March 2021 – Dawgpoundsouth

Draft Mockery 1.0

Now that free agency has calmed down, I thought I would turn my focus to the NFL draft. The Browns have nine picks, number 26, 59, 89, 91, 110, 132, 169, 211 and 257. Do I expect Browns GM Andrew Berry to use all nine picks? Nope. Hopefully he’ll spare Browns fans the wait of number 257, three picks away from “Mr. Irrelevant.” The endless “blah, blah” by the third string ESPN personalities late on a Saturday afternoon is mind numbing. For my first draft, I’m going to draft based on the current roster. Personally, I think Andrew Berry will sign one more defensive end and an outside cornerback in free agency. So let’s play 2021 Cleveland Browns mock draft 1.0.

26. Greg Newsome, II, CB, Northwestern. Newsome allowed a passer rating of only 31.7 and a completion percentage of 35.3% in 2020. he posted a 4.39 40 yard dash time. I fell in love with this kid when I watched the Ohio State vs. Northwestern game.

59. Tommy Togiai, DL, Ohio State. The Browns need a run stuffing defensive tackle to back-up DT’s Andrew Billings and Sheldon Richardson. Togiai has great body leverage and hand usage to get under the pads of offensive linemen. He also has great lateral movement.

89. Joe Tryon, Edge, Washington. Explosive and athletic off the edge. Versatile enough to be an outside linebacker and a defensive end in the 4-3.

91. Andre Cisco, S, Syracuse. Had thirteen interceptions and fourteen pass break-ups in 24 games. He is a ball magnet. Can be a starting free safety that primarily plays deep.

110. Nick Eubanks, TE, Michigan. His best scheme fit is a run heavy, play-action passing offense featuring misdirection and multiple tight end sets. Sound familiar? Will probably be no better than a number two tight end in the NFL.

132. David Moore, G, Grambling State. A very aggressive interior lineman. Great run blocker. Athletic enough to pull on screen passes and perimeter plays.

169. Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky. I doubt Davis will be on the board at number 169, however, the draft simulator I used had him there. He might fall because he was a one year starter. Rangy, tall and explosive. Had several big plays in the passing game. Projects as a Will linebacker in the NFL.

211. Rico Bussey Jr., WR, Hawaii. A very explosive and dynamic route-runner, who is willing and able to block in the run game. Can also contribute on special teams as a returner.

257. Jordyn Peters, CB, Auburn. Can play safety or corner. Was a special teams ace blocking four punts in his Auburn career.

There you have it, my first official dawgpoundsouth mock draft of the season. Tear it apart, tell me player so-in-so won’t be there when I have him drafted or that guy stinks why did you draft him. Whatever you want. Everyone stay safe, get vaccinated and Go Browns.

“Opportunity Of A Lifetime.”

So let me get this straight, the first free agent signed by the Browns during the “legal tampering” period said he took less money to sign with the Browns and it’s an opportunity of a lifetime? Wait…What? First of all the words legal and tampering should never be back-to-back in a sentence. Never. Second, the best free agent safety signed with the Browns and it wasn’t about the cash. Okay, I could get used to this. I knew GM Andrew Berry would make one big signing at the start, but I thought it would be for an defensive end. Everybody thought it would be a defensive end. Nope. Every Browns fans knows the defense was terrible last year, especially the safeties. Raise your hand if you were tired of seeing opposing players open in the middle of the Browns defense. Pro Football Focus rated the Browns safeties at 48.8. Johnson is rated by PFF at 85.6. Much better, thank you AB.

Next came the guy the Browns have wanted for over a year, DE Takk McKinley. The Browns tried to claim him off waivers three times and tried to trade for him once. Somebody in the Browns front office and/or coaching staff really likes him. In his first two years in the league he was very productive, he regressed the last couple of years. McKinley is very grateful the Browns wanted him, have faith in him and knows he can be better. This signing reminds of the Kareem Hunt signing, low risk, high reward. Good player looking for a second chance.

The next free agent signing shocked the hell out of me. Cornerback Troy Hill. The best slot corner in the NFL the last two years. What the hell is going on here? I thought Andrew Berry spent big on safety, so he’ll go bargain hunting at corner. Nope. The Browns secondary is going to be scary good. Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams, Ronnie Harrison, Grant Delpit, John Johnson, III and Troy Hill. Wow. The last two free agent signings, LB Anthony Walker and DT Malik Jackson are impressive as well. Walker is simply a tackling machine who is great against the run. While Jackson will be a rotational defensive lineman. He can play inside or out on the line. This defensive line is going to be nasty.

As for the resigning of Browns free agents, Hollywood Higgins was the big news. As I’ve said in past blogs, Andrew Berry was going to let the market set the price on Higgins. When I saw WR John Brown sign for $3 million, boom, market set. Others resigned were LB Malcolm Smith, WR JoJo Natson, LB Elijah Lee, Kicker Cody Parkey and OT Greg Senat. Smith was the seventh best coverage LB in the league last year, Natson will return punts and offer speed in the receiving core, Lee is a special teams ace, Senat will compete for a back-up role and Parkey was perfect in the playoffs.

So what’s next? Probably another corner (Gareon Conley?), maybe a veteran defensive end to back-up Garrett ( Clowney, Kerrigan, Dunlop, Atkins, Blair?). If Malik Jackson is better suited for defensive end, then maybe a back-up defensive tackle (I have no idea). All I know is GM Andrew Berry is a genius, a silent assassin, a free agent ninja, a salary cap savant. Everyone enjoy their week, stay safe and Go Browns.

