2020 Draft Prospects Thread

[Amherstcavsfan]

No way I see him dropping too far, but if he is available w/our 2nd, we should definitely consider.

But we could have our pick of either Winfield, I have seen Ashtyn Davis, may be dumb but woudl you double up on OL with Ezra Cleveland from Boise?

Any chance Malik Harrison drops to round 3 with one of our picks? Raekwon Davis?

Thank you,

Harrison has been rising after his surprising combine, think hes a 2nd rounder at this point. I dont think Davis will be there but also not a big R. Davis fan

Winfield is an easy take at 41. He does everything at a respectable level and is a good plug and play safety from day one. Hes a little injury prone but I'd still take him. Not a huge A Davis fan but that's mostly because we have no testing numbers for him.

If Ezra Cleveland is there, you take him and run, IMO. Dude is a really good player.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Just thought of something. I doubt the Browns, etc., are considered "essential" businesses, which means that the entire Berea complex should be shut down at midnight tonight. That'll mean that everything has to be done from home for Berry and the entire front office/coaching staff. I wonder how that will impact the rest of FA and the draft.

Obviously, they're likely setting up their IT as best they can to give as much access as they can. But even if the Browns decide to ignore the "stay home" order, we're talking about no interviews, visits, one on ones, Pro Days, or any of that usual stuff. It's going to be a lot more guesswork than usual.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Obviously, they're likely setting up their IT as best they can to give as much access as they can. But even if the Browns decide to ignore the "stay home" order, we're talking about no interviews, visits, one on ones, Pro Days, or any of that usual stuff. It's going to be a lot more guesswork than usual.

Interviews and Pro Days can be set up on video feeds, but you are correct that it's different than meeting a prospect in person. A lot of the "detective work" was always done through phone calls to old coaches, people at the University, etc.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Interviews and Pro Days can be set up on video feeds, but you are correct that it's different than meeting a prospect in person. A lot of the "detective work" was always done through phone calls to old coaches, people at the University, etc.

Some of those feeds are even going to be tough given the "stay at home" mandates around a lot of the country. Some of these kids aren't going to have the ability to set this stuff up on their own, etc.. And then there is really going to be almost no ability to see what some of these kids may be like physically in person. Some of those pro days may have been really important for lower/mid round picks.

 

[Jordan]

Some of those feeds are even going to be tough given the "stay at home" mandates around a lot of the country. Some of these kids aren't going to have the ability to set this stuff up on their own, etc.. And then there is really going to be almost no ability to see what some of these kids may be like physically in person. Some of those pro days may have been really important for lower/mid round picks.

The good news is, while not every state is Ohio, COVID-19 is going to take a hit on every team. This draft is going to be more guesswork than any in the past decade.

With that said, I’d be much more concerned if our analytics staff was worse or did not exist. It does not guarantee anything, but I would rather have bigger marginal advantages than otherwise, and I really believe the Browns have a top-notch analytics department that mirrors teams like the Eagles.

 

[Randolphkeys]

If Ezra Cleveland is there, you take him and run, IMO. Dude is a really good player.

I'm about 80% sure Ezra Cleveland will be there for pick 41. I believe Josh Jones and Lucas Niang are technically more advanced with bigger frames, arm length and much bigger hands. Hand size does play a role in tackle play, and Ezra is at nine inches flat while other tackles are at 10+. Some teams might prefer that to a raw athlete. Cleveland is a very athletic project who a team needs to coach up for a year. I'm interested to see how things fall after the first four tackles get drafted.

 

[6.19.2016]

Just thought of something. I doubt the Browns, etc., are considered "essential" businesses, which means that the entire Berea complex should be shut down at midnight tonight. That'll mean that everything has to be done from home for Berry and the entire front office/coaching staff. I wonder how that will impact the rest of FA and the draft.

Obviously, they're likely setting up their IT as best they can to give as much access as they can. But even if the Browns decide to ignore the "stay home" order, we're talking about no interviews, visits, one on ones, Pro Days, or any of that usual stuff. It's going to be a lot more guesswork than usual.

