With the announcement that DE Adrian Clayborn’s signing is official, the only free agent that has not officially signed is S Karl Joseph. The Browns are waiting for Joseph to pass his physical, due to a foot injury last year, but expect him to pass. As for potential signings, LB Nigel Bradham still hasn’t signed with a team. I would assume money is an issue. As for DE Jadeveon Clowney, it appears the Seahawks aren’t going to come off their offer and appear to be moving on. This would leave the Browns and the Titans as the primary suitors. The Browns can afford the salary, especially if they cut Olivier Vernon, but it’s the length of the contract and the incentives that Clowney is asking for that the Browns are worried about. As for the Titans, they currently have 21.5 million in cap space. If and this is big if, they could get Clowney for 15 million for 2020, that would leave them with 6.5 million in cap space. The Titans still haven’t signed a backup quarterback and their salary cap allocation for rookies still hasn’t been determined. To give you an example of rookie allocation, Miami currently has a cap figure of 23.8 million, but due to the large amount of draft picks they have, their rookie allocation would be about 18 million. That leaves the Dolphins with about 6 million for spending on injuries during the 2020 season. So the Titans would have to do some serious restructuring or cutting of current players to fit Clowney on their roster. Personally I would rather have Vernon on the last year of a contract than Clowney on the first year of a contract. Finally for all those fans calling for the Browns to sign LB Clay Matthews, It’s not going to happen. He’s just not a system fit, sorry I wish he was.
As for trades, Adam Schefter (@Adam_Schefter) reported that the Browns were one of the teams interested in trading for Jags DE Yannick Ngakoue. The Jags franchised Ngakoue at 18 million and are asking for a first round draft pick. I can’t see the Browns giving up their first round pick and then paying Ngakoue that kind of money. The Browns need to use that pick on a LT and move on. Don’t over think it. As for a Trent Williams trade, I can see that trade happening on draft day. Some team isn’t going of get their first round tackle and make the trade. I still think the Browns should pull the trigger on Williams with 97th pick. If Stefanski can’t install his offense until training camp, it sure would be nice to have an experienced offensive line that Bill Callahan could coach. As for other news, I had thought the schedule would drop today, apparently not. It’s usually the week before the draft, but I thought I had read it would be this week. However on another front, the new Browns uniforms will be unveiled next week on Wednesday April 15th. There’s a teaser video making the rounds on twitter that shows flashes of past uniforms of players like Jim Brown, Clay Matthews and Eric Metcalf. I’ve heard the new uniforms are traditional with a new look. This is much better then the schedule, right? I can’t wait, not really , but Browns twitter is looking for anything Browns, besides past games on NFL Gamepass. More good news, the next episode of “Building the Browns” will air on April 19th at 11:00 am eastern.
In other news, here’s my Browns only mock draft 2.0. All draft profiles come from .http://www.thedraftnetwork.com.
#10 Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia. ” A three-year starter at left tackle for Georgia, Thomas enters the NFL experienced in a pro scheme and executing against the best opponents college football has to offer. As a run blocker, Thomas is outstanding and profiles as an immediate impact blocker in that regard. With that said, there is a need for growth with his footwork in pass protection to develop consistency handling speed. There may be some lowlights early on as he irons out his technique but Thomas has all the gifts needed to become a high quality left tackle in the NFL.”
# 41 Jeremy Chinn, S, Southern Illinois. “Has next level athleticism for the back end of a defense and his value in the early downs will be in a traditional Strong Safety role. Chinn’s impact in coverage is most effective when he’s given shallow areas to roam and break on the ball and he’s a potent tackler — he should be a potential 3rd-down sub-package LB who can roam in space. Chinn will need some fine tuning from a football IQ perspective as a small school prospect, but he’s got a high ceiling with time to develop.”
# 74 Devon Hamilton, IDL, The Ohio State. “Davon Hamilton is a senior from Ohio State but he has untapped potential considering he didn’t start until his final season as a Buckeye and still only played a modest amount of reps. That said, it’s easy to notice his massive frame, power and excellent mobility for his size. His run defense is stellar. Hamilton is a fast processor with a stout anchor and he quickly works through contact. He has significant room for growth as a pass rusher, but there are tools to develop and he is a powerful pocket pusher. Hamilton is best utilized as a one-tech in an even front but there is some appeal for him to situationally play three-technique as well. At a minimum, Hamilton should be a standout run defender but he has the potential to develop into much more.”
# 97 Logan Wilson, LB, Wyoming. “Wyoming linebacker Logan Wilson enters the NFL with monster production across four seasons in college, three coming as a team captain. He has the processing skills expected for such an experienced player where his key and diagnose ability shines. He’s physical, urgent and a standout tackler. While Wilson projects well to defending short zones and basic coverage drops, deeper drops and man coverage reps are missing from his tape. In addition, Wilson has good range and fluidity but the explosiveness of a true top talent at the position is lacking. Wilson has the upside of being a starting SAM or MIKE linebacker that provides quality play on the second level. At a minimum he should provide quality depth and special teams upside.”
# 115 Jabari Zuniga, EDGE, Florida. “Jabari Zuniga’s had some impressive flashes throughout his career at Florida but hasn’t been able to develop a consistent skill set during his time in college. While there are exciting moments of explosive releases out of his stance, play strength and hard-charging efforts in pursuit, he’s still an extremely raw player. His processