Pro Bowl selection, but really, at this point in his career, he’s best suited to being a second banana in the pass rushing game, which he will be in Cleveland because of the presence of Myles Garrett.

And he’s coming off an injury, playing only eight games a year ago.

The real interest will come in how GM Andrew Berry creates cap space for this signing, because according to reports, the team now has just a little under $4 million remaining, which won’t cover the amount needed to sign the players they will draft in two weeks.

There have been rumors that DT Sheldon Richardson could be released or at least have his contract restructured to make room for Clowney. Richardson is a solid player, but he is 30 years old, and that seems to be a magic number to the front office.

Berry has targeted Clowney since he became the Browns’ GM before last season, so it is no surprise he finally got his man. If you trust his talent evaluations, and there is no reason to doubt it so far, then you have to feel good about the signing.

Kevin Stefanski described him as a “disruptive force” on the defensive line, and if he is, then the Browns should be improved up front.

They also added Takk McKinley and Malik Jackson since the end of last season. Being able to restructure Richardson and keep him would be icing on the cake. And don’t forget Andrew Billings, signed last year, but opted out of the season due to COVID-19.

Other stuff on the Browns–

***One thing about picking 26th in the first round, no one has any idea who will be available when your choice will be made. However, if one of the top cornerbacks start to drop in the first round, it wouldn’t be a shock to us if Berry traded up to get one.

Remember, the Browns have nine picks, and to us, it would be tough for all nine to make the final roster. So why not package some extra choices to get someone who can make an impact on the 2021 Browns?

In today’s NFL, you can never have enough corners, especially with the injury histories of Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams.

We also wouldn’t be surprised if Berry targeted a wide receiver early in the draft, either first or second round. There is a lot of cap space tied up in that position.

***There are still some fans with reservations about Baker Mayfield, but we recently heard one of the football talking heads (sorry, don’t remember which one) who said when you think about it, the 2019 season with Freddie Kitchens as head coach is the outlier in Mayfield’s career.

He was outstanding in his last two years at Oklahoma, did very well as a rookie and led the Browns to the playoffs in 2020. That’s four out of five years of high achievement, albeit just two of those in the NFL.

We are a big believer in disposing of the odd occurrence, which that season very well might be.

***We stated earlier it would not be a shock to us if the Browns took a wide receiver early later this month. Part of that is our reservation that Odell Beckham Jr. is still a game changer, even before he had major knee surgery last season.

When the 2021 season begins, we will be five years removed since Beckham was a top flite receiver in the NFL, grabbing 101 passes for 1367 yards and ten touchdowns.

He’s missed time in three of the last four years, and barely exceeded 1000 yards in receiving in two of those four seasons.

While Mayfield probably needs an explosive target to stretch the defense, can Beckham be that guy once again? And does the front office think the same thing?

Don’t Be Disappointed In Browns’ Lack Of Activity

At times, we think fans of the Cleveland Browns are so used to losing, they don’t know how to react now that the organization has a sense of order to it.

We were reminded of it against this week when the legal tampering phase of NFL free agency started and GM Andrew Berry signed only two players: S John Johnson III, formerly of the Los Angeles Rams, and DE Takk McKinley, a former first round pick of the Atlanta Falcons, who forced his way out last season.

Johnson is a stud, just 25 years old, ranked among the top 20 free agents by several publications who rank these things. He has eight career interceptions and has two seasons where he had over 100 tackles. His defensive pass rating was 71.9 for the 2020 season.

Defensive coordinator Joe Woods likes to run a 4-2-5 alignment, and having three safeties in Ronnie Harrison, Johnson, and hopefully a healthy Grant Delpit will allow him to have the correct personnel to do it. Remember, the way to combat the Chiefs’ offense, and a Lamar Jackson offense, is with speed.

Berry continued his pattern of signing free agents coming off their rookie deal, meaning he is interested in getting players just entering their primes, which seems logical, but many teams chase the big names, getting players who may have one good year left. In Browns’ history, those would be guys like Donte Whitner or Karlos Dansby.

McKinley is a wild card, and we doubt the front office considers him the sole solution to getting help for Myles Garrett in getting to the quarterback. He did have at least 10 QB hits in his first three seasons with the Falcons, and added seven more in the four games he played in 2020.

Because Berry made a splash early in the process a year ago, inking Jack Conklin and Austin Hooper, the anticipation was he was going to do it again, and when the Browns didn’t get Carl Lawson, Romeo Okwara, Bud Dupree, or Trey Hendrickson, fans were questioning the organization.

First of all, we are sure that among the people who think the Browns need another pass rusher is Andrew Berry. We also know training camp doesn’t start until late July or early August, so he has plenty of time to upgrade the position.

Remember, Cleveland also has nine draft picks in next month’s NFL Draft (to be held right here in Cleveland). He could be working on a deal for a edge rusher, or he could wait to see who becomes available if and when other teams release players due to salary cap considerations.

Or he may go off script and do a one year deal for a player he thinks might have one good year left, especially if used on passing downs.

We understand Berry has really been a GM for one season, but under his watch the Browns did make their first playoff appearance since 2004 and won their first playoff game since 1994. So, while he apparently hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt from everyone, he has from us.

We also trust ownership to spend money when the time is right, and with Baker Mayfield still under his rookie contract, that time might be now. We don’t think Cleveland will enter the 2021 campaign with a ton of cap space.

It’s sexy to make a big splash early in the free agency process, particularly in northeast Ohio, where the Indians don’t spend, and the city isn’t a destination point for NBA free agents since LeBron James no longer wears the wine and gold.

This front office will get it done. Don’t lose faith.