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Genard Avery: A Poor Man’s Khalil Mack

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dark2332

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So, I know we’ve all talked about Genard Avery and how much he’s looked like a steal in the 5th round.

I just think it’s time to give the man his own thread as the season progresses.

He ran a 4.5 second forty at the combine at 250 pounds. 6.9 second 3-cone. 36 inch vertical. 26 reps in the bench press.

Physically, we knew he was a freak. His college tape always showed a guy who can play. It really is ridiculous to think that he fell to the 5th for us.

This has been posted, but fuck it, here we go again.


We’ve seen him creating havoc rushing the passer. We know he can do that. He’s elite at this—the college numbers were elite and he’s now showing that it clearly translates.



He’s also able to drop and play a true linebacking role in coverage. He’s essentially as versatile as a dude like Khalil Mack. I said it. Khalil Mack lite.

Now, Mack is more of a 3-4 outside backer or a 4-3 end than Avery. Avery is a guy who can play the SAM full-time in a 4-3... but that’s not exactly how Gregg’s been using him so far.

He’s been using him in many of the ways that we’d have been using Mack if he had ended up in Orange and Brown.


Never mind the fact that he wasn’t fully healthy to start the season with a soft tissue injury. This dude is gonna be a problem.

We all know Gregg Williams loves him and has called him the 2nd best pass rusher on this team.

He’s also giddily told reporters that “We are just scratching the surface” with Avery.

The future is bright.


And we, you, Genard.
 
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This is great and a big help for people like me, who aren't particularly well versed in watching football, to break down how individual players stand out during the game.
 
The Steelers' 1974 draft class produced four Hall of Famers and set them up for an extended run as the best team in the NFL. Obviously, it's wildly premature to talk about that level of success from this class, but this class looks like it has a shot to be impactful as hell for us.
 
Why did he drop so far in the draft? Knew nothing about Avery predraft
 
Why did he drop so far in the draft? Knew nothing about Avery predraft

Thinking back to watching him in college, the Memphis defense wasn't very strong around him. They won in a lot of high scoring shoot outs. I'm with the rest of you guys now. In a redraft he might be a first round pick.
 
The Steelers' 1974 draft class produced four Hall of Famers and set them up for an extended run as the best team in the NFL. Obviously, it's wildly premature to talk about that level of success from this class, but this class looks like it has a shot to be impactful as hell for us.

Yup, and last year we got Garrett, Njoku, Ogunjobi, and Peppers, which feels like another class that's going to have a big impact for us going forward. It's early, but that's looking like a pretty damn good two year stretch.
 
I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but seeing as the Browns have great players at both the Edge, at CB and to a certain extent at LB with Genard "lil' Mac" Avery, where do the Browns look to improve in the draft next year? Are we still looking at left tackle despite Harrison improving, or do we look to further bolster our DL in a draft that has a load of good ones? Is the answer even at defense at this point, or do we start looking for deep threats as reciever?
 
Areas that aren't necessarily locked down:

A true #1 receiver. Landry is going to move the chains, Njoku has potential to be the best tight end in the NFL if he gets over the drops, Calloway is emerging... but one more guy to replace Gordon would be ideal.

Tackles. Harrison may end up being one tackle, but I'm starting to see why Hubbard was a career third tackle. The good news is that the Browns can likely find a right tackle in round two or three.

Defensive line. Ogbah is good, but he collects nagging injuries. Coley is a space eater. Chris Smith is a nice third end, but another end and an upgrade from Coley would make this dangerous defense truly special.
 
I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but seeing as the Browns have great players at both the Edge, at CB and to a certain extent at LB with Genard "lil' Mac" Avery, where do the Browns look to improve in the draft next year? Are we still looking at left tackle despite Harrison improving, or do we look to further bolster our DL in a draft that has a load of good ones? Is the answer even at defense at this point, or do we start looking for deep threats as reciever?

I'm of the school of thought that you should draft a WR in the middle rounds (2-5) basically every year.

The Jags and Steelers are good examples of teams that seem to do this very effectively and they are both always stacked at WR. Hell, look at the Jags...they let Robinson walk and Lee suffered a season-ending injury and they're still loaded at WR.
 
I'm of the school of thought that you should draft a WR in the middle rounds (2-5) basically every year.

The Jags and Steelers are good examples of teams that seem to do this very effectively and they are both always stacked at WR. Hell, look at the Jags...they let Robinson walk and Lee suffered a season-ending injury and they're still loaded at WR.

