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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.

News And Notes.

With the NFL league year starting on March 17, here are some quick notes.

J.J. Watt News. There is none. Despite what John Clayton said on a Pittsburg radio station that Watt had narrowed his choice to three teams, Titans, Packers and Bills, Watt still doesn’t have a favorite. Clayton reversed course a couple hours later saying he was giving an opinion, not sourced information. Yes, the Browns are still in the bidding for Mr. Watt’s services. There was also a report that a team offered Watt $15-$16 million. Also not true. No one has made Watt a formal offer yet. It does sound like Watt has narrowed his list to five or six teams. Don’t you just love twitter.

Current Browns Players Tweets. We’ve had Jarvis Landry tweeting inspirational messages, Rashard Higgins wanting to sign a contract to stay in Cleveland and David Njoku sort of saying goodbye. I don’t try and decode players tweets because it makes my head hurt. Landry is always tweeting uplifting messages. If he had tweeted “When one door closes, another door opens” during a game week, Browns fans would be pumped and waiting for Landry to have a big game. He tweets this prior to free agency and now Browns twitter is convinced he has been traded or cut. Stop. As for Higgins and Njoku, the Browns are going to let the market set the price for Higgins and Njoku still wants to be traded, no surprise.

Twitter Rumors. We are in Bulls**t season so here comes the barrage of “experts” throwing crap against the wall to see what sticks. Here’s an example from someone named Chad Forbes, ” #Eagles Not Shopping Derek Barnett but perspective around league is they’re certainly listening. Timing Wise, most teams will sort through FA Edge Rushers prior to considering trades at position. One exception is #Browns. Told there’s a dialogue there on Barnett.” I have no idea who Chad Forbes is and no clue if this is true. I do know that Andrew Berry has made only two trades for players since being hired as the Browns GM, FB Andy Janovich and S Ronnie Harrison. He doesn’t trade for players unless he can get great value. Starting FB for a seventh round pick and a starting safety for a fifth round pick. Value. Berry likes to save his draft picks for the draft, whether it be for players or movement during the draft.

Salary Cap News. As I mentioned in my last blog, the cap went from $175 million to $180 million. Now that the NFL has worked out a new TV deal, the league and the players union will meet this week to officially set the 2021 salary cap. Because the NFL is trying to recoup the revenue it lost in 2020, I don’t expect the cap to go any higher than $185 to $188 million. However, once the cap is set, I do expect a flurry of activity involving players and more players signing one year contracts. The 2022 cap could go $210 million, so players will cash in then.

Virtual Meetings With Draft Prospects. These lists of players the Browns are interviewing are accurate. Believe tweets like this, “http://clebrownsnetwork @clebrownsntwork · 11m The #Browns have/plan to conduct virtual meetings with the following NFL prospects: Northwestern CB Greg Newsome (projected late first, early second), Kentucky LB Jamin Davis (projected late first, second round), and SDSU CB Darren Hall (projected round 4-6).” This is an example of good twitter for Browns fans.

That’s all I got for now Browns fans. If it’s true that J.J. Watt has his list down to five or six teams, then he might start taking visits to team training sites. If this happens, everyone will know the teams he’s got on his list and twitter will explode. You think the Cleveland media will be camped out in Berea? Again, if the salary cap gets set this week, Boom, you’ll see a lot of activity. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

The Draft And Free Agency Part IV.

So far we’ve covered potential free agents for the Browns at the Edge/DE, Safety and Cornerback. Today I’m going to take a look at the Interior Defensive Line position. This position group has numerous “what ifs” involved. First, the Browns have to decide what they’re going to do with DT Sheldon Richardson. Richardson is currently slated to make $13.7 million in 2021, the last year of his contract. Knowing the Browns are probably going to lose DT Larry Ogunjobi to free agency, restructuring and extending Richardson would make sense. But that’s up to Richardson and his agent. He is on his fourth team and will turn 31 during the 2021 season. Convert cap salary into up front cash and add one or two years. This gives a player financial security and future security. The Browns did the same with OT Chris Hubbard last year when they restructured him.