Lets Get Ready To Rumble.

Hey Browns fans, Christmas morning this year comes at 11:00am CST on Monday March 15. People will be checking twitter like they’re checking their bank accounts waiting for their stimulus checks to hit. Check app, nope, check app, nope, check app, nope. I’m so excited, I’ve been wearing Browns gear every day since Friday. It’s like a game weekend. Okay, breath. First before all Browns fans start dreaming of the Super Bowl, lets remember a few things, the Browns current front office is great. Yeah I know it’s only been one year, but you have to admit, it was a damn good first year. If last year is any indication, the Browns won’t over spend and stick to the plan they have in place. Last year they signed the number one tackle and number one tight end in free agency. So, history would tell you, making a big splash signing on day one is kind of Andrew Berry’s jam. He did say, he wants the Browns front office to be known as aggressive. But let me remind you, being aggressive and over spending are two different things. So what happens tomorrow? Hopefully excitement.

If you missed my article with my predictions for who the Browns will sign, you can find it here, https://clesportstalk.com/ready-set-go/. It’s amazing what you can do with a giant dartboard. I feel pretty confident about my predictions, some more than others. I’m also confident that GM Andrew Berry will move quickly if the Browns first offer is rejected, either with a counter-offer or on to the next free agent. So let’s review my picks and some other names to watch.

EDGE: my prediction, Trey Hendrickson, Saints and an older veteran to back up Garrett. Others to watch, Romeo Okwara, Lions, Takkarist McKinley Raiders, Jadeveon Clowney, Titans, Melvin Ingram, Chargers and Ryan Kerrigan, WFT.

CORNERBACK: My prediction, K’Waun Williams, 49ers and Lamarcus Joyner, Raiders. Others to watch, Mike Hilton, Steelers, Troy Hill, Rams, Brian Poole, Jets, Casey Hayward, Chargers and Ahkello Witherspoon, 49ers.

SAFETY: My prediction, Anthony Harris, Vikings. Others to watch, John Johnson, Rams, Keanu Neal, Falcons, Tre Boston, Panthers, Jalin Mills, Eagles and Malik Hooker, Colts.

LINEBACKER: My prediction, Kevin Pierre-Louis, WFT. Others to watch, Eric Wilson Vikings, K.J. Wright, Seahawks and B.J. Goodson, Browns.

The Browns will also address the wide receiver and defensive tackle positions if WR Rashard Higgins leaves and DT Andrew Billings isn’t in shape after a year off. Because the Browns are letting special teamers Tae Davis and Tavierre Thomas go, these positions will also have to be addressed, but much later in free agency. I know Andrew Berry has mentioned he would be open to trading for players to improve the roster, but I just don’t see any big trades happening right away. Maybe later in free agency for a lesser known value player.

So everyone enjoy the frenzy of tomorrow. Keep an eye on my twitter account, @ctownthug, because I’ll be retweeting any breaking news I see. And before you ask, yes I have tax returns to do, but since I’ll be sitting at my computer anyway, a little peak over on twitter every 30 seconds won’t hurt, right? Never mind, don’t answer that. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

One More Week.

Things are about to get crazy with one more week till free agency starts. Teams have been scrambling to get under the cap by the beginning of the league year on March 17. The list of teams over the cap went from eleven to seven this past week. I wish I could lose weight that fast. Even the Saints are creating cap room. They’ve gone from $65 million over the cap to $48 million over the cap in about five days. The next seven days are going to as wild as the night I turned 21 and could “legally” drink. Things happened fast all night and in the end no one remembered how we got there. The same can be said about this week. Teams are currently attempting to restructure contracts, cut players they signed to big contracts in previous years and resign their own free agents. The weird thing about all this activity is no team actually knows what the official salary cap is for 2021. Will it stay at $180 million or go to $185 million? Even the Steelers got on the right side of the ledger, when Big Ben reduced his overpaid salary by five million. However if you look at the contract details, the Steelers are hoping he retires after the 2021 season. Major dead money. One more year of Ben Roethlisberger Browns fans.

After getting that good news, Browns fans were treated to more. It seems CB Greedy Williams is on track to be healthy for training camp. Sign a free agent cover safety and combine him with Ward, Williams, Harrison and Delpit, that’s a damn good secondary. In other news, while being interviewed on ESPN radio’s “Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin” show, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said the Browns could afford to keep both WR Jarvis Landry and WR Odell Beckham on the roster in 2021. Here’s what he said if you didn’t listen or you’re blocked by Mary Kay Cabot like I am, “So, yeah, I think we’re in a good spot. The easy part to say is, ‘Hey, just give us more players. Give us three more great players on the offensive side, and give us three players on the defensive side, and we’re going to spend this amount on each guy.’ I think we have a plan. We’ll follow through with that plan.” I wonder what ESPN will do with all that time committed to rumors of trading and/or releasing OBJ and Landry. Probably more Baker Mayfield hate.

Finally, as the last week of NFL personnel chaos begins, remember the Browns front office does not leak information. If you see a “blue checkmark” insider stating they know what the Browns are going to do, don’t believe them. Remember when Mary Kay said the J.J. Watt was “most interested” in signing with the Browns? Or John Clayton said Watt’s final three were Green Bay, Buffalo and Tennessee? Or some sports radio guy in Arizona tweeting the Browns, the Colts and the Titans offered Watt the most money? Wrong, wrong and wrong. The Browns front office “When All Is Said and Done” will “Take The Time” to improve this team. Everyone enjoy your week, Go Browns and Rest In Peace Michael Stanley.