Is that generally a thing, that some positions will not be selected in the first round, or does that come down to position of need?

Sorry, I'm very new to football and I'm not familiar with how the draft process is compared to basketball.
 
I'm of the school of thought that you should draft a WR in the middle rounds (2-5) basically every year.

The Jags and Steelers are good examples of teams that seem to do this very effectively and they are both always stacked at WR. Hell, look at the Jags...they let Robinson walk and Lee suffered a season-ending injury and they're still loaded at WR.

Definitely think that's the way to go for receivers. Based on dorseys draft history with the Chiefs, I would expect either a lineman or db. Since this next draft should have a lot talent on the defensive line, I would assume that's what dorsey will go after.
 
Is that generally a thing, that some positions will not be selected in the first round, or does that come down to position of need?

Sorry, I'm very new to football and I'm not familiar with how the draft process is compared to basketball.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with selecting a WR in the first round, but you can always find elite WR talent after the first round, so like with RB, there's little reason to draft a receiver in the first unless you're convinced the guy you're targeting is a generational talent, and even then it may make more sense to draft elite talent at a different position in the first and try to identify a great WR prospect later.

But just to clarify a bit, let's take a look at some recent draft classes (gonna skip 2018 since we don't know enough yet)...

---

2017: The first round saw three receivers selected in the top ten. Corey Davis at 5. Mike Williams at 7. John Ross at 9. Thus far, none of those three would be considered a top five WR from the 2017 draft, and Davis is the only one who really has a shot to crack the top five based on volume. Ross isn't even his team's number two WR and Williams would require an injury to Keenan Allen to even have a shot at becoming his team's one.

Now, who are the best receivers from last year's class?

JuJu Smith-Schuster, 62nd pick in the draft.
Cooper Kupp, 69th pick in the draft.
Chris Godwin, 84th pick in the draft.
Kenny Golladay, 96th pick in the draft.
Keelan Cole, undrafted.

And you could probably throw Dede Westbrook in there too, the 110th pick in the draft.

---

2016: The first round saw four WRs selected. Corey Coleman at 15. Will Fuller at 21. Josh Doctson at 22. Laquon Treadwell at 23. Coleman is on a practice squad right now. Doctson underwhelmed last year in his second year and hasn't done anything yet this year. Treadwell is buried behind Diggs and Thielen and hasn't done much with the opportunities he has gotten. Fuller is the only one who has looked good, and he's still only the second-best WR on his team and it's not particularly close.

This draft lacks five guys drafted outside of the first who were markedly better than Fuller (thus far the best first round WR from that draft), but there are a few notables...

Michael Thomas, 47th pick in the draft.
Tyler Boyd, 55th pick in the draft. (Included him since he seems to be breaking out this year).
Tyreek Hill, 165th pick.
Rashard Higgins, 172nd pick.
Robby Anderson, undrafted.

---

2015: This draft had six receivers in the first round. Amari Cooper at 4. Kevin White at 7. DeVante Parker at 14. Nelson Agholor at 20. Breshad Perriman at 26. Phillip Dorsett at 29. Of those, White and Perriman were outright busts. Cooper started strong but is very inconsistent and probably a WR2 at best. Agholor finally broke out last year and is looking like a hit. Parker is basically a shrug of a player. Dorsett is more or less just a warm body.

Who were some guys from later rounds?

Devin Funchess, 41st pick.
Tyler Lockett, 69th pick.
Jamison Crowder, 105th pick.
Stefon Diggs, 146th pick.
Tyrell Williams, undrafted.

---

You have to go all the way back to the 2014 draft to find a first round where there wasn't a single bust among the receivers, but that draft was also absolutely stacked at the WR position. Just look at this shit...

Sammy Watkins, 4th pick.
Mike Evans, 7th pick.
Odell Beckham, 12th pick.
Brandin Cooks, 20th pick.
Kelvin Benjamin, 28th pick.

And even past the first round...

Marqise Lee, 39th.
Jordan Matthews, 42nd.
Paul Richardson, 45th.
Davante Adams, 53rd.
Allen Robinson, 61st.
Jarvis Landry, 63rd.
John Brown, 91st.
Martavis Bryant, 118th.
Quincy Enunwa, 209th.
Willie Snead, undrafted.
Allen Hurns, undrafted.

I mean, this is quite possibly the greatest WR class of all time. And while the best WR was drafted in the first (OBJ), after that it gets pretty murky. For second place you could really make an argument for Cooks, Evans, Landry, or Adams.