The other big question is J.J. Watt. Reports today are Watt is interested in signing with the Browns, however remember he has other teams on his list. Most NFL fans look at Watt as an Edge because of his sack totals, but he’s really a DT in the 4-3 scheme. If the Browns were to sign Watt and they may not be the front runner, but they do have a shot, then the team could concentrate on other defensive positions. The one thing I’ve learned about the Browns front office, they’ll make their pitch to a free agent with several contract options. If said free agent decides to take their time to decide, the Browns move on quickly. They’ll be aggressive with Watt, but won’t spend too much time on it, moving on to other free agents. ESPN said a dozen teams are interested in Watt and listed four of those teams. Buffalo, Tennessee, Green Bay and Cleveland. Of those four, only the Browns have the cap space at this time to sign anyone. So which IDL free agents not named Watt could the Browns sign? Here’s a short list.

Leonard Williams, New York Giants. Williams has been one of the most consistent and valuable interior defenders since 2015. Very good run defender who on occasion can provide an interior pass rush. He did have a career high 13 sacks in 2020. According to Spotrac his market value is $11.2 million per year on a five year contract.

Dalvin Tomlinson, New York Giants. A great run defender when playing the nose tackle position. He can finish off plays and has one of the best run stop percentage in the league. An average pass rusher. The Giants won’t be able to keep both Williams and Tomlinson. According to Spotrac his market value is $9.5 million per year on a four year deal.

Sheldon Rankins, New Orleans. I keep going to the well with the Saints because they will digging out of a cap hole till the start of free agency. Rankins has had injury problems. His best season was 2018. A solid run defender and a below average pass rusher. According to Spotrac his market value is $11.3 million per year on a four year contract.

Others to watch. Deatrich Wise, New England, Shelby Harris, Denver and Kawann Short, Carolina. Short was just released this morning, is a two-time Pro Bowler and has a career PFF grade of 91.6 (2013-2020). Here’s todays mockery of a draft.

26. Gregory Rousseau, Edge, Miami.

58. Jay Tufele, IDL, USC.

89. Amari Rogers, WR, Clemson.

91. Elijah Molden, CB, Washington.

111. Tariq Thompson, S, San Diego State.

131. Walter Little, OT, Stanford.

170. John Bates, TE, Boise State.

211. Rachad Wildgoose, CB, Wisconson.

248. Paddy Fisher, LB, Northwestern.

Today’s news will be dominated by J.J. Watt. The rumors were started by a Mary Kay Cabot tweet. I haven’t seen it because she blocked me last off-season. I got really tired of the “trade OBJ” narrative. I want everyone to temper their expectations. Watt has his list down to five teams and the Browns are one of them. My guess on the other four are Tampa, Colts, Titans and Seahawks only because Watt wants to win a ring. The Colts have the most money, but have a QB problem, they don’t have one. Tampa has less money available than the Browns but have 30 of their own free agents they have to deal with. The Seahawks have a little cap space ( $4.9 million), so they’ll have to clean up some cap room. The Titans have Mike Vrabel and are currently $3 million over the cap. They have to create room to sign their own free agents. Just the fact a big name free agent wants to come to Cleveland will warm the hearts of long time Browns fans like me. Lets do this AB. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

The Draft & Free Agency Part III.

Before I go over the potential cornerbacks the Browns may try to sign in free agency a boom was heard throughout the NFL. The Texans released DE J.J. Watt. For the Texans it makes perfect sense. First they weren’t going to be able to trade Watt because of his $17.5 million contract. Only an idiot would do that and I don’t think the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals were interested. This move instantly gets the Texans out of cap hell. So now Watt becomes a free agent who anyone can sign at any time. Reports say he is interested in a team in good cap shape, is a defensive scheme fit, has the right supporting personnel and a team that’s not rebuilding. Sounds like a team that is near and dear to all our hearts. It also doesn’t sound like the Pittsburg Steelers. Sorry Steeler fans, your favorite team is about to go through a major overhaul. Actually I’m not sorry.

