Dawgpoundsouth

Finally, the 2026 NFL Draft is tomorrow, and it took forever to get here. It’s been a journey of absurd and, frankly, some of the worst takes I’ve ever heard. The one thing I’m grateful for is I haven’t heard the phrase “generational talent” once. Thank God. My mock draft is based on different elements. I’m going to take into consideration the league’s age guardrails and player’s Relative Athletic Scores (RAS). I’ll also consider any knowledge of draftees that I’ve read and heard. There will be no trades. Here goes:

Rd. 1, Pick 6. Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State. This is so simple. Terrible offense, draft a weapon who can help terrible offense. Tate is an excellent route runner with great hands. His biggest fault is he was the number two buckeye wide receiver behind Jeremiah Smith. Every WR in college right know would be number two to Smith.

Rd 1, Pick 24. Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State. Iheanachor (pronounced E-hon-ah-chore) came to football late but has improved every year. He’s a raw talent. His quickness, agility and strength make him a unique talent. He has the highest ceiling of any OT in the draft and can be the long-term solution at the position.

Rd. 2, Pick 39. D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana. The Browns are in need of a reliable slot cornerback, and Ponds can be the solution to this problem. I know he’s small, 5’9″, 180 lbs., but he gave really good wide receivers problems, just ask Jeremiah Smith and Denzel Boston. Elite cover skills and he has return abilities.

Rd. 3, Pick 70. Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina. Versatile safety who can play both free safety and strong safety. Because of his coverage skills, he can also be a team’s nickel corner. At South Carolina, they created a position for him. Can read the opposing QB and is a force at the point of attack in the run game.

Rd. 4, Pick 107. Jalen Farmer, IOL, Kentucky. Started two years a right guard. A better run blocker than pass blocker. He drive blocks very well and finishes with leverage. Works well in space. Needs to improve his footwork.

Rd. 5, Pick 146. Jack Endries, TE, Texas. Started every game in his three years at Texas. He’s a quarterback friendly pass catcher. A consistent ball-winner in tight coverage and tough on man coverage.

Rd. 5, Pick 149. Jimmy Rolder, LB, Michigan. Plays with good awareness and change of direction. He finishes tackles with technique and consistency. Great against the run. Hard to believe he was a one-year starter with his instincts.

Rd. 6, Pick 206. Parker Brailsford, C, Alabama. Elite quickness to keep defenders occupied. Very active and engaged with a commitment to blocking schemes. Great hands and footwork.

Round 7, Pick 248. Lorenzo Styles, CB, Ohio State. He’s made good improvements with his transition from wide receiver to cornerback. Smooth in short zone coverage and plays with good leverage. Has very good cover talent is special teams.

Everyone stay safe, enjoy the draft and Go Browns.

Finally, the 2026 NFL draft is only eight days away. On the one hand it seems very close and on the other hand it seems very far away. Especially considering the nonsense the local and national media puts out on a daily basis. Today, I’m writing to clear up some of the noise.

We all know the Browns have to improve the offense, especially the offensive tackle and wide receiver positions. As of today, the Browns have four tackles rated similar for the first round. Some have speculated the Browns are considering drafting Kadyn Proctor with the sixth pick, however some in the front office have concerns about his agility and footwork, while others feel he is better suited for offensive guard. The two names I hear for OT are Calib Lomu and Markiel Bell. Lomu is rated as a first round pick (but not at pick 6) and Bell is rated a day three prospect. Another OT who interests the Browns is Max Iheanachor, another developmental prospect.

As for wide receivers at pick six, the Browns are interested in Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon. Some in the building believe Tate might be gone by pick 6. Other WR’s who interest the Brown later in the draft are K.C. Concepcion (later in the first round) and Ted Hurst (later in the draft). There are a few defensive wildcards for the Browns. At defensive end, R. Mason Thomas and David Bailey. The biggest wildcard is Caleb Downs, who is a very tempting player at pick 6. I’m fully convinced the Browns will address the DE/LB position either in the draft, free agency or the trade market prior to OTA’s. I’m also convinced the team will draft a safety and a cornerback next week. The Browns believe the safety market in the draft is the best option.