---

TL;DR There is wide receiver talent typically available throughout the draft, and the best WR from a class is rarely taken in the first.

Thus, to me, it generally makes sense to wait until at least the second to draft a receiver. You just need to make sure your scouting team is adept at picking out the good ones.
 
I mean, there's nothing wrong with selecting a WR in the first round, but you can always find elite WR talent after the first round, so like with RB, there's little reason to draft a receiver in the first unless you're convinced the guy you're targeting is a generational talent, and even then it may make more sense to draft elite talent at a different position in the first and try to identify a great WR prospect later.

But just to clarify a bit, let's take a look at some recent draft classes (gonna skip 2018 since we don't know enough yet)...

---

2017: The first round saw three receivers selected in the top ten. Corey Davis at 5. Mike Williams at 7. John Ross at 9. Thus far, none of those three would be considered a top five WR from the 2017 draft, and Davis is the only one who really has a shot to crack the top five based on volume. Ross isn't even his team's number two WR and Williams would require an injury to Keenan Allen to even have a shot at becoming his team's one.

Now, who are the best receivers from last year's class?

JuJu Smith-Schuster, 62nd pick in the draft.
Cooper Kupp, 69th pick in the draft.
Chris Godwin, 84th pick in the draft.
Kenny Golladay, 96th pick in the draft.
Keelan Cole, undrafted.

And you could probably throw Dede Westbrook in there too, the 110th pick in the draft.

---

2016: The first round saw four WRs selected. Corey Coleman at 15. Will Fuller at 21. Josh Doctson at 22. Laquon Treadwell at 23. Coleman is on a practice squad right now. Doctson underwhelmed last year in his second year and hasn't done anything yet this year. Treadwell is buried behind Diggs and Thielen and hasn't done much with the opportunities he has gotten. Fuller is the only one who has looked good, and he's still only the second-best WR on his team and it's not particularly close.

This draft lacks five guys drafted outside of the first who were markedly better than Fuller (thus far the best first round WR from that draft), but there are a few notables...

Michael Thomas, 47th pick in the draft.
Tyler Boyd, 55th pick in the draft. (Included him since he seems to be breaking out this year).
Tyreek Hill, 165th pick.
Rashard Higgins, 172nd pick.
Robby Anderson, undrafted.

---

2015: This draft had six receivers in the first round. Amari Cooper at 4. Kevin White at 7. DeVante Parker at 14. Nelson Agholor at 20. Breshad Perriman at 26. Phillip Dorsett at 29. Of those, White and Perriman were outright busts. Cooper started strong but is very inconsistent and probably a WR2 at best. Agholor finally broke out last year and is looking like a hit. Parker is basically a shrug of a player. Dorsett is more or less just a warm body.

Who were some guys from later rounds?

Devin Funchess, 41st pick.
Tyler Lockett, 69th pick.
Jamison Crowder, 105th pick.
Stefon Diggs, 146th pick.
Tyrell Williams, undrafted.

---

You have to go all the way back to the 2014 draft to find a first round where there wasn't a single bust among the receivers, but that draft was also absolutely stacked at the WR position. Just look at this shit...

Sammy Watkins, 4th pick.
Mike Evans, 7th pick.
Odell Beckham, 12th pick.
Brandin Cooks, 20th pick.
Kelvin Benjamin, 28th pick.

And even past the first round...

Marqise Lee, 39th.
Jordan Matthews, 42nd.
Paul Richardson, 45th.
Davante Adams, 53rd.
Allen Robinson, 61st.
Jarvis Landry, 63rd.
John Brown, 91st.
Martavis Bryant, 118th.
Quincy Enunwa, 209th.
Willie Snead, undrafted.
Allen Hurns, undrafted.

I mean, this is quite possibly the greatest WR class of all time. And while the best WR was drafted in the first (OBJ), after that it gets pretty murky. For second place you could really make an argument for Cooks, Evans, Landry, or Adams.

---

TL;DR There is wide receiver talent typically available throughout the draft, and the best WR from a class is rarely taken in the first.

Thus, to me, it generally makes sense to wait until at least the second to draft a receiver. You just need to make sure your scouting team is adept at picking out the good ones.

Also WRs are useful for special teams and teams tend to keep 5-7 of them on their roster. Hitting on a WRs just makes the WR group deeper. The guys in that 5th position and lowers are usually expendable. If they need time to develop they will just play special teams. It's a position that you don't usually have to make a quick decision with because of 53 man roster concerns.
 

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