At first it appears J.J. Watt isn’t the prototypical free agent GM Andrew Berry likes to sign. He’s 31 years old. However, last season Berry spent the entire season searching for pass rush help. He signed DE Joe Jackson prior to the season, then he attempted to sign DE Jadeveon Clowney to big money. Berry then tried to trade for DE Yannick Ngakoue and attempted to claim DE Takkarist McKinley off waivers twice. And prior to DE Olivier Vernon’s Achilles injury in the wildcard game, the Browns were seriously thinking of resigning him. Sounds like a man who wants to do whatever he can to help DE Myles Garrett. So will the Browns make a push to sign Watt? Based on the information just listed and after considerable thought and reasoning, hell yes. Remember the Browns want to restructure a few contracts to clean up the cap for this season and the future. Signing Watt sends a clear message to the rest of the team that the front office is serious about winning now and in the future. What would it take to sign Watt? An incentive loaded two year contract worth about $12 to $13 million. On to the free agent cornerbacks.

Mike Hilton, Pittsburg. Primarily a slot corner, Hilton can cover in both man and zone. He’s very effective against the run and can blitz when asked. While he isn’t a sure tackler, 26 missed tackles in the last two years, he’s always one of the top corners in defensive stops. According to Spotrac, his market value is $7.8 million per year on a three year contract. Because the Steelers are $14 million over the cap and they still don’t know what to do with Ben Roethlisberger’s contract, he will hit the open market.

Brain Poole, New York Jets. Another slot corner, Poole has posted one of the highest Pro Football Focus rating the last two years while playing in the slot. Allowed one touchdown pass and a passer rating of under 70.0 over those two years. Incredibly consistent and undervalued. While the Jets have $67.9 million in cap space, Poole is the type of player they may let walk. He’s not splashy just consistent.

Others to watch. William Jackson, III, Cincinnati, Desmond King, II, Tennessee, Quinton Dunbar, Seattle and Ahkello Witherspoon, San Francisco. You’ll notice I highlighted the slot cornerback position. I expect last years slot CB Kevin Johnson to move on to free agency. I’m still of the belief the Browns will make a run at trading for Saints CB Marshon Lattimore. It makes too much sense. The Saints are try to dig themselves out off a $69 million cap hole and Lattimore carries no dead money. Taking his $10.2 million dollar salary is like throwing a deck chair off the Titanic, but the Saints need all they help they can get. Now on to my latest mockery of a draft.

26. Gregory Rousseau, Edge, MIami.

58. Greg Newsome, CB, Northwestern.

89. Osa Odighizuwa, IDL, UCLA.

91. Paris Ford, S Pittsburg.

111. Rodarious Williams, CB, Oklahoma State.

131. Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina.

170. Pro Wells, TE, TCU.

211. Jake Curhan, IOL, California.

248. Grant Stuard, LB Houston.

Again I doubt GM Andrew Berry will use all his draft picks, but I think this one covers all the bases. Tell me what you think.

Free agency now starts to get wacky and weird with experts making predictions with no thought of how a salary cap works and kitchen table GM’s making ridiculous claims of pretend sources. Enter Browns twitter at your own risk. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Draft & Free Agency Part II.

Last week I started the discussion of fixing the Browns defense through free agency and the draft. I highlighted the most important position group that needed an upgrade, DE/Edge. This week I’ll look at the safety position. Since last week’s blog, there has be news on the salary cap. Last week it was reported by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network that the cap would be increasing from $175 million to $185 million. Over the weekend Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the cap would be between $180 and $181 million. So this means the Browns will have between $24 to$29 million in cap space. Remembering that GM Andrew Berry likes to sign players in their mid twenties coming off their first contract here is a list of safeties the Browns might be interested in signing.

Marcus Williams, New Orleans. William’s coverage grade by Pro Football Focus has been in the 90’s since he entered the league in 2017. He also has the highest rate of forced incompletions during that time period and is a very solid run defender. Due to the Saints cap situation, worst in the NFL, Williams will be available. Market value according to Spotrac is $9.4 million on a five year deal.