Lately, the media and others on social media have been pushing the trade down theory with the Cowboys and the Eagles being the primary partners. Dallas has a history of making bad trades which benefit the team they’re trading with, so if the Browns can steal picks from Dallas, that’s fine with me. However, there’s no way Cowboy owner Jerry Jones could keep this kind of deal secret, he loves to hear his name in the media. As for the Eagles, Browns GM Andrew Berry always touches base with the Eagles before the draft only because he used to work for them. There’s no Myles Garrett or A.J. Brown trade in the works. As I’ve said, if Garrett is traded before June 1, there’s a $41millon dead cap hit. Now after June 1, the dead cap hit is only $15million but why burden a new head coach with the responsibility of fixing both the offense and the defense in the same year.

There’ll be plenty more speculation and craziness in the next eight days, so stay safe and Go Browns.

As the NFL season slowly drags on to the Super Bowl to many fans, (the 2026 draft) the off-season has reached the point of absurdity. Every year players rise and fall on analysts and fans draft boards, but the reasoning is based on combine and pro day performances. Not this year. Actually, it’s been getting worse for the last couple of years. But last year it reached a new low and it was based on a terrible quarterback draft. Quarterback talk drives the bus in this league, whether it be draftees or the never-ending list of the same aging free agent QB’s who always seem to be available. The quarterback position draws all the attention because there are teams who are always looking for the “franchise quarterback” even though the team that just won the Super Bowl had a QB who was on his fifth team. Franchise quarterbacks no longer exist. It’s a myth created in the 1990’s. With players receiving more and more NIL money, unless a college QB is guaranteed a top ten draft slot, he’s staying in college and getting paid.

Back a few years ago Draft con artist Mel Kiper got caught taking money from player’s agents to promote their clients in his mock drafts. He admitted doing it and suffered no consequences. You could argue he suffered shame, but you to have shame to feel shame. Kiper has none. Last year he promoted Sheduer Sanders as the number one quarterback in the draft and still won’t acknowledge his mistake. It’s the league’s fault for not agreeing with him. The worst part, fans still believe him and anytime anyone said anything negative about Sanders, they were immediately attacked. I’ve experienced this vigorous rebuttal myself, but I rely on my eyes. He played like a fifth-round pick. Fans tell me he was 3-4 as a starter, but in the last game against Cincinnati the Browns defense scored two touchdowns in a 20-18 victory. Should that count?

This year, Dan Orlovsky made a ridiculous statement that Alabama quarterback Tyler Simpson is the best quarterback in this year’s draft. I have no objection to someone expressing their opinion and if that’s his opinion then fine. But then he tried to justify his opinion by saying he texted to 12-15 GMs/decision-makers that Simpson is the best QB in the draft and only two disagreed. First of all, GM’s/decision makers are a little busy right now and aren’t expressing their thoughts about any player to a television analyst. Second of all his statement got plenty of play yesterday, which was his desired result. If any GM is taking Orlovsky’s advice, they should be fired right now. Because the quarterback position is overvalued, some team will overreact and draft Simpson in the first round. If he lasts until the third day where he should be drafted, then Orlovsky will blame the league like Kiper did the year before.

Some draft tidbits. I really think (my opinion) the Browns will draft more than one offensive tackle, that’s why I thought it was interesting the team brought in Miami (FL) left tackle Markel Bell for a player visit. He’s a two-year starter who never allowed a sack. He could be a very nice day three pickup. I’ve also heard the Browns like Utah’s Spencer Fano. Everyone is assuming the Browns will go either wide receiver or left tackle with the sixth pick, but there is one player who might interest them if the draft board falls a certain way. That player is Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. But again, the draft board has to fall a certain way.

As we move forward towards the 2026 NFL draft, remember the Browns front office never leaks anything, ever. Stay safe and Go Browns.

Sorry I skipped last week’s Browns blog, tax season comes at me fast, especially when I’m behind two weeks because of the ice storm. Now that things have settled down a bit, let’s see where everything stands after the first week of free agency.

