I have always been a mock drafter that has selected players based on team needs first, rather than best player available. Well, it took some guts – but I decided to switch it up and go BPA in this effort. The following draft was generated by Fanspeak's On The Clock, with Brooksie masquerading as the Browns' GM.
O17_R1_P17
MONTEZ SWEAT, EDGE, MISSISSIPPI STATE
My first choice was a hard one. This draft is incredibly deep with defensive tackle talent. Based on that theory alone, I decided to forgo an immediate choice at DT and go for more speed off the edge. I had to leave Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, and Jeffery Simmons on the board – but I was happy and confident I had done the right thing by selecting Montez of Mississippi State.
I think Montez is the kind of player that takes the Browns' defense from good to elite. Especially if our offense is efficient enough to score enough to put our opponents into obvious passing downs. His long arms keeps the offensive tackles at bay. Montez is incredibly quick into the offensive backfield. From that tactical point, he can make the quick decision – do I blow up the running game, or do I put the QB on his keister?
Wanna know the main reason these scenarios are possible? That dude that plays on the other side of the DL…..
O49_R2_P17
DRE'MONT JONES, DT, OHIO STATE
Well, my oh my. It would seem that my patience has been rewarded. Instead of just attacking the DT prospect I always wanted at 17, I took the player with the more natural skills. Then lo and behold, the player I wanted at 17 was still on the board at 49. I get his name on the card in record time, and this Buckeye is coming home.
The level of enthusiasm I have for this pick is usually reserved for the game changing first round selections. Players that make everyone else around them better are generally ticketed for the first round. Dre'Mont was probably going to be a complimentary piece in the Buckeyes 2018 defense, but that all changed 2-1/2 games into the season. Nick Bosa went down for the season – and Dre'Mont stepped up. He flashed his full compliment of skills the rest of the season. Dre'Mont and Montez have this in common – they both like to play in the opponents offensive backfield so they can seek and destroy whatever they want to.
Gone are the days of the run stuffing, space eater defensive tackle. Dre'Mont is exactly what the NFL is trending to. DT's are now penetrating missles that blow up running lanes and add QB pressure up the middle.
Look at the Browns front four after this selection – RDE Myles Garrett; RDT Dre'Mont Jones, LDT Larry Ojunjobi, and LDE Montez Sweat. With the first two picks of the 2019 draft, our defense has gone from good to elite. As I am driving home, I don't stop at any post offices to see if my picture is up on the wall.
O80_R3_P16
VOSEAN JOSEPH, LB, FLORIDA
With the front four upgraded, it is time to move further back on the defense to give some needed upgrades. To my complete surprise - this draft, as it has unfolded, gifts me with Florida ILB Vosean Joseph at pick 80. So I mock Vosean's speed and sprint the card to the commissioner's table with his name on it. Vosean is now a Cleveland Brown.
The first thing that jumps of Vosean's tape at you is his physicality. This will help with the tackling maladies that plagued the Browns last year. He may need to be careful about some of his hits – as they may be 15 yard penalties waiting to happen.
But there are two areas the Vosean absolutely excels at – speed and coverage. His God given talent shows through here. I think it would be a mistake to pigeon hole him as a middle linebacker. I see excelling inside, outside on the edge, a cover backer over a TE, or even as a strong safety/viper ala Jabrill Peppers.
O95_R3_P31
AMANI ORUWARIYE, CB, PENN STATE
We all saw the difference that a true shutdown corner can make on our defense. Well…… Do I hear two? Amani Oruwariye fits that bill to a “T”. You now have all three deep thirds of the offensive fields shut off. Denzel on one side, Amani on the other, and Damarious/Jabrill will control the middle.
Amani comes into the league with better size than Denzel. He is an excellent sized corner at 6'1” and 204. And he has two more years of experience at the collegiate level than Denzel – Amani was a redshirt senior. For those reason I expect than with Denzel's natural second year growth. I expect these two to work very well together.
Day two of the draft comes to a close – but the Browns have been extremely productive in these 48 hours. To say they have upgraded a porous defense, would be a massive understatement.
119: R4P17
PRESTON WILLIAMS, WR, COLORADO ST
Everyone can take a second to breathe, we go back to the offensive side of the ball. Finally – a quarterb……. Wait, we took care of that last year.
We go back to Rashard Higgins' alma mater for our next choice. Meet Preston Williams. Preston has, I think, early Day Two talent – but he has some red flags in his jacket. Specifically, he has a domestic violence arrest he was suspended for – but that suspension was satisfied prior to the 2018 season. Still, many teams will remove him from their draft boards because of that.
The negatives that are identified in the linked video, I think can be fixed with proper coaching. And we have a good one here in Cleveland in Adam Henry. I think the upside of this pick far outweigh the risk.
145: R5P6
RYAN FINLEY, QB, NC STATE
One fact about the 2019 Cleveland Browns will come to light – Tyrod Taylor will not be a member of this team prior to April's draft. The interest will be mutual between him and a QB needy team choosing to go the veteran route.
So, that creates a roster hole at backup QB. My plan A would be to fill that with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Failing that would be Plan B – drafting a QB. I cannot think of a better fit than Ryan Finley of NC State.