Marcus Maye, New York Jets. A very versatile safety. Since 2017 has played free safety, strong safety and some slot corner. When targeted, he is the best at breaking up passes. Can line up anywhere on the field. and is solid against the run. Finished the 2020 season with a PFF grade of 82.8, fourth best among safeties. Market value according to Spotrac is $8.3 million on a three year deal.

John Johnson, III, LA Rams. Had an injury plagued 2019. But when healthy he is an elite coverage safety. Came on strong in 2020. In three out his four seasons in the NFL, he has never been below a PFF coverage grade of 84.9. He finished 2020 with a PFF grade of 85.6, third highest for safeties. Market value according to Spotrac $8.3 million on a five year deal.

Others to watch. Xavier Woods, Dallas, Keanu Neal, Atlanta and Jaquiski Tartt. Just remember as the beginning of the league year on March 17th approaches, more players will become available as teams fight to get under the cap. As for the draft, here’s my second mock draft.

26. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB/S, Notre Dame.

58. Jay Tufele, IDL, USC.

89. Patrick Jones, Edge, Pittsburg.

91. Monty Rice, LB Georgia.

110. Davis Moore, IOL, Grambling.

130. Deommodore Lenoir, CB, Oregon.

168. Richard LeCounte, III, S, Georgia.

206. Shi Smith, WR, South Carolina.

250. Jovani Haskins, TE, West Virginia.

If GM Andrew Berry does use all the Browns draft picks, this draft covers a lot of bases. Owusu-Koramoah is listed as a LB, however he has the athletic ability to drop in coverage and be that “rover’ back that DC Joe Woods wants to use. Safety Grant Delpit was going to provide that role in 2020. I really like LB Monty Rice as a middle linebacker. He has great lateral movement, can fight through traffic and is a hitter. Tell me what you think, this is only one of many mocks I’m going to do till draft day.

Next week I’m going to look at the cornerback position and do yet another mock draft. If the 2020 season proved anything, you can never have enough quality cornerbacks and there will some available. Everyone stay safe. Go Browns and RIP Marty Schottenheimer, you brought the gleam back to the Browns.

Free Agency And The Draft.

It’s time to start forecasting, so lets start with free agency at the position the Browns have the most urgency to fill, defensive end/edge rusher. The Browns have to find someone to compliment DE Myles Garrett. If DE Olivier Vernon hadn’t gotten hurt, I fully expected the Browns to make a serious attempt to resign him. But coming off an Achilles injury at 31 years of age it’s not an option. I expect the Browns to sign an edge rusher in free agency and draft one as well. Let’s start with free agency.

As I mentioned last week, Cincinnati DE Carl Lawson is the type of player the Browns are looking to sign. He is 25 years old coming off his rookie contract. When he was drafted he looked like a fourth round steal. He had 59 pressures on 389 pass rush attempts his rookie year. However, he has never reached those benchmarks again. He’s more of a situational pass rusher and is a liability in the run game. So who else might the Browns go after?

Roman Okwara, DE, Detroit. After his first 1000 snaps as a pass rusher, he was below average. In 2020, specifically since week 12, he had the third best pass rushing grade according to Pro Football Focus. He finished 2020 with a PFF pass rush rating of 85.4. That was ninth best in the NFL. As a number two pass rusher he fits the bill perfectly. His market value for 2021 according to Spotrac.com is $10.1 million per year on a three year contract.

Yannick Ngakoue, DE, Baltimore. There were rumors that Browns GM Andrew Berry attempted to trade for Ngakoue last year before he was traded to the Ravens. While he is a good pass rusher, Ngakoue is defiantly a liability in the run game. When he lines up wide, since 2017, he’s had the eighth best pass rushing PFF grade at 89.1. If a team has a strong interior rush, he’s a great fit as a situational pass rusher. His market value for 2021 is $15.5 million on a four year contract.

Trey Hendrickson, DE, New Orleans. Made great strides in 2020 after three average years, recording 13.5 sacks. He had 4.5 sacks in 2019. In his first four years in the league, he is mid level in both pass rushing and run defending, but like Okwara, it appears he is ascending at the right time. His market value for 2021 is $10.3 million on a three year deal.