I know the first week seems average for the Browns, but GM Andrew Berry said they would be a little more aggressive than last year (they were) and it would be targeted (it was). For all the complaining that Berry never tells the fans and media anything, he told you everything yet there’s still complaining. If you’ve listened to my podcasts, I said the Browns would not make a big splash signing, and yet people are upset there were no big-name signings. At least some things are predicable. As for the players, they’ve acquired, they are versatile and durable. My only concern is left tackle. I can understand not overpaying for LT Rasheed Walker, but I don’t trust Jawand Jones. He was been told again this year to lose weight (30 pounds). I guess they could draft a tackle, and they might, but I would feel better having a dependable veteran already in place prior to the draft.

The other big complaint is Joel Bitonio’s rather large dead cap hit. First of all, dead cap does not represent the negative connotations that those who don’t understand the salary cap try and tell you. Dead cap is money already spent. It’s gone, so actually it’s a positive. You can’t spend money you’ve already spent. The important number to pay attention to is cash spending. The Browns are always top five in cash spending because it doesn’t affect the cap. As I’ve said before, cash spending is like the owner writing a person check to the player. It all depends on the owner and his wealth. Most of these old billionaires want to hold on to their wealth with a death grip and the NFL team they own is a hobby. Not Jimmy Haslam, he’ll spend the money. Odds are it’ll work soon. According to Over The Cap, the Browns are $22.7 million under the cap. Plenty of money to sign or trade for players and sign draft picks.

Speaking of draft picks, Cleveland is in the process of draft player visits. Here’s who’s visited as of this writing: Jordyn Tyson, WR Arizona State, Carnell Tate, WR Ohio State, Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama, Markel Bell, OT Miami(FL), R Mason Thomas, EDGE Oklahoma, Makai Lemon, WR USC, Omar Cooper Jr., WR Indiana, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S Toledo and Chris Bell, WR Louisville. The surprise is R. Mason Thomas, but he was very effective in college rushing the passer. Bell is a day three LT who never allowed a sack for the Hurricanes. Are the Browns interested in any of these players? Yes, or they wouldn’t have them in for a pre-draft visit. Last year they brought in Mason Graham, Carson Schwesinger and Quinshon Judkins. Finally, the big talking point is the Browns will trade down, because they did it last year. Poor reasoning. If there’s a trade down, the deal was started at the combine and we’ll never know if it doesn’t happen. Now there might be a trade for a veteran player prior to or during the draft and it might be a wide receiver. Stay safe and Go Browns.

Today begins the NFL Scouting Combine. The draft experts, (and I use that term loosely) will cling to measurements that are relatively meaningless. Players will move up and down their draft boards, but in reality, NFL team’s boards will stay the same. The Browns, for example, have been scouting the 2026 draft for roughly a year and a half. Any so-called analysis of what the Browns will do in the draft is frankly crap and speculation. Free agency and the trade market always come first for Browns GM Andrew Berry. I don’t understand the local media not knowing this. Berry has done this every year, signings and trades to build the roster so the Browns have the freedom to attack the draft as their board falls. His first year, he addressed two positions former GM John Dorsey ignored, the offensive line and tight end. His first two signings were RT Jack Conklin and TE Austin Hooper, so those two starting positions were covered.

There are things I’m going to pay attention to during the Combine. Height and weight of the players being tested. These will be their official numbers, not the ones their universities over exaggerate. An example would be LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Yes, he’s 6’5″ but he’s very thin and then everyone will find out he has small hands which will turn off a lot of fans, because that’s an obsession with many. The most important thing about Nussmeier is he’s nowhere near being NFL ready. If any team takes him before day three, God help them. Just for context, this year’s quarterback draft is worse than last year. I’m also interested in hearing who the Browns interview. This will give fans an indication of what type of player the team is interested in. Finally, the Combine is where the deals for trades and signings are made. I love the rumors.

Speaking of rumors, here you go:

The Browns would love to have Joel Bitonio return. Both parties agreed to move his void date back as Bitonio decides to return. The Browns are giving him the time to digest what they are is doing.

