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My impressions of the pick:
Mingo itself is a solid pick... I would have preferred them to trade down (they said they had a deal in place; I'm guessing it was the Rams) but was okay with them staying and picking with who was on the board at the time... I would have liked Star and would have understood Milliner as well...
This was a pick that fit the words that Horton & Chud used: attacking... They want to be aggressive, get after the QB and this pick represents that... Give Lombardi some credit because this was far from a safe pick... This is one that could work out decent but also has the upside to work out extremely well... He coulda went safe but chose to sack up and go for a guy who could be the highest impact defender in the draft when it's all said and done... Will he? I don't know... But he has that potential and was viewed as that coming into his junior year...
So what happened? Mingo had a down year this year... Some attribute it to lazy play in some aspects... Some attribute to the way he was used (was asked to contain a lot rather than rush the pass rusher)... Some attribute it to how he was played (was chipped & doubled a lot)... Some attribute it to who he played (take a look at their SEC schedule)... Whatever the case may be is he didn't produce like some expected and some had hoped... This isn't an indictment against him personally it just seemed like a perfect storm of factors contributing to his decline in production...
About Mingo: the dude is a freak athlete... He's explosive off the edge, very fast in general and is a very good athlete.. He strikes me as very much a linear athlete but does flash some sideline-to-sideline skills... He's also got some pop for a guy his size and it shows in his hands in some of the videos you'll watch with him..
The thing with Mingo is that he's very raw... He's very much still an athlete that needs refinement on the finer things of the game... Things such as his hand placement, footwork and moves/counter moves... These are all things he's going to need to work on and improve on to become a better player... He's also going to need to bulk up some from the high 230s, low 240s, to consistently take the pounding and hold up well from at the POA..
But the first and last word to describe Mingo is havoc... When he's on, he creates problems with his ability... He makes splash plays and can be a high impact defender...
Right now, honestly, he came into a great situation for him to develop... In Cleveland, he's not going to be asked to start from Day 1, produce 10 sacks and be the impact player that some other teams might have asked him to do... He's going to be able to sit behind Sheard and Kruger, develop more and be put in certain situations to succeed... He's not going to be a 60 snap guy from the get-go, probably more like 35 or so... Horton and Baker are going to work and develop him while putting him in situations where he's best fit, like in passing downs... Like Chud said, he's going to be a OLB in the base and a DE in the sub-packages.. This is a guy who Horton is going to move all-around and use as a his toy, with his athletic ability and potential versatility... I can see him having a similar impact as Bruce Irvin did this year... All they asked him to do was pin his ears back and get to the QB and it worked... They let him do his strength while they developed him and furthered him in other areas...
How does this impact the Browns: it creates a damn scary front 7... The LBs are the lifeblood of the 34 and the Browns are set, with the exception of the ILB spot next to DQ... Don't automatically assume that this means Sheard is gone... Mingo is still raw and needs to develop.. Sheard could be gone if he fails to transition this year but for the time being, he's going to be the starter... This pick was taken with getting a guy who they saw as having the most upside and potential... Like the Giants, the Browns want to have a deep rotation so they can consistently keep the pressure on....
So overall, I thought it was a solid pick... Not in love with it but understand it and will go along with it... I certainly don't hate as I would have Geno Smith or any OG at #6, so be glad of that...
Mingo itself is a solid pick... I would have preferred them to trade down (they said they had a deal in place; I'm guessing it was the Rams) but was okay with them staying and picking with who was on the board at the time... I would have liked Star and would have understood Milliner as well...
This was a pick that fit the words that Horton & Chud used: attacking... They want to be aggressive, get after the QB and this pick represents that... Give Lombardi some credit because this was far from a safe pick... This is one that could work out decent but also has the upside to work out extremely well... He coulda went safe but chose to sack up and go for a guy who could be the highest impact defender in the draft when it's all said and done... Will he? I don't know... But he has that potential and was viewed as that coming into his junior year...
So what happened? Mingo had a down year this year... Some attribute it to lazy play in some aspects... Some attribute to the way he was used (was asked to contain a lot rather than rush the pass rusher)... Some attribute it to how he was played (was chipped & doubled a lot)... Some attribute it to who he played (take a look at their SEC schedule)... Whatever the case may be is he didn't produce like some expected and some had hoped... This isn't an indictment against him personally it just seemed like a perfect storm of factors contributing to his decline in production...
About Mingo: the dude is a freak athlete... He's explosive off the edge, very fast in general and is a very good athlete.. He strikes me as very much a linear athlete but does flash some sideline-to-sideline skills... He's also got some pop for a guy his size and it shows in his hands in some of the videos you'll watch with him..
The thing with Mingo is that he's very raw... He's very much still an athlete that needs refinement on the finer things of the game... Things such as his hand placement, footwork and moves/counter moves... These are all things he's going to need to work on and improve on to become a better player... He's also going to need to bulk up some from the high 230s, low 240s, to consistently take the pounding and hold up well from at the POA..
But the first and last word to describe Mingo is havoc... When he's on, he creates problems with his ability... He makes splash plays and can be a high impact defender...
Right now, honestly, he came into a great situation for him to develop... In Cleveland, he's not going to be asked to start from Day 1, produce 10 sacks and be the impact player that some other teams might have asked him to do... He's going to be able to sit behind Sheard and Kruger, develop more and be put in certain situations to succeed... He's not going to be a 60 snap guy from the get-go, probably more like 35 or so... Horton and Baker are going to work and develop him while putting him in situations where he's best fit, like in passing downs... Like Chud said, he's going to be a OLB in the base and a DE in the sub-packages.. This is a guy who Horton is going to move all-around and use as a his toy, with his athletic ability and potential versatility... I can see him having a similar impact as Bruce Irvin did this year... All they asked him to do was pin his ears back and get to the QB and it worked... They let him do his strength while they developed him and furthered him in other areas...
How does this impact the Browns: it creates a damn scary front 7... The LBs are the lifeblood of the 34 and the Browns are set, with the exception of the ILB spot next to DQ... Don't automatically assume that this means Sheard is gone... Mingo is still raw and needs to develop.. Sheard could be gone if he fails to transition this year but for the time being, he's going to be the starter... This pick was taken with getting a guy who they saw as having the most upside and potential... Like the Giants, the Browns want to have a deep rotation so they can consistently keep the pressure on....
So overall, I thought it was a solid pick... Not in love with it but understand it and will go along with it... I certainly don't hate as I would have Geno Smith or any OG at #6, so be glad of that...
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