Welcome back to the padded cell, everybody! With the combine now behind us, it seems that every draft site known to mankind is busy revising their draft boards. If the truth be known, it’s commonly understood that most NFL teams don’t change their big boards that much between the combine and the draft. Oh sure, there’ll be a little movement up and down; but nothing like what you see over the internet. That said, it’s time to get on with the show.
Jameis Winston – QB – Florida State
In spite of his off-the field antics, Winston still holds down the first spot in this year’s draft. Who knows if he’ll retain it, though?
Randy Gregory – DE – Nebraska
More than anything, this selection is a vote of confidence for second year QB Zach Mettenberger . Gregory will have an immediate positive impact on the Titans pass rush.
Leonard Williams – DT – Southern California
I cannot in good conscience let the best player in this draft go off the board any farther than third overall.
Kevin White – WR – West Virginia
As long as there’s a Davis running the organization, the Raiders will draft by the stopwatch. Second year QB Derek Carr gets a top notch receiver with big play ability.
Dante Fowler Jr. – OLB – Florida
Just about every team is looking for an edge rusher. The Skins are no exception.
Marcus Mariota – QB – Oregon
The J-E-T-S get their franchise quarterback of the future.
Danny Shelton – DT – Washington
They might as well revamp the D with an anchor for the middle of the line.
Vic Beasley – OLB – Clemson
There could be an early run on edge rushers, so get one while you can.
Shane Ray – DE – Missouri
The G men have historically drafted front seven players early.
Amari Cooper – WR – Alabama
The Rams could take a WR here, but I think an O-lineman could be in play. I opt for the playmaker.
DeVante Parker – WR – Louisville
Teddy gets reunited with his playmaker from college. Go figure.
Andrus Peat – OT – Stanford
Not a “sexy” pick, but Peat is the most athletically explosive O-lineman in the draft. In the long run, this might be the wise pick.
Trae Waynes – CB – Michigan State
While Waynes could go in the top ten, I think this slot is just about right.
Brandon Scherff – OT – Iowa
From a value perspective, this selection makes the most sense.
La’el Collins – OT – Louisiana State
The top three receivers are already off the board, so I give them an O-lineman to protect Colin Kaepernick.
Landon Collins – S – Alabama
They’ll probably re-sign the Ryan Mallett, so this pick fills the next biggest need.
Alvin Dupree – DE – Kentucky
Because he’s the most explosive edge rusher in this draft, Dupree may go even sooner than this.
Jalen Strong – WR – Arizona State
There’s no way the Chiefs don’t take a WR early in this draft. They may even be a candidate for moving up in order to do so.
Malcolm Brown – DT – Texas
Danny Shelton went off the board early – thanks to his Senior Bowl and combine performances – and the Browns still need to fortify the D-line. Besides, taking a receiver here is a bit of a reach. What to do . . . what to do?
PJ Williams – CB – Florida State
Positions in the defensive secondary are the team’s two greatest needs. End of story.
Arik Armstead – DE – Oregon
The Bungles need quite a bit of help along the front seven.
Shaq Thompson – OLB – Washington
I’d give them an O-lineman here, but Thompson is a better value pick.
Ereck Flowers – OT – Miami (FL)
If Flowers doesn’t go off the board before this, then it’s an easy selection here.
Melvin Gordon – RB – Wisconsin
With no edge rusher or QB rated high enough, the cards solidify the running game.
Cameron Erving – OT – Florida State
You’re always looking for value when you’re drafting this late in any round.
Dorial Green-Beckham – WR – Oklahoma (by way of Missouri)
Joe Flacco needs another target, so why not get him a big one?
Eddie Goldman – DT – Florida State
Most of the Cowboys needs are on defense, so why not try to stop the run first?
Maxx Williams – TE – Minnesota
Peyton Manning will love this pick.
Eli Harold – OLB – Virginia
The Colts need to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks if they want to have any real hope of winning the Super Bowl.
Marcus Peters – CB – Washington
He’s the highest rated defensive player left on the board. Sometimes it’s just that simple.
Breshard Perriman – WR – Central Florida
Top need gets filled by the top skill player left on the board. Keep it simple.
TJ Clemmings – OT – Pittsburgh
The Hoodie may even trade out of the first round yet again.