Because of the injury to Judkins, the team is evaluating the running back position, whether in free agency or in the draft.

At this time the Browns are not pursuing WR Brandon Aiyuk.

JOK is still making his mind up if he wants to return. He has not told the Browns he’s going to retire, and the Browns are giving him all the time he needs to make his decision.

Speaking of JOK, the team has been in contact with Devin Bush’s representatives and would like him to return to the team.

The Browns are going to add to the QB room and would like to find a short-term starter.

Offensive line coach George Warhop has reached out to the linemen who are on the roster. He wants to see how their doing physically and to provide them with direction on his coaching style and what he expects from them.

Stay safe and Go Browns.

As Browns fans and the local Cleveland media make a big stink over the fact the team didn’t hire their defensive coordinator fast enough, I thought I’d post some news and notes.

New DC. The team announced they hired Mike Rutenberg as their new defensive coordinator. He’s a high energy guy who is described as controlled chaos and will be aggressive when necessary. He’s run many different defensive schemes and will fit the scheme to the players. There are rumors he’ll keep key assistants.

Salary Cap. The deadline on the decision for Joel Bitonio was yesterday. Still have no idea what happened, but the team doesn’t have to make any announcement. According to Over The Cap the Browns are still at $2.3 million under the cap. I expect GM Andrew Berry to make moves, restructures, to create more cap room prior to the beginning of the league year.

Important Dates. Today, teams can start designating Franchise and Transition players. The deadline to finish is March 3. The NFL Combine begins February 23 and runs through March 2. This is where the deals are made and the most important aspect of the Combine are the player interviews with teams. March 9 through March 11 is the legal tampering period. On March 11 at 4:00pm EST the league year officially starts. All teams must be below the 2026 salary cap of $303,500.00. On April 6, teams with new coaches can start their off-season programs. The 2026 NFL draft will be held in Pittsburg April 23 -25.

Finally it’s way too early for draft speculation. Andrew Berry uses free agency to fill holes in the roster. He’ll make trades and try and find young free agents. Don’t expect big splash signings, but the Browns will be busy. This front office has ten draft picks and are ranked third in the league in draft capital. The focus will be on offense, with the offensive line garnering the most attention. Stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s been a while since my last blog; I never thought the ice storm that hit Nashville would lead to my wife and I to be without power for twelve days. Still have my neighbor’s rotten tree in what’s left of my back yard, but things could’ve been worst. So, have the Browns done anything while I was gone? Let’s start with the new head coach, Todd Monken. I like this hire. He’s made quarterbacks better no matter where he coached and this offense needs all the help it can get. As for the Browns starting quarterback in 2026, he is not on the roster. He’ll be signed as a free agent or traded for. He won’t come from this year’s draft because this quarterback draft is worse than last year’s. Browns GM Andrew Berry will fix the offensive line, starting in free agency, whether it’s a signing or a trade and then finish the fix in the draft.

So Jim Schwartz took his ball and went home. I glad the team didn’t try and force him on any candidates, because with that attitude, it would’ve been a disaster on the level of John Dorsey disasters. The Browns still own his rights and no he cannot be traded for a pick. Not in the rules. I don’t worry about who they’re going to hire, because it’s a plumb job. A new defensive coordinator can come to Cleveland, make the defense better (believe me there’s room for improvement) and then turn that into a head coaching job in the 2027 cycle. Monken just needs to hire the right assistants. By the way, I’ve heard the entire coaching staff will be finished by the end of this week. I’m most interested in who they hire for the special team’s coach. That’s the most important hire.

So David Njoku is moving on. Not surprised in the lease bit. He had a great 2022 & 2023, an average 2024 and a bad 2025. I knew he was gone when they drafted Harold Fannin. Of course, the fans and the media are thinking the Browns should poach Isaiah Likely from the Ravens. Nope. Likely is similar to Fannin, a lighter tight end that runs routes like a wide receiver. If it’s me, I’m trying to sign Charlie Kolar from Baltimore. He’s an inline, hand on the ground tight end. If the Browns are going to add from the draft, which is great for the tight end position, I’m looking at Max Klare, Ohio State, Sam Roush, Stanford or Dallen Bentley, Utah.