He was Jacoby Brissett's successor at NC State. He performed admirably. Of course, having Kelvin Harmon and Jackobi Meyers as your primary wideouts doesn't suck. Finley took full advantage of that setup.
He is a prototypical pocket passer with mobility. Very accurate passer. A Mayfield – Finley – Stanton trio would work well in Cleveland.
O156_R5_P17
TJ EDWARDS, LB, WISCONSIN
The recent draft history between has been very favorable. The two most memorable picks have been LT Joe Thomas – a certain first ballot Hall of Famer; and ILB Joe Schobert – a Pro Bowl selection in 2018. I expect that track record to continue with this pick.
TJ Edwards patrols the middle at Camp Randall very well. And that is why I would seriously advocate not to even consider moving TJ to the outside. He is a thick, mobile player who is not afraid to throw his body around to make a needed tackle. He is also surprisingly mobile in coverage. I see him as a TE equalizer. Take a peek.
O171_R5_P32
BENNY SNELL, RB, KENTUCKY
Remember in my opening I stated that I am not the one making all 256 picks? I am using Fanspeaks On the Clock draft simulator. Which means there are 31 other guys (or computers) making picks for other teams.
Which means I am COMPLETELY blown away that a talent like Benny Snell is still on the board. He is a big power back with speed. And the success he has had did not come against chumps – it came against the SEC West. The SEC West and the Big Ten East are probably the two toughest divisions in college football. A three headed monster in Cleveland of Chubb, Snell and Hunt would be the best in the league. Bar NONE.
O191_R6_P16
MITCH HYATT, OT, CLEMSON
Let's be honest here. By this point in the draft, there are probably no plug and play Pro Bowl players left. So, it is all about depth and development players at this point.
In 2016, when Hyatt got to Clemson – he was First Team All Conference selection. What happened in the next three years? Not sure. But the talent certainly was there at one time. If we bring him on board, we pair him with the best OL coach in the business – and let's see what develops.
O223_R7_P7
AUSTIN SEIBERT, K, OKLAHOMA
Here is where I veer off the BPA track, and select for team need. Kicking simply cost the Browns the playoffs in 2018. Let's go get one of the best in the business – Baker's Sooner teammate, Austin Siebert.
O245_R7_P29
WILL HARRIS, S, BOSTON COLLEGE
Projected early as a special teams ace – jarring hitter. We'll see how he develops as a strong safety.
I really like this draft. It's so tough to do these prior to free agency. We honestly don't even know our needs yet. But you did a really nice job addressing our positional needs here.
Sweat is quickly becoming one of my favorites at 17. We may have to trade up to get him after his 40 time. In typical idiotic Browns fan logic, somebody said he was unproductive on facebook yesterday. That's so far from the truth it's laughable. He had 22.5 sacks over the past two seasons. He absolutely lives up to the physical hype and I think he could be a really fast riser, maybe even a top 6 pick. As of now, 17 is a realistic possibility though. If the Browns don't get a Frank Clark, Demarcus Lawrence, Trey Flowers or Dee Ford, he's a shoe in pick if he's on the board.
Jones is your guy and if he's there at 49 I'd be very happy with that pick. Was Simmons still available in this mock as well? If he's there I'd probably have to pick him even with the injury. He's a top 10 talent, even with the injury and off-field issues.
We need a physical linebacker like Joseph. No griped about that pick at all. But I do think we need to go get a receiver earlier in the draft. I think it's absolutely necessary to get another quality receiver in the first three rounds. There is going to be a major drop off after the second round guys, Samuel, Butler, Harry, etc. I'd like to see Dorsey use some of these extra picks to move back into the second round and nab one of these guys. We don't need all these picks, a lot won't make the team.
Hyatt is a solid pick for sure too. Worth developing. If the talent isn't there anymore, it's a late round pick so it doesn't matter much anyway. It's nice not having to rely on every single pick hitting anymore. We have the talent to make up for it.
No way Snell is there, but Fanspeak drafts are weird sometimes.
As for the kicker, I hope we go get a free agent. There is almost no correlation between college success and NFL success. Zane Gonzalez was one of the best kickers in college football history. I'd rather go with a proven veteran.
Very good work, Tom. As always.
Yup - when I saw Benny there as late as he was, my thought was "Give me another big hit off that doob!"
Kicker - that is why I was campaigning for Robbie Gould, but it looks like the Niners aren't about to let him out of town. They plan to say "Tag - you're it!"
New ST coach Mike Priefer did say in an interview that he likes the strength of Greg Joseph's leg. Ugh. I don't care for his accuracy or lack thereof. But because of Priefer's track record, I will have faith in him, until he gives me a reason not to.
One thing about Joseph, at least, is that he definitely got better as the season went on. If he beats out whatever other kicker they bring in, I'm willing to give him a shot. Phil Dawson only made 66% of his kicks in his first year with the Browns, Joseph made 85% (which is actually really solid).
Im not afraid of keeping Joseph. As you said he got better as the season went on, and the eary misses were, IMO, jitters. He knew he had to perform or he could be the next one out the door. As he got more comfortable, he got better.
That doesn’t mean you don’t go looking for competition for him.
nice job Brooksie
Also, one other thing to consider - how much of the special teams struggles were due to blocking schemes and just flat out poor execution by others? So glad Anus Jones is outta here.