OTHER BROWNS PICKS:
43: Benardrick McKinney – ILB – Mississippi State
77: Lorenzo Mauldin – OLB – Louisville
108: David Johnson – RB – Northern Iowa
112: Jeff Heuerman – TE – Ohio State
139: Stefon Diggs – WR – Maryland
173: Dezmin Lewis – WR – Central Arkansas
186: Sean Mannion – QB – Oregon State
204: Justin Manton – K – Louisiana Monroe
OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS:
By the time the Browns were on the clock in this mock the top two quarterbacks, the top three receivers and the top two defensive tackles were already off the board. I was not comfortable taking a DT or WR at twelve, so I opted to make a value pick in Andrus Peat that would solidify the O-line for years to come. At nineteen, I was able to get an anchor for the D-line in Malcolm Brown and still make a good value selection. These two selections led me to believe that the Browns brass will be very active in this year’s draft early on, which will most likely be reflected in version 3.0 of my series of mock drafts. Also, the fact that I don’t have them selecting a quarterback until the sixth round is a reflection of the dearth of overall talent at the position this year.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has allegedly given his General Manager Ray Farmer an edict . . . “Fix the quarterback position”. The recent free agent signing of journeyman Josh McCown is an indication of a few things . . . (A) Brian Hoyer will not return to Cleveland in 2015, (B) despite the three year term of his contract, McCown was brought in to keep the spot warm for the franchise’s quarterback of the future and (C) that person is likely Johnny Manziel, Marcus Mariota or possibly Ohio State’s Cardale Jones. Choosing Johnny Manziel would mean that Farmer is betting on Manziel getting his life in order, studying the playbook and working harder than anyone else on the roster so that he can be a true leader of men on and off the field. That’s a 50-50 proposition at best in my humble opinion because Johnny will have to exorcise the demons that now haunt him every single day for the rest of his life. Choosing Mariota would mean trading both first round picks this year plus a high pick in next year’s draft after spending a couple of picks to move up into the first round to take Manziel last year. Choosing to have McCown as the starter for 2015 will tell the entire football world that the Browns plan to “fail for Cardale” and work towards getting the first overall pick in 2016, even though there’s no guarantee that Jones will opt to leave early for the NFL. Why am I so hard on McCown? Well, the truth of the matter is that the only year where he showed any success whatsoever is in 2013, where he filled in for an injured Jay Cutler. That year he had Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery as his two top receivers. The Cleveland Browns have nothing approaching that level of talent on their current roster at the WR position. Unless that situation changes, I see no reason to expect McCown to have the kind of success he achieved in Chicago.
Regardless of whom the Browns next “quarterback of the future” will be; he won’t be able to grow into a franchise caliber quarterback without a legitimate starting receiving corps – including a legitimate pass catching threat at TE. As of now, Jordan Cameron is about to become an unrestricted free agent unless the Browns either (A) re-sign him to a multi-year contract extension or (B) place the franchise tag on him. Given Cameron’s recent injury issues, I’m almost certain that Farmer will do neither. Let me also say at this point that I hope I’m wrong in my assessment of that situation. As for our current group of wide receivers; they’re just a bunch of 3’s and 4’s. I understand that Head Coach Mike Pettine wants to build this team on a stingy defense and the ability to run the football. That’s all well and good. However, if you don’t have at least one vertical threat as a receiver, opposing defenses will continue to line up with eight and nine players in the box to stuff your team’s running game. If indeed the Browns are working to move up in the draft to take Mariota, then they’ll most likely need to spend some serious dollars on a veteran receiver that’s a vertical threat and hope that they can find a diamond in the rough later in the draft. In that case, then either Ohio State’s Devin Smith or Auburn’s Sammie Coates could be very real possibilities in the second round.
As far as the defensive line goes . . . Injuries last season hampered what was thought to be an area of strength by many. It’s been speculated by certain Browns beat reporters (no names please) that free agent DT Ahtyba Rubin will not be re-signed; which perplexes me exceedingly since the Browns are way under the projected salary cap for 2015. Are they prepared to back up the Brinks truck to sign Ndamukong Suh (who’s already displayed his own behavioral issues on the field) or one of the other DT’s rated higher than Rubin?
And what will be done with Buster Skrine? Are the Browns going to re-sign him or are they willing to simply hand the second starting cornerback spot to a mostly unproven Justin Gilbert ? These and other questions will need to be answered soon – hopefully soon.