So Mike Vrabel lost the Super Bowl. The Patriots had the easiest schedule in the NFL, and it showed. The Seahawks did to the Patriots what the Eagles did to the Chiefs the year before, bring pressure without blitzing. The last four teams in the championship games were the top four teams who were the best at bringing pressure from the defensive tackle position. And you wonder why the Browns drafted Mason Graham with the fifth overall pick and signed Malik Collins. According to history, New England won’t make the playoffs next year which doesn’t bode well for two-time coach of the year Mike Vrabel. This year, week one, both the Seahawks and the Patriots had a one percent chance to make the Super Bowl, so there’s always hope. Stay safe and Go Browns.

First let me get this out of the way, Sean McDermit is not going to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Yes, when Shasi Brown was in charge he and Paul DePodesta recommended he be the next head coach, but Jimmy Haslam wanted a well-respected veteran head coach and went with Hue Jackson. At the Time Jackson was highly sot after. My have times changed. My point in bring this past Browns history up is, sometimes the veteran coach isn’t the way to go in the new NFL. Right now, Haslam would love to repeat the mistake of the past, but Browns GM Andrew Berry wants to go young and innovative. Haslam will trust Berry to make the right discission and not meddle. See, miracles do happen.

But what if they hire Jim Schwartz? Haslam loves Schwartz and he has the respect of the players in the locker room. If this is the Browns hire, then the team has already discussed his potential hires to fix the offense. This is the key to hiring Schwartz, young and innovative offensive minded coaches who will get the responsibility of calling plays guaranteed. If the Browns go away from Schwartz, I really can’t see him staying, but stranger things have happened in this franchise.

My preference would be to hire one of the young guns, Udinski or Scheelhaase. Udinski has learned under two very talented head coaches and been in the NFL longer, starting as a scout and working his way up the ladder. Scheelhaase has been a position coach, (running backs, wide receivers, quarterbacks) so he knows what it takes to run an offense. The question is, will a young coach be able to hire a talented staff? While veteran coaches have been in the league longer, they tend to associate with a smaller close nit group. Younger coaches are around fellow ambitious hungry coaches looking to make a name for themselves in the league.

As for the search itself, four coaches have been hired as of this writing, Giants, Falcons, Dolphins and Titans. The Giants hired a guy that was a pipedream for Browns fans, the Falcons hired the guy the Browns fired, the Dolphins hired a gut who wasn’t in the conversation at all, and the Titans hired a guy who the Browns interviewed six years ago. I can’t help but shake my head at the Dolphins and the Titans, they both made the classic NFL mistake. Fire an offensive coach and then hire a defensive coach. I’ve seen this too many times in Browns history, the wheels of the bus go round & round.

Finally, too many Browns fans are clutching their pearls over the length of time this search is taking. The Browns are currently going through second in person interviews to go in-depth with the candidates and to satisfy the Rooney Rule. They have to interview two minority candidates in person and Mike McDaniel counts as a minority because one of his parents is black. I would rather they get this right then win a race. Stay safe and GO Browns.

First of all, I think we’re all Houston Texans fans this morning. Previously the Steelers had won twenty-two straight Monday night games before last night. Now the question becomes will Mike Tomlin survive. On a personal note, if he doesn’t, I don’t want him on the Browns. Their offense stinks, he holds on to assistant coaches too long, (longer than Stefanski) and he would never coach the Browns. That hate runs deep. Who would’ve thought the AFC North would be such a mess.

