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Drew Forbes: Round 6, Pick 189

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Both Bitonio and Corbett were left tackles at Nevada (back-to-back) so you're correct there.

I think there's a difference between a depth OL and someone you're asking to contribute immediately. For Forbes, we have the luxury of time. He doesn't have to contribute meaningful snaps this year, so let's move him around. A backup should be able to play more than one position in case of injury, and it also lets you see where Forbes fits best.

My main counter to this would be the fact that the Browns ended up starting an undrafted rookie left tackle who was clearly overwhelmed physically and mentally to play the position for half the season. How much of that falls on Hue/Wylie over the front office, I don't know.

But it still seems absolutely crazy to me that the Browns would opt to start Harrison at LT with literally zero preseason snaps against a 1st team DE over actually trying the 33rd pick of the draft at the position he played his entire college career or even opting to stick with the Bitonio LT/Corbett LG combo we saw during the preseason.

Then a year later you have these "why not try a guy at his natural position first?" remarks from Dorsey and it's just kind of an eye roll kind of thing for me.
 
My main counter to this would be the fact that the Browns ended up starting an undrafted rookie left tackle who was clearly overwhelmed physically and mentally to play the position for half the season. How much of that falls on Hue/Wylie over the front office, I don't know.

But it still seems absolutely crazy to me that the Browns would opt to start Harrison at LT with literally zero preseason snaps against a 1st team DE over actually trying the 33rd pick of the draft at the position he played his entire college career or even opting to stick with the Bitonio LT/Corbett LG combo we saw during the preseason.

Then a year later you have these "why not try a guy at his natural position first?" remarks from Dorsey and it's just kind of an eye roll kind of thing for me.

I think we have to throw most of Hue and Haley's decisions away.

I'm also not going to take throwaway comments to the media as gospel.

I think Forbes is an interior lineman--but I have no problem if one of our reserve linemen gets trained a bit at tackle before focusing on his best position in the NFL.

I realize I'm projecting my own opinions onto our organization, but Dorsey's not Jesus (blasphemy! :chuckle:) and he's also not in control of how our coaches choose to use certain players. If he thinks that Drew Forbes's best position is as a tackle, I think he's wrong--but what Campen, Monken and Kitchens think are the only things that matter.

I also think that Desmond Harrison is something special. The guy is athletically one of the best rookie pass blockers I've seen. It's just that he's not strong enough to play against NFL competition. Until opposing defenders realized they could just bull rush through him, he was looking really good out there. If he can actually get NFL-strong, I think he's one of the best pass blocking LT's in the game today. If he can't get there, he's just another project that didn't work out.
 
I think we have to throw most of Hue and Haley's decisions away.

I'm also not going to take throwaway comments to the media as gospel.

I think Forbes is an interior lineman--but I have no problem if one of our reserve linemen gets trained a bit at tackle before focusing on his best position in the NFL.

I realize I'm projecting my own opinions onto our organization, but Dorsey's not Jesus (blasphemy! :chuckle:) and he's also not in control of how our coaches choose to use certain players. If he thinks that Drew Forbes's best position is as a tackle, I think he's wrong--but what Campen, Monken and Kitchens think are the only things that matter.

I also think that Desmond Harrison is something special. The guy is athletically one of the best rookie pass blockers I've seen. It's just that he's not strong enough to play against NFL competition. Until opposing defenders realized they could just bull rush through him, he was looking really good out there. If he can actually get NFL-strong, I think he's one of the best pass blocking LT's in the game today. If he can't get there, he's just another project that didn't work out.
Talk of voluntary workouts was that Desmond Harrison was up significantly in muscle mass.

I wish I could quote an article, but this was from status reports on Cleveland Browns Daily. I know Zegura and Bishop are certainly hype men, but they don’t out and out lie in regard to details. If you take some of it in while acknowledging that they work for the team, you are able to get some good information.
 
I'm sure Harrison has been on an intensive strength program over the last 12 months. If he's not ready to compete physically yet, I'm not sure its in the cards anytime. I like the drafting of Forbes and the overall improvement in depth on the o line. Dorsey subscribes to the theory of getting a bunch of athletic big guys, and letting the coaching staff get the best five on the field.

The problem at the beginning of last season was Hue's 7 step drop long passing game requires a Joe Thomas at LT, not a Des Harrison/Greg Robinson. Freddy comes in with a rhythm timing attack, and the same line looks fine. Depth on the line was the biggest deficiency on offense after the Zeitler trade. It looks passable now if Corbett produces and they avoid a big injury. I wouldn't be surprised to see a veteran free agent come in after teams start paring their rosters.
 
I liked that Forbes video. Seems like he's got a "I'm not locked up with you / Your locked up with me" kind of attitude. I hope to see him in the rotation somewhere, but not before 2020.
 
It's also easy to forget that Harrison is going to be 26 when the season begins. He's not exactly a young pup when it comes to remaining physical development.

I have very low expectations with him.
 
It's also easy to forget that Harrison is going to be 26 when the season begins. He's not exactly a young pup when it comes to remaining physical development.

I have very low expectations with him.

I expect him to be another forgotten lottery ticket.

There's a chance he becomes something truly special though. Just--I don't see many guys have that little strength one year and become beast offensive linemen in the NFL the next.

I also hate the fact that an above poster lumped Greg Robinson and Desmond Harrison together. I think they're about as polar opposite as it gets.
 
They took a kicker before they took him. So, there's that vote of confidence lingering in the air.

That said, James Campen is the best offensive line coach I ever remember the Browns employing. I want the magic to be real. The magic was real in Green Bay.
 
They took a kicker before they took him. So, there's that vote of confidence lingering in the air.

That said, James Campen is the best offensive line coach I ever remember the Browns employing. I want the magic to be real. The magic was real in Green Bay.

Are you saying Bob Wylie’s magic tricks were fake while he was here? I’ll have none of that
 
They took a kicker before they took him. So, there's that vote of confidence lingering in the air.

That said, James Campen is the best offensive line coach I ever remember the Browns employing. I want the magic to be real. The magic was real in Green Bay.

We also kind of missed the playoffs cause of the kicking position, so... I have no qualms with that in some ways. Forbes is a raw athletic OLine prospect and if hes coachable and Campen is as good as you say he is, Forbes down the line could be a very good player for us. We will see once camp starts what they believe him to be.
 
They took a kicker before they took him. So, there's that vote of confidence lingering in the air.

That said, James Campen is the best offensive line coach I ever remember the Browns employing. I want the magic to be real. The magic was real in Green Bay.

What the fuck?

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Respect the gut, please.
 
Yeah, I guess being fat and funny plays well on Hard Knocks, but it doesn't actually help develop better linemen.

Wylie is a pretty well respected O-line coach in the league. He was a big part of turning around Oaklands pitiful O-line when he went there. They went from 29th to 4th in sacks allowed and 7th in sacks per pass play.

Wylie is a weirdo but dude knows what he's doing.
 
With big school exposure and public speaking courses, guys usually enter the league unafraid of the media. Even if they’re terrible at speaking.

Then you remember where this guy played. Good interview, but it’s so unique seeing a guy a little bit nervous answering Zegura’s questions. Seems like a good kid.
 

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