2021 Draft Prospects Thread

[Ohdang]

I agree with everything in this paragraph without question. I'd go as far as say 2nd and 3rd rounds are great for building the youth core, but then 4th round and onwards the goal is BPA regardless of position.

I just think a few people have been ultra focused on receivers, and it is valuable to back up and take a wider view. Getting caught up in any one position aside from QB can lead to overlooking the best blueprint for the team overall.

I'd be happy with literally any defensive position group on day one and two, and there better be an incredible value to pick an offensive player in rounds 2-3. The defense is currently the roadblock between the Browns and the Big Show.

I don't think we really disagree on anything other than I can see a justification for drafting a receiver whereas you don't think there is. I wouldn't personally like it very much, though. I would dislike it less if it were a flier on a later round pick with some upside than I would if we used an early pick, but I'm really hoping they just draft defense exclusively since our offense really doesn't seem to have any holes in it right now and our defense is swiss cheese.

Personally, an ideal offseason for me would be:

• Convincing both OBJ and Landry that the best thing for them both is to restructure so they can stay here together and keep their bromance going for the next several years while we use the savings to get a couple good players to compete for the Superb Owl.
  • I wouldn't mind them having these talks and getting anyone who's been decent for us to do the same thing - looking at Sheldon Richardson here, and Tretter/Bitonio perhaps; though I'd be lying if I said I know much of anything about what their contracts look like other than they're higher than I'd like them to be if I was in Andrew Berry's shoes trying to build a dynasty.
• Try to sign a handful of reasonably young defensive players at positions of need to a reasonable contract in free agency.
  • I'd rather not sign anyone if a reasonable contract isn't an option.
  • If a reasonable contract is an option, I'd look at a few of these guys (some I would only want for depth):
    • Edge
      • Carl Lawson
      • Shaq Barrett
      • Bud Dupree
      • Trey Hendrickson
      • Takkarist McKinley
      • Romeo Okwara
      • Tyus Bowser
      • Tarell Basham
      • Jordan Jenkins
    • Interior DL
      • Dalvin Tomlinson
      • Shelby Harris (he's a little older than I like, but I think extremely underrated)
      • Roy Robertson-Harris
    • LB
      • Matt Milano
      • Jayon Brown
      • Denzel Perryman
    • CB
      • Desmond King
      • Mike Hilton
      • Shaquill Griffin
      • Ronald Darby
      • Gareon Conley
      • Cameron Sutton
      • Michael Davis
    • S
      • Anthony Harris
      • John Johnson
      • Xavier Woods
      • Malik Hooker
      • Patrick Peterson (pipe dream if he'd convert to safety)
      • Jaquiski Tartt
      • Tre Boston
      • Rayshawn Jenkins
• Draft JOK at 26.
  • I think the traditional linebacker that acts as a run stuffing thumper is useful situationally, but about as valuable today as a fullback. Having Taki-Taki develop into this role would be nice, and he looks okay so far.
  • I'd like to see us draft guys who in the past would be scorned as not having a true position but now are very appealing as LB/S hybrids who can cover TE's, receiving backs, and play zone coverage decently well underneath and in the flat, while being at least adequate against the run; hence my desire for JOK at 26. If he's not there, I don't know enough about prospects to know who the next best guy is and where he's projected to go, but I think having 2 of these guys on the roster would be extremely beneficial, and I think that was the point of Jacob Philips and Mack Wilson. The jury is still out if they'll actually excel at the role. I like Philips but Wilson? Ehhh...
• Round 2
  • Draft the BPA defensive lineman. At this point we badly need both an edge player and interior player because of the Vernon injury and Ogunjobi likely departing/not being that great if he stays as depth, and I'm going back and forth all the time on which is more important. Having Myles and Richardson as the only 2 really viable starters right now, in my opinion, has me leaning towards drafting an interior player over an edge player if all else is equal, because I think Richardson is alright but nothing to get excited about.
• Round 3 (2 picks)
  • Draft a DL and a DB, whichever is BPA.
    • If we drafted interior DL in round 2, grab an edge; if we drafted an edge, grab an interior.
    • If we get lucky and JOK is there at 26, I go corner in round 3 for sure because I think Delpit/Harrison are a solid tandem in traditional 2 safety sets, and we can plug JOK in as the 3rd safety when we want that look.
    • If JOK is not there in round 1 I could be talked into either CB or S, depending on which is BPA at the time.
• Round 4
  • Draft another DL or DB, whichever is BPA.
    • Ideally you draft whichever you didn't get the rounds before between S and CB or edge versus interior, but only if the talent is pretty equal. At this point in the draft BPA is more important to me than position.
• Rounds 5, 6, and 7
  • Crapshoot. Take some fliers.