Here’s the candidates to Browns have and will interview as of this writing. Jim Schwartz, Tommy Rees, Mike McDaniel, Todd Monken, Aden Durde, Grant Udinski, Dan Pitcher, Jessie Minter and Nate Scheelhaase. They are still in back-channel communications with John Harbaugh and his agent. I’ve heard there are some in the Browns front office who would like to talk to Mike LaFleur, the Rams offensive coordinator. The Udinski interview caught me a little bit by surprise, because I had been told they wouldn’t interview him because of his age, so that’s interesting. They’ve not interviewed Mike McCarthy, and I don’t think they will. It’s twenty years too late for him. Besides, Browns GM Andrew Berry said in his media availability they were looking for a leader of men and for the fans and media to keep an open mind. Not either’s strong suit. I’ve been told they want someone who can do the heavy lifting and strategy as a head coach.

I’ve also been told; they are not telling candidates they have to keep Schwartz, prefer is the word used. As far Schwartz, his only other interview to date is with the Ravens. If wants to go, fine. Any coordinator in the NFL would love to coach this defense, so if he goes, the Browns new coach would have his pick of top defensive minds. Just remember the Browns lost three games because Schwartz’s defense failed. The Vikings, the Titans and the Bills. Maybe they could hire someone who could push this defense into what the Texans look like.

As for the quarterback situation, the team is not telling candidates they have to start Sheduer Sanders. I don’t know if they’re telling candidates that they have to keep him. It sounds they would like to sign or trade for a veteran quarterback and I’m not talking about a bridge QB. The options are limited at best. Gino Smith and Kyler Murry seem like the best options. If the Raiders and Jets don’t screw up the first two picks, drafting a QB doesn’t look like an option in the first round. My preference for the Browns are offensive tackle and wide receiver, in that order, but things could change by April, we still have free agency to work though.

Finally my weekly reminder, the Browns are not in salary cap hell, they’ll have the money to spend because Berry knows contracts and Deshaun Watson will not be an option to play for the Browns in 2026. As for the candidates mentioned above, Scheelhaase and Udinski intrigue me. Stay safe and GO Browns.

That was the perfect ending to a season to forget and I’m talking about the game. The defense got two pick sixes, Garrett got the record-breaking sack, our kicker came full circle for the game winner, and the special teams didn’t cost the Browns the game. As for the offense, the presumed 2026 starting quarterback by some, played like the fifth-round pick he is. I know, he guided the team down the field to set up the winning field goal, but was that play calling?

Now to what happened on Victory Monday, the dismissal of head coach Kevin Stefanski. I don’t agree with it, but the league is a bottom-line business and wins matter. I listened to both Jimmy Haslam and Andrew Berry’s media availability and thought both handled them well. Haslam will always spend money, and it sounds like he’s going to do it again. Berry hinted at a few things which the local media and the Berry haters will misinterpret. As for Sanders, he really can’t commit because the new head coach might not want Sanders and all the drama that comes with him. The new coach will want his guy. He also mentioned Watson is still one the roster. Believe me, Watson still isn’t seeing the field in 2026. As for Jim Schwartz being the next head coach, it sounds like he’ll get an interview. But if make Schwartz the head coach to keep his talented defensive staff and Tommy Rees as the OC, isn’t that an indictment on firing Stefanski?

I’m not thrilled with the idea of making Schwartz the head coach because of what happened in Detroit. But I do like the idea of keeping the defensive line coach, the linebackers coach, the secondary coach, the OC, the quarterback coach and the offensive line coach. If you keep this part of the staff intact, the players will be happy, and it might entice Joel Bitonio to come back for one more year. Other names who interest me are Vance Joseph, Matt Burke, Frank Ross, Brant Boyer and Dan Pitcher. Joseph would make this defense better. Burke turned the Texans defense the number one defense this year. Both Ross and Boyer are great special team’s coaches. Ross was named Special Teams coach of the year last year. Before you piss and moan about a special teams coach, remember John Harbaugh and Bill Cowher were special teams’ coaches. Both would hire the people to fix a unit that cost the Browns four games last year. Pitcher is an OC and used to be a QB coach. Word is, he knows how to get the best out of a young quarterback.

Bottom line, the team can fix this if everything goes their way. The have ten draft picks, they’ll have cap room, (I’ve explained this many times) and an owner who’ll devote the cash to fix this team. Stay safe and GO Browns.