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2020 Draft Prospects Thread

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Aside from OT, who is coming out that is a must take if available in the slot between #5-#10?

Chase Young over anyone, he and Garrett would be an unstoppable force together. You're probably not going to get a chance to take him unless you're picking in the Top 2, maaaybe at #3 if the first two teams take QBs

Delphit is a great prospect and would fill a huge need on the defensive end. I consider taking him depending on what OTs are on/off the board.

Jeudy is one of the Top 5 WR prospects we've seen in the last 10 years. This isn't me saying the Browns should take him, but if he is one the board for the Browns, there could be plenty of teams looking to trade up to take him. As strong & deep as our WR corp currently looks, a lot could change from now until the end of April.
 
If this shit show of a season somehow got us Chase Young at least you could say it wasn't a total loss . . .
 
Schedule is likely too terrible to wind up in the Top 3, but man...

That dude is something.

From a prospect perspective, I'd argue he's among the very best every with regards to his readiness for the league and the polish he has in terms of hand usage, pass-rush array and pure physical tools.
 
Watched some film on Tristan Wirfs and Prince Tega Wanogho today:

Wirfs vs. Michigan:

- ++ Power. Absolutely a monster with his leverage in the run game. Moves bodies at will and looks like his lower half is truly in peak condition.

- Slower in his pass sets, with short choppy steps that don't appear to be overly fluid. One report I read called his pass sets "awkward," and thats about the best way I can describe it. Its not very athletic looking, but this is also a product of his coaching at Iowa and not something unlike anyone else who has come out of there.

- Made a few nice reach blocks which showed that he does have some athleticism.

Overall, I think he's a future RT in the NFL, with his power being a defining attribute that sets him apart from most of the rest of this OT class. Does that value warrant a Top 10 selection to me? No, I need to see more evidence that he has the athleticism necessary to make a switch to LT at the next level before I'd use that level of draft capital on him. He's a future starter to me, maybe only an average NFL player unless he's able to develop a more NFL-style pass set that allows him to utilize his power and punch.




Tega Wanogho vs. LSU:

- Good explosion out of his stance when pulling and with his drop step in pass sets. Product of his elite athleticism and background.

- Too often seems lost with regards to his responsibilities, he can miss assignments or wind up blocking nobody on plays.

- LSU had success pulling him forward and ripping past him on some plays, needs to leverage his hands better and display better balance with his giant frame than he does to avoid defenders being able to engage and shift his weight for him. He's stronger than each of these guys, but gets out over his pad level and they're able to take advantage.

- Slow to recognize the speed rush, forcing him to turn his hips and run with the defender, leaves him susceptible to secondary moves at the next level.




Overall, Wanogho is a freak of an athlete with everything you look for from an athleticism perspective. His game has a ways to go with regards to technique and consistency in his assignments, but all of this is something that you'd expect from a guy who has only been playing the game for a couple of years.

He's an high ceiling, high upside investment, there are snaps where you can see he's absolutely dominant out there and can get to any point on the field before the rusher, but with that comes the notion that he may always be somewhat inconsistent in his technique or may never "get it" with regards to his assignments.


Given the choice of two, I'm inclined to lean towards Tega Wanogho with regards to the Browns hierarchy of needs vs. talent. Hecould be an elite LT with refinement and the continuance of his progression in terms of Football IQ. If you sit down with the kid and can decipher his aptitude for the game and his will to get better, I have no doubt he'd cash in that upside long-term.
 

Do you put any stock that since Saban came on in 2007, Alabama has only put out arguably one above average NFL starter on the O-Line (Ryan Kelly)? TBD still on Jonah Williams, who I believe is out for the year

Lots of 1st and 2nd round duds
 
Do you put any stock that since Saban came on in 2007, Alabama has only put out arguably one above average NFL starter on the O-Line (Ryan Kelly)? TBD still on Jonah Williams, who I believe is out for the year

Lots of 1st and 2nd round duds

Not going to tie OL NFL production to Saban, its more related to their position coaching.

They added Kyle Flood this off-season as the OL coach, who came from the Falcons and has a ton of relevant experience with the OL in his career.

My biggest concern with Leatherwood is the experience at LT, this is his first season starting there. But his athleticism and measurables are obvious, so I definitely think (similar to Tega Wanogho) that the long-term investment in a guy like him is worthy of consideration in the middle of Rd. 1
 
Not going to tie OL NFL production to Saban, its more related to their position coaching.

They added Kyle Flood this off-season as the OL coach, who came from the Falcons and has a ton of relevant experience with the OL in his career.

My biggest concern with Leatherwood is the experience at LT, this is his first season starting there. But his athleticism and measurables are obvious, so I definitely think (similar to Tega Wanogho) that the long-term investment in a guy like him is worthy of consideration in the middle of Rd. 1

This wasn't me blaming it on Saban, moreso using it as a time reference point.

In the Saban-era, Bama has put out great to elite NFL players at every offensive/defensive grouping with the exception of O-Line and QB (Tua may change that)

I know it is a bit of a fool's errand to lump them together over a 10 year period and hiring Kyle Flood is a good piece of info that I didn't know.
 
How do the tight ends in this draft look?

Largely specialized with regards to their skill set.

Hunter Bryant out of UDub and Grant Calcaterra from OU are tremendous receivers, but lack ideal size and blocking skills.

Brycen Hopkins out of Purdue is probably the best blend of athleticism/blocking ability, but he's a Day 2 or 3 prospect overall. Jared Pinkney from Vandy is right there with him, they're very similar from a profile perspective.

Harrison Bryant from FAU has been impressive to me, but he's more a hybrid WR/TE than he is a true TE.

The value here for Cleveland (IMO) is going to be finding a specialty player who you can utilize in certain sets, that has enough blocking ability to be the extra TE on run plays.
 
Why wouldn't we trade our draft pick if Young is available?

i don't know that I would do that........I'm just curious to hear the arguments.
 
Why wouldn't we trade our draft pick if Young is available?

i don't know that I would do that........I'm just curious to hear the arguments.

As elite as Young is as a prospect, I'm not sure if teams are giving up godfather like packages for a non-QB. I'd obviously have to see what the trade back would entail of before making a judgement.

Regardless, I don't see the Browns being bad enough from here on out to be in a spot to have Young on the board.
 
Thinking we'll finish with 5-6 wins, problem is there are so many other god awful teams this year that we'll probably be outside of the top 5.
 
Lets do a little High 5, Low 5.

I'll go through five prospects who I really like/dislike among guys mentioned as potential first round picks.


FIVE HIGH:
Andrew Thomas - OT - Georgia - Massive manchild who represents the best in a pretty impressive OT class. Incredibly skilled, elite with his hands and technical skills. Every time he gets his hands on rushers it seems like the battle ends there, and his strength in the run game opens up enormous holes. Just a mean motherfucker and the best OT in this class.

Grant Delpit - S - LSU - The best pure center fielder in the last few years, likely since Malik Hooker came into the league. Range to every part of the field with a good stride length that covers so much ground. Comes downhill with some thump, doesn't miss many tackles and takes really good angles when he does, probably well ahead of where Hooker was coming out. Sometimes seem to struggle in space or when standing still with regards to his tackling, but this minor considering his talent.

Jerry Jeudy - WR - Alabama - The most pure feet among collegiate WR's that maybe I've ever seen. His routes are so fun to watch and his short area quickness and burst out of cuts are special. We can get into this in the Low 5, but I don't think Bama is capable of maximizing his talent as well as the NFL will. Finding him a QB who can truly distribute the ball at multiple levels of the field will make this guy an All-Pro.

CeeDee Lamb - WR - Oklahoma - Made me a believer in the Texas game, his speed was something of a question mark and its not necessarily elite, but its sneaky and he makes up for it with some good footwork in his routes. Not as shifty as Jeudy, but his contact balance after the catch and consistent separation skills have jumped off the page.

Joe Burrow - QB - LSU - Man alive I did not expect to like this guy as much as I do. He seems like such an incredibly good fit in a more modern, run-action scheme like DeFlippo, Matt Nagy or Andy Reid. Talented with his body movement selling the run, good feet with a quick release and plenty of zip on the ball to all levels of the field. The linked film against Florida is him at his best, but it doesn't show him much under pressure, where I do see some bad habits of taking his eyes off the field or spinning backwards out of pressure. Some definite room for improvement, but he has all the tools you'd like to see from a guy you're taking in R1.


FIVE LOW:

Tua Tagovailoa - QB - Alabama - I've seen him good, I've seen him bad. Not convinced that the consistency is ever going to get there with regards to the mistake-prone football he tends to play. He can extend a play and do something incredible, but I don't believe he's consistent with his feet and I'm not sure he ever will be. Everything seems to break down under pressure, time and time again. His delivery isn't that impressive when its not breaking down.

Justin Herbert - QB - Oregon - While I do think his experience and his understanding of timing/RPO-based schematics, I just don't think he's a good enough thrower, or consistent with his natural accuracy that puts his receivers in the best position. Decision making is pretty rough at times, not impressive at reading the field and finding alternative options other than checkdowns. Doesn't manipulate defenses and doesn't seem to understand how to exploit weaknesses, just goes with what he's given.

Laviska Shenault - WR - Colorado - Outstanding body type and looks like he's built to be a slot guy like Anquan Boldin. Not overly impressive in his routes, doesn't have great speed or short area quickness, but gets by because of his good body control and hands. Not sure I see that guy as living up to the value of a R1 pick.

CJ Henderson - CB - Florida - Soft as hell, outright refuses to show any sort of tackling abilities or willingness to get into run support. Slightly slower than I'd expect in his footwork and relies solely on his length and natural speed without much refinement. One of my least favorite prospect in this class.

K'Lavon Chaisson - EDGE - LSU - Pure speed guy off the edge for LSU, who possesses some wicked tools but does not have nearly the same level of refinement shown by other rushers in this class. I'm also not totally on board with his ability to bend off the edge, he doesn't really have the same pliability of a top end guy like Garrett or Brian Burns last year who could really get low while still maintaining their balance/speed.
 

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