Others to watch: Solomon Thomas, San Francisco, Bud Dupree, Pittsburg and Hasson Reddick, Arizona.

Trades: The big question on Browns Twitter, would Andrew Berry make a trade for DE J.J. Watt? Berry did try and improve the pass rush last year by attempting to trade for Ngakoue and trying to sign DE Jadeveon Clowney, but would he trade for the 31 year old Watt? While Watt’s sack production has declined since he had 17 sacks in 2018, he still registered a 85.5 pressure rate last year. Trading Watt makes perfect sense for the Texans. They are around $16.4 million over the cap and by trading Watt, they would take his $17.5 million salary off their cap with no dead money ramifications. This trade would have to happen before the start of the league year.

My First Mock Draft: I don’t think Andrew Berry will use all nine picks and I don’t figure in trades in my mocks. Here are my nine picks.

26. Jaelan Phillips, Edge, Miami.

58. Tommy Togiai, IDL, Ohio State.

89. Keith Taylor, CB, Washington.

91. Monty Rice, LB Georgia.

110. Amari Rogers, WR, Clemson.

130. Brady Christenson, OT, BYU.

Noah Gary, TE, Duke.

Marco Wilson, CB, Florida.

Benton Nelson, S, Virginia.

Have at it and tell me what you think. This draft hits some key needs for the Browns. Next week I’ll look at the safety position in free agency and do another mock draft. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Looking Forward.

Now that we know the Super Bowl participants, can we all agree that fourth down has been the major topic of this years playoffs. I have never seen a year where fourth down can make or break a good coach’s decision making. Wow. Getting back to the Super Bowl, how close are the Browns from making their first appearance? Pretty, pretty close. If GM Andrew Berry and the Browns front office can do to the defense this year, what they did to the offense last year, the Browns are close. The process begins with the Senior Bowl this week. With the NFL Combine going virtual, the Senior bowl still affords the Browns to personally watch practices and speak individually to draft prospects. The off-season has begun.

Lets start with the schedule. Besides Pittsburg, Cincinnati and Baltimore, the Browns host Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas and Houston. Their road games are the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City, Green Bay, New England and Minnesota. The home schedule is pretty good, while the road schedule is daunting. I’m glad there’s only one west coast trip. The key to this schedule are when the games are played and how they’re spaced out. Due to the Browns success, there will probably be at least four prime-time games. The Kansas City game, if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, has Thursday night season opener written all over it. The amazing thing about the 2020 Cleveland Browns, they never lost two games in a row. That’s preparation by the coaching staff. To make the next step, the Browns need to win their opening game, win their division, beat teams coached by Andy Reid and John Gruden (0-8 vs Reid and 0-6 vs Gruden) and win two playoff games in a season. Sounds simple right?

First, the Browns have to fix their defense either through the draft or free agency. Since free agency starts first, you have to look at the teams who are over the salary cap for potential free agents. With an expected salary cap of $175 million, there are currently thirteen teams over the cap. The Giants ($3.3), the Titans ($7.4), the Bears ($10.7), the Vikings ($12.8), the Texans ($18.3), the Chiefs ($ 18.9), the Raiders ($23.5), the Packers ($28.6), the Rams ($30.5), the Steelers ($ 34.9), the Falcons ($36.3), the Eagles ($53.5) and the Saints ($112.1). That’s an incredible list. The Giants and the Titans could do restructures and get under the cap, but signing free agents would be difficult. As for the other teams, trades would their best option. This puts more players on the market. GM Andrew Berry’s ideal free agent is a player in his mid twenties coming off his first contract. But if Berry feels the Browns are close to the next level, then acquiring a big name defensive free agent has to be considered. Think defensive end or safety. As for the draft, the Browns have nine picks and I do not expect Andrew Berry to use all nine.

For the first time in a long time the Browns return their entire coaching staff and front office. They return their offense in tact and get Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit back from injury. This team has the capacity to handle both a virtual combine and pro days better than most NFL teams. They spent the last three weeks of the season game planning virtually Next week I’ll start my way too early free agent tracker and throw in a mock draft. The future looks bright. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.