Obligatory "DePo already works from home!!11!!" joke, which has appeared en masse on OBR since the news broke.

But as others have noted, it will basically affect every team equally, and a lot can be done remotely.

The fact that we already completed the Underwear Olympics helps every team with this process a lot.

 

[Randolphkeys]

So Utah has two safeties in the draft: Julian Blackmon and Terrell Burgess. They are both converted cornerbacks. Blackmon tended to play more as a single-high safety and Burgess played closer to the line-of-scrimmage, though not as a traditional box safety.

Normally I would prefer the guy who plays the single-high, but as I watch some tape, Blackmon does not do much on a lot of plays. Against Oregon, the Ducks just ignored Blackmon; and USC torched him on a few plays. I think his numbers are good (only 17 catches for 200 yards in 2019) because, generally, teams did not attack Utah deep.


Burgess is just a straight-up better prospect. He allowed under five yards per target in 2019 (40 targets against for 190 yards), one interception, and five pass deflections. Allowing under five yards per target - as a safety - is completely unreal.

And, unlike Blackmon, it seems like teams could have targeted Burgess, but generally, avoided him. When they did target Burgess, though, he was not giving up a lot of yardage. He is a good tackler against short-yardage passing or slot receivers and lock-down when he has to play deeper. This footage against Washington is just dominant, but frankly, the footage against Oregon demonstrates exactly what I am talking about. Burgess just has a bigger play-to-play impact, even if Blackmon is more pro-ready.



The concern with Burgess is he only started for one season and may be best as a Cover 2 or Tampa 2 safety. But man, he may be my favorite safety project that I have watched. He is just so talented.

Went back and watched more Burgess. He is solid in technique, but at 5'11 and 192 pounds, he is the size of a corner who is playing safety. If there are players like Delpit and Chinn still on the board, it's tough to go for the guy with a lower ceiling. Great film out there on him though, especially processing in the run game.

 

[Jordan]

A guy I am seeing rising up draft boards fairly quickly is Laviska Shenault Jr. out of Colorado. He is the ultimate gadget receiver, ala a Deebo Samuel-type. He has outstanding hands (caught 14 out of 22 contested catches in 2019) and is the best yards-after-catch guy in this draft (averaged over seven yards-after-catch and got broke 44 tackles over the past two years).


He has a limited route tree, but given that the Browns really only currently have two wide-receivers and neither are gadget guys, I could actually see the team drafting Shenault. He's a mediocre route runner and probably does not promise to be an X-receiver or even a true slot guy, but he will be able to contribute right away.

To that end, here are my rough receiver rankings in this draft, the dotted line indicates guaranteed to be gone before the Browns' second pick, the mixed line indicates most-likely to be gone, and the straight line means we have no idea.

---------------------------------
1) Jeudy
2) Lamb
3) Ruggs

___----______----________--

4) Tee Higgins
5) Justin Jefferson
6) Jalen Reagor
___________________________

7) Denzel Mimms
8) Laviska Shenault JR.
9) Brandon Aiyuk
10) K.J. Hamler

I think it is highly unlikely that all of the first eight are gone by the time the Browns pick in the second round. And this poses an interesting question: the Browns need a third wide-receiver, so does it make sense to draft one of this year's elite prospects even if it means waiting for defensive help?

 

[bronko]

With Stefanski not preferring 3 wr sets, doesn't it seem unlikely that a day 1-2 pick will be a wr. My guess is they pick up a late roster cut from someone. I wonder if Hollywood has any chance to return. But if rd1 is a tackle, day 2 of the draft has to belong to the defense.

 

[col63onel]

A guy I am seeing rising up draft boards fairly quickly is Laviska Shenault Jr. out of Colorado. He is the ultimate gadget receiver, ala a Deebo Samuel-type. He has outstanding hands (caught 14 out of 22 contested catches in 2019) and is the best yards-after-catch guy in this draft (averaged over seven yards-after-catch and got broke 44 tackles over the past two years).


He has a limited route tree, but given that the Browns really only currently have two wide-receivers and neither are gadget guys, I could actually see the team drafting Shenault. He's a mediocre route runner and probably does not promise to be an X-receiver or even a true slot guy, but he will be able to contribute right away.

To that end, here are my rough receiver rankings in this draft, the dotted line indicates guaranteed to be gone before the Browns' second pick, the mixed line indicates most-likely to be gone, and the straight line means we have no idea.

---------------------------------
1) Jeudy
2) Lamb
3) Ruggs

___----______----________--

4) Tee Higgins
5) Justin Jefferson
6) Jalen Reagor
___________________________

7) Denzel Mimms
8) Laviska Shenault JR.
9) Brandon Aiyuk
10) K.J. Hamler

I think it is highly unlikely that all of the first eight are gone by the time the Browns pick in the second round. And this poses an interesting question: the Browns need a third wide-receiver, so does it make sense to draft one of this year's elite prospects even if it means waiting for defensive help?

Wasn’t Shenault looked at as a 1st rounder was netting this past season?

 

[Randolphkeys]

Wasn’t Shenault looked at as a 1st rounder was netting this past season?

He injured a core muscle running the 40 yard dash, running what might not be his best at 4.58, and had to pull out of the combine. Preseason he was in the top three receivers, but now teams are concerned about his history of injuries.

I feel like the back seven of the defense will be the priority for second through fourth rounds, but you never know if somebody drops.

 

[Jordan]

He injured a core muscle running the 40 yard dash, running what might not be his best at 4.58, and had to pull out of the combine. Preseason he was in the top three receivers, but now teams are concerned about his history of injuries.

I feel like the back seven of the defense will be the priority for second through fourth rounds, but you never know if somebody drops.

Wasn’t Shenault looked at as a 1st rounder was netting this past season?

He also had a pretty underwhelming final season. The concern for him is that he is not a good route runner, does not generally generate his own individual open looks, and it is unclear if he has NFL speed to be an elite YAC guy.

I still think he's a first-round talent because his vision, once he has the ball, is elite. He has an entire roster of moves to advance in open space and a large enough catch radius to take advantage. There are enough concerns, though, that he could drop a little bit in a deep receiver draft.

I agree with Keys. I would like them to focus on the back seven of the defense, especially safety. I just do not think it is impossible that a receiver they love drops to 41 and then Berry has to make a tough decision.

 

[sportscoach]

He also had a pretty underwhelming final season. The concern for him is that he is not a good route runner, does not generally generate his own individual open looks, and it is unclear if he has NFL speed to be an elite YAC guy.

I still think he's a first-round talent because his vision, once he has the ball, is elite. He has an entire roster of moves to advance in open space and a large enough catch radius to take advantage. There are enough concerns, though, that he could drop a little bit in a deep receiver draft.

I agree with Keys. I would like them to focus on the back seven of the defense, especially safety. I just do not think it is impossible that a receiver they love drops to 41 and then Berry has to make a tough decision.

I also wonder if Berry and DePo will do any trade downs at all? Berry seems to be aggressive in free agency, but I am not exactly sure how he will target players in the draft since personally I only know him from the Sashi Brown era of the Browns.

Reason why I am saying something is, let's say their target is S that will be available late in second round, but a WR that they like falls to 41, do we trade down to acquire the safety and an additional asset while possibly losing the S, take the player that we want at 41 or take the BPA in a position that isnt a priority?

That to me is going to be hard to predict since I am not exactly sure which way Berry and DePo will go since neither has a true track record at the end of the day.

 

[6.19.2016]

NFL at odds with GMs on April draft, sources say

The NFL plans to stick with April 23-25 for this year's draft despite a general manager subcommittee recommendation that it be moved back, sources told ESPN.

www.espn.com

Scheft bomb. Another domino about to fall?