And, my 2023 redo:
74. Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee. Yeah it’s chalk. No, Tillman wasn’t the highest rated player on my board on draft day… but I’ve come around on this pick. Tillman has true X ability. He has the size, and he also has the ability to just roast guys and get open. People knocked him in the draft process for low contested catch rate (33%) but if you manually chart those, a lot of them weren’t really catchable balls—lots of poor throws by Hooker. If my eyes are right, Tillman should’ve been a top 50 pick and if you give me favorable odds, I’d bet on him to have a better career than Quentin Johnson.
98. I don’t like Siaki Ika. I think he’s too one-dimensional to play a significant role in the league. He regressed from his 2021 tape. If we’re going to value guys who improve every year in college, we should hold regression against players as well.
However, there is another trench player that I believe in who provides quality depth today and saves us a boatload of money in the future…
Chandler Zavala, G, NC State.
My #2 guard in the class behind only Steve Avila, Zavala is an absolute monster. Our run game is predicated on the domination of Bitonio and Teller—and Zavala ensures we can still run our offense effectively if either of them gets injured, while also giving us a cost-saving option in the future.
111. Dawand Jones, T, Ohio State. Chalk. Give me Thanos and hope he gets his head on straight. Massive, long arms, every physical tool you could ask for combined with great production in college. Was a clear first round pick if there weren’t any “third third” questions. He’s the most talented player available by an enormous margin and well worth the gamble at this spot.
126. Isiah McGuire, DE Missouri. Chalk again. 4 picks in, I’ve only deviated from Berry once… I think Isiah McGuire has the best chance out of every edge available to be a three-down player. He plays big. He play strong. He has elite RAS traits. He really just needs to learn some pass rush moves—and if he ever learns how to layer those moves together, watch out. He can easily outperform his draft status.
140. Chalky chalk chalk. I love Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB UCLA and we’re sticking with him here. Elite physical upside that has yet to be realized. Highly mobile, cannon for an arm, and has experienced the type of growth curve that I love - every single year since he was 19 years old, he's gotten better. He started as a complete tear down project, but evolved into a day two QB prospect in just three years. That willingness to learn and grow is important to me, and combining that with his physical talent puts him somewhere in the realm of a Jalen Hurts type of prospect to me. Accuracy and decision making can still be spotty at times, but every single September for him has been better than the last. I'm a believer in him.
142. Chalk begone! The Browns are built to run the football. We have an offensive line that is great at opening up creases and giving guys lanes to run through. We saw how effective a one-cut zone runner like DEJ can be in this scheme, so at 142, we’re going with a luxury… Israel Abanikanda, RB Pitt. Abanikanda is basically a poor man’s Derrick Henry. A terrific outside zone runner, he’s 220 and runs 4.3. He’s young, an athletic freak, and if he gets up to speed, his blend of size and speed is terrifying. He’s obviously a very different runner than Chubb, who has the patience and balance to wade through traffic—but bringing in some lightning never hurts.
190. Back to chalk. Luke Wypler, C Ohio State is a great center prospect, and is great value at 190. I think Alex Forsyth actually moves a touch better than Wypler in a ZBS and is the superior pass blocker, but Wypler is so much better at run blocking (Forsyth really struggles there) that it isn’t a question who the highest C on my board is. Wypler comes in to back up Ethan Pocic and allows us to move on from the expensive center in the future if that need arises.
229. I’m not trading this pick away. With Nesta Jade Silvera, Moro Ojomo and Cory Trice all on the board still, I’m looking to buy more picks—not trade this one. If I can only pick one of those guys, I’m taking Moro Ojomo, DT Texas. He’s a run-stopping 3T with good athleticism and is young. I had his grade only a touch behind Gervon Dexter who went at pick 53.
Nesta Jade Silvera would be a great DT to bring in on passing downs. He’s a short, squatty cannonball who just gets after the QB. I love the player. He’s fun as hell and should be a nice depth piece in the NFL.
Cory Trice is a CB I had a third round grade on. He’s long, athletic, and plays pretty well. I don’t know why he’s still available, but I’d trade a player like Schwartz or a future sixth for the opportunity to draft him. Let’s pretend I traded Schwartz plus a future seventh for a seventh this year and took Trice.
UDFA Haul:
ANDRE CARTER, DE, ARMY. He was the #1 edge on my board for a long time... I know he tested poorly. I know his 2022 tape didn't live up to his expectations after 2021, but I don't care. 6'6 pass rushers who would be perfect wide-9 fits usually cost a decent amount of draft capital and this one is free. Bring him in and see if Schwartz can mold him into a quality player. If he can, you just got a starting-quality DE as a UDFA.
Noah Gindorff, Tight End, North Dakota State. Gindorff is a monster. 6’6”, 263 lbs. He had a season-ending ankle injury, but has the physical profile to develop into quite a tight end in the NFL. Signed as a UDFA and welcome to the practice squad.
