Just a few thoughts on the 1st round and Taylor:
* Honestly, even last night I really didn't mind the pick in Taylor... I know some people didn't like Taylor at all but I was more so mad at the fact the Browns gave up an early 3rd round pick to move up 6 spots... Looking back at previous drafts and looking at draft value charts (which I realize are not 100% accurate) I don't think it should have cost them that much to get up there.. If it was one of their 4ths + a 5th or so, I would feel better about it but in the end I saying this not knowing the dynamics of other draft rooms and talks of the trade... I realize other teams were likely trying to get up to get Taylor and/or other players... Heckert mentioned Pioli is one of this really good friends and considering everything linking Taylor to Pioli, I have to imagine Heckert knew he loved Taylor which is why he wanted to make sure to get up there... In the end though, Browns gave a 3rd round pick to get him... Could he have been there at 27? Possibly but nobody knows what would have happened or other teams draft boards so it's pointless trying to speculate...
* Listening to Heckert talk in the pre-draft press conference and the post-1st round press conference it's easy to see why the Browns jumped up to get Taylor... Someone asked Heckert in his pre-draft press conference about trading around and Heckert mentioned there are advantages of it but said you can't get too cute and possibly miss out on your guy... And this is exactly what this Taylor pick smells like... Heckert saw the 6th-27th drop down well worth what they gained but also saw that they would likely have to move back up to get the guy they wanted and was willing to do that because he was worried about missing out on a player they liked... And if you listened to the Shumur/Heckert press conference last night, it sounds like the Browns had Taylor as a top-15 player and possibly higher... He wanted to trade down but he also didn't want to miss out on a guy he targeted in the late 1st... He accomplished both things, which certainly is good news...
* Taylor had a lot of questions on scouting reports but if you listened to what Heckert had to say, he seemed pretty confident that a lot of those questions weren't fair to him... He said the weight issues weren't concerning because even after losing weight since getting to Baylor, he has continued to lose weight and is around 330... He also mentioned that when the Browns had Bowers and Taylor in for a visit, Bowers ate more than Taylor and Taylor was conscientious about what he ate... He used that as a small tidbit but just referenced that saying his weight isn't a concern... He also seemed to confused on where Taylor's foot issues came from and said it might have been a mistake on some doctors part at the combine... He also completely dismissed Taylor being lazy saying he was in the game for 85% of the snaps and used the Oklahoma game as an example to dismiss his laziness, saying he played hard even when Baylor was down big...
* But the most interesting part of the Taylor background check that the Browns did involved using a little connection that not many are aware of... The Browns currently have wide receiver Jordan Norwood on their squad... Norwood was at Penn State when Taylor was there but his dad was a bigger key... Brian Norwood was a defensive coach at Penn State through 2010, where he was defensive coordinator from 2008-2010... He helped to recruit Taylor to Penn State... Norwood left Penn State after the 2010 year and went to Baylor the year after to become associate head coach/defensive coordinator... Well guess who followed after transferring from Penn State? Phil Taylor... Norwood was a big part of Taylor coming to Baylor and is someone that Taylor is close with... So what's the whole point of this story? If anyone who knows Taylor well, what type of person he is and what type of talent he is, it's Brian Norwood... He's seen him progress from high school throughout college and helped the Browns with his insight... While Norwood wasn't a the whole background check, his insight was probably a key part because of how well he knew him... Just goes to show you what a small world this is...
* This Taylor pick might give us a little inkling to what type of players Jauron is going to want for his defense... A lot of people have already mentioned this but so far it's starting to look like Jauron is using a similar blueprint as he did for his 2001 Bears defense where he had Keith Traylor and big Ted Washington at defensive tackle.. Rubin and Taylor could form a similar duo... Heckert seemed adamant Taylor won't be a NT here... Seems like they envision him as a pretty good fit as the 3-technique and see him having the pass-rush ability to be able to do so well... Also to point out is that Holmgren has also been a big proponent of having two big DTs in the middle... But going back to Jauron's 2001 Bears defense, his defensive ends there were around 300lbs. and his OLB had over 10 sacks (Roosevelt Colvin)... What does that mean? Could mean Browns may be looking at bigger DEs who can hold the edge vs. the run (Bowers and even Sheard fit that) but also a guy like Akeem Ayers could be a guy of interest, due to his pass rush abilities (could be utilized similar to Colvin was)...
* As far as the actual player himself, Taylor is a a pretty talented kid with good potential... The reason he was pushed down a lot of draftniks boards were because of unanswered questions and because a lot saw him as a 34 player only... Now with that said, a lot of those same people will agree that based on talent and athleticism he's a legit top-20 pick... It's just a lot of concerns with him pushed him down and wasn't as talked about because of it... OBR's draft expert Brent Sobeleski said it and I 100% agree with him: there just aren't too many people on Earth that are this big and can move like him... That's why I was such a big proponent of Dareus... Guys that are this big, this talented and this athletic are hard to find... I'm not saying that Taylor is on that level but it's same case when talking about him...
* The nice thing about the pick is that it now solidifies that DT spot and it really addresses a huge issue for the Browns... The run defense should improve and the LBs should have a feast with these two big DTs... D'Qwell Jackson should be thanking the Browns right now...
* Overall, I'm happier than I was yesterday but I still worry some about giving up the 3rd round pick... But at the same time, if the Browns feel comfortable with Taylor and all the concerns then I have to say this seems like it could be a pretty good pick...