The caveat to my ideal scenario is definitely take anyone you have graded really high if they fall and present a value too good to pass up. And always take BPA if its not particularly close. My wish list is based on someone actually worth drafting in those rounds being available.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

So... I also don't like Mike Evans. I think that entire Bucs receiving corps is overrated, with the exception of Scotty Miller, who I felt was underrated.

I'd take Courtland Sutton and Kenny Golladay over Mike Evans every day. If that makes me a fucking idiot, so be it.

I agree that slot guys can be primary receivers for their team. Obviously the Brady guys come to mind--Welker and Edelman. I'd argue that Landry has been that for the Browns during his time here. Cooper Kupp might be the best receiver in LA. But, I'm not paying first-round premiums for those guys because I don't feel there's enough separation between the elite talents and a guy like Cole Beasley or someone else you can just easily acquire. The players who can dominate from the slot? Eh.... they sometimes are available. The players who can dominate on the outside almost never are. Those are the premium players I would be willing to spend for.

I think Godwin is a better receiver than Evans. AJ Brown is certainly a better receiver than Corey Davis. I'm not happily allocating a first round pick, or 12+ million a year to either player. If you make me pick one, I think AJ Brown is a better bet than Chris Godwin due to his size and YAC abilities.

@Jack Brickman I wanted to circle back to this.

You're right.

I watched some Godwin film from 2019 and 2020. I wasn't giving him enough credit, especially with the way he gets open in the medium-to-deep routes.

Thanks for causing me to re-examine the player.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I don't think we really disagree on anything other than I can see a justification for drafting a receiver whereas you don't think there is. I wouldn't personally like it very much, though. I would dislike it less if it were a flier on a later round pick with some upside than I would if we used an early pick, but I'm really hoping they just draft defense exclusively since our offense really doesn't seem to have any holes in it right now and our defense is swiss cheese.

Personally, an ideal offseason for me would be:

• Convincing both OBJ and Landry that the best thing for them both is to restructure so they can stay here together and keep their bromance going for the next several years while we use the savings to get a couple good players to compete for the Superb Owl.
  • I wouldn't mind them having these talks and getting anyone who's been decent for us to do the same thing - looking at Sheldon Richardson here, and Tretter/Bitonio perhaps; though I'd be lying if I said I know much of anything about what their contracts look like other than they're higher than I'd like them to be if I was in Andrew Berry's shoes trying to build a dynasty.
• Try to sign a handful of reasonably young defensive players at positions of need to a reasonable contract in free agency.
  • I'd rather not sign anyone if a reasonable contract isn't an option.
  • If a reasonable contract is an option, I'd look at a few of these guys (some I would only want for depth):
    • Edge
      • Carl Lawson
      • Shaq Barrett
      • Bud Dupree
      • Trey Hendrickson
      • Takkarist McKinley
      • Romeo Okwara
      • Tyus Bowser
      • Tarell Basham
      • Jordan Jenkins
    • Interior DL
      • Dalvin Tomlinson
      • Shelby Harris (he's a little older than I like, but I think extremely underrated)
      • Roy Robertson-Harris
    • LB
      • Matt Milano
      • Jayon Brown
      • Denzel Perryman
    • CB
      • Desmond King
      • Mike Hilton
      • Shaquill Griffin
      • Ronald Darby
      • Gareon Conley
      • Cameron Sutton
      • Michael Davis
    • S
      • Anthony Harris
      • John Johnson
      • Xavier Woods
      • Malik Hooker
      • Patrick Peterson (pipe dream if he'd convert to safety)
      • Jaquiski Tartt
      • Tre Boston
      • Rayshawn Jenkins
• Draft JOK at 26.
  • I think the traditional linebacker that acts as a run stuffing thumper is useful situationally, but about as valuable today as a fullback. Having Taki-Taki develop into this role would be nice, and he looks okay so far.
  • I'd like to see us draft guys who in the past would be scorned as not having a true position but now are very appealing as LB/S hybrids who can cover TE's, receiving backs, and play zone coverage decently well underneath and in the flat, while being at least adequate against the run; hence my desire for JOK at 26. If he's not there, I don't know enough about prospects to know who the next best guy is and where he's projected to go, but I think having 2 of these guys on the roster would be extremely beneficial, and I think that was the point of Jacob Philips and Mack Wilson. The jury is still out if they'll actually excel at the role. I like Philips but Wilson? Ehhh...
• Round 2
  • Draft the BPA defensive lineman. At this point we badly need both an edge player and interior player because of the Vernon injury and Ogunjobi likely departing/not being that great if he stays as depth, and I'm going back and forth all the time on which is more important. Having Myles and Richardson as the only 2 really viable starters right now, in my opinion, has me leaning towards drafting an interior player over an edge player if all else is equal, because I think Richardson is alright but nothing to get excited about.
• Round 3 (2 picks)
  • Draft a DL and a DB, whichever is BPA.
    • If we drafted interior DL in round 2, grab an edge; if we drafted an edge, grab an interior.
    • If we get lucky and JOK is there at 26, I go corner in round 3 for sure because I think Delpit/Harrison are a solid tandem in traditional 2 safety sets, and we can plug JOK in as the 3rd safety when we want that look.
    • If JOK is not there in round 1 I could be talked into either CB or S, depending on which is BPA at the time.
• Round 4
  • Draft another DL or DB, whichever is BPA.
    • Ideally you draft whichever you didn't get the rounds before between S and CB or edge versus interior, but only if the talent is pretty equal. At this point in the draft BPA is more important to me than position.
• Rounds 5, 6, and 7
  • Crapshoot. Take some fliers.

The caveat to my ideal scenario is definitely take anyone you have graded really high if they fall and present a value too good to pass up. And always take BPA if its not particularly close. My wish list is based on someone actually worth drafting in those rounds being available.

I really like drafting at least one OL in every draft. With five guys up front, you need a constant pipeline of developing young talent to work in and keep the cap under control. With a guy like Callahan helping you make those decisions, you can leverage his knowledge to get maximum value.

As far as I can tell, we need a developmental tackle pretty badly. Hubbard is likely toast, and Lamm is 28 and not very good.

 

[Jack Brickman]

@Jack Brickman I wanted to circle back to this.

You're right.

I watched some Godwin film from 2019 and 2020. I wasn't giving him enough credit, especially with the way he gets open in the medium-to-deep routes.

Thanks for causing me to re-examine the player.

Godwin is legit probably my favorite non-Browns player in the league. Got him on every dynasty team I'm on, including on a one dollar contract in a $200 salary cap league that sadly expires after this coming season. I still remember when I got him in the auction draft for a buck three years ago and expressed my surprise at him going that cheap and someone said, "Who?"

I won that one, motherfucker.

At any rate, he has the exact type of profile I love. It's why I loved Mims in the 2020 draft too, as he has a very similar profile. I also think Mims is set for a breakout year in 2021.

 

[AZ_]

Great rep from Kenneth Gainwell, RB from
Memphis.

Parsons gets put on his ass here, but I’m actually a huge fan of his. I’m curious where he winds up in the first round.

If he falls to 26, that’s a great option. He’s got endless talent.

 

[Bkerr02]

Great rep from Kenneth Gainwell, RB from
Memphis.

Parsons gets put on his ass here, but I’m actually a huge fan of his. I’m curious where he winds up in the first round.

If he falls to 26, that’s a great option. He’s got endless talent.

Endless talent with a shit attitude. No thanks

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

Great rep from Kenneth Gainwell, RB from
Memphis.

Parsons gets put on his ass here, but I’m actually a huge fan of his. I’m curious where he winds up in the first round.

If he falls to 26, that’s a great option. He’s got endless talent.

I know very little about him as a player, but I love the idea of a RB named Gainwell. Is there a better name for an RB?

 

[AZ_]

Endless talent with a shit attitude. No thanks

Ive heard this as well, I’ve also heard he parties.

Not sure how credible that info is, but that’s the thing we never really get to see much pre draft.

Talent wise, he’s elite.

 

[Bkerr02]

Ive heard this as well, I’ve also heard he parties.

Not sure how credible that info is, but that’s the thing we never really get to see much pre draft.

Talent wise, he’s elite.

It’s pretty credible. He grew up right down the street from where I used to live. He once started a riot in the high school cafeteria. Had to transfer high schools in the middle of his senior year bc of it. I’m a good friends with a few of his coaches and they all say the same thing, great player but his attitude and him being immature will be his down fall and will never reach his potential because of it

 

[AZ_]

All five of these guys would be on a list of OL prospects for the Browns to sort through:

 

[PITCavsFan]

All five of these guys would be on a list of OL prospects for the Browns to sort through:

I read some on how large and strong of a human being Ben Cleveland is. His name fits the team, but how would he fit into our offense?

 

[AZ_]

I read some on how large and strong of a human being Ben Cleveland is. His name fits the team, but how would he fit into our offense?

At the start of today I’m not sure I thought of him as a guy who would fit at 330+ pounds.

He ran 4.85 and supposedly moved really well, so I guess I’d need to go back to the tape.

Building depth is a huge key for this OL now that we’re getting into the meaty years on some of these contracts. Could be a bit of turnover coming out or 2021, would love to see them take and develop some talent in the middle rounds.

Not sure Cleveland is a guy the Browns will target given his size, but he’s got massive power:

 

[AZ_]

Jesus H. Christ....

Josh Imatorbhebhe nearly left Earth.

46.5''

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Jesus H. Christ....

Josh Imatorbhebhe nearly left Earth.

46.5''

If NFL teams got points for jumping the highest, he'd be shooting up my draft board

(on a serious note, that's some stupid crazy leaping ability from a big dude, and the slow-mo is pretty cool)

 

[MGMT]

Someone should edit and just make to where he doesn’t stop going up and leaves the screen