Jerrod Clark, NT, Coastal Carolina. Clark is massive man in the middle who has flashes of greatness on tape. Overwhelming power, but still quick at his size. Modern nose that reminds me of Grover Stewart. Not just a space eater, but someone who can run sideline to sideline and keep pace to close off seams against outside zone. Won't fall behind. Completely discards smaller linemen in gap schemes. Has some pass rush versatility.
Jalen Redmond, DT, Oklahoma. Came out of high school as a 5-star, 235lbs weak side edge. Sat out 2018 because of blood clots, redshirt freshman in 2019, sat out 2020 due to Covid because of the clots, played part of the year 2021 because of injury, finally was healthy in 2022 and really made a big impact. Still raw, but an incredible athlete. I think he's a rotational 3-tech that you coach up along the way. The physical tools are there and he’s still adjusting to the fact that he added 60 pounds to his frame. Once he learns how to play with that new strength and play inside, he could be a diamond in the rough.
Eli Ricks, CB Alabama. The film is really good when he's actually on the field, but he was constantly battling injuries at Bama…and he tested horribly at the combine. Not sure if he was still hurt but the numbers didn't match the tape. Bigger body guy who at least on film is super fluid, very technically sound, and is exceptionally sticky with that length and fluidity. Plays similar in STYLE to Jalen Ramsey in terms of stance, footwork, hand placement, etc...but again is not the same level of athlete, and seems to just not be able to stay healthy. He’s a terrific gamble as a UDFA.
Linebackers: Ivan Pace, Mohamoud Diabate, Drake Thomas.
Pace is a sawed-off shotgun who just gets after the QB. Bring him in and let him loose. Probably plays SAM on our team. Insanely good pass rusher. Gets downhill with reckless abandon. Might even be a better pass rusher or blitzer than Sanders, but just doesn't have the same size or tools. He'll be a fan favorite. Should be high priority for teams that blitz their LBs a lot, or teams that WANT to start blitzing their LBs a lot. Not sold on him in coverage but he's so good at getting sacks and TFLs that I kind of don't care.
Diabate you know. He can profile as a depth MIKE for us. Not great size, but it's enough. 6-3, 225. Great speed, explosiveness, agility. Fantastic athlete. Love him against the run. Aggressive, downhill slasher than can fuck up zone runs. Gets sideline to sideline - really hard to get the corner on him. Physical and takes on blocks better than you expect for his size and length. Only flaw - which is a major one - is that he gets lost in coverage. Has a good processor against the run but a shit one against the pass. Slow to recognize route combos, and just runs himself out of position. Has the athleticism for it, but just needs to be coached up a lot on route recognition.
Drake Thomas is the kind of football player I just love. Not a good tester, but plays like a maniac. Someone at his size at 5-11 220-ish should not be as good against the run as he is, but he's so physical and so instinctive that he just makes it work. Has some Jack Sanborn to him, who if you'll remember was someone who I liked a lot last year and had a similar profile. Sanborn went undrafted but became a starter for the Bears anyway, and deserved it. Thomas can be that type of guy too. Go way later than he should because his testing numbers were crap, but on tape he's a demon. He'll be on a roster.
Safeties: Ronnie Hickman, Quindell Johnson, Trey Dean.
Hickman you know. "Bigger" safety by modern standards at 6'0", 205lbs as his playing weight. Not great long speed but has good short area burst and gets going in a hurry because of efficient feet in transitions. He ends up at his destination just as fast as guys who run 4.4 simply because he's such a smooth mover and gets up to his (lower) top speed with such efficiency. Capable tackler in space, though sometimes overruns his angles a little bit as a force player - though I would rather he go too far outside than inside on those anyway so it's not a big deal...he still did his job. Did not get tested much in coverage. Worst case scenario, he plays safety for you and drives on routes underneath from on top of the shelf. As a rookie he's probably a third safety, but has long term starter potential. Kind of reminds me of Micah Hyde. Main knock is durability concerns.
Quindell Johnson can play either safety or in the slot. Really underrated athlete - even though he is on the smaller side. Quick feet, fluid hips, good burst out of transitions. Clean technician in man coverage. Rangy and has ball skills in zone. Total lunatic in run support and one of the best run defending/tackling DBs in this class when coming from depth. Could have slapped a Georgia jersey on him and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and Chris Smith, except Quindell has even better speed. Very well rounded game, and one of the most underrated DBs in this class. He should go fourth/fifth round to me.
And Trey Dean flew under a lot of radars. Rangy safety with man cover skills and is a downhill player against the run. Locker room loved him. Has all the talent in the world to be a great multi-role safety, but I just didn't love the ball skills. Showed up to Shrine Bowl and suddenly was getting multiple picks in every practice, so maybe he finally hit the jugs machine, but at Florida he had hands of stone. Still love the talent, movement skills, and willingness to be an alley-filler against the run. Could play slot, match in quarters, or range in the deep post...and maybe at some point be a ball-winner in the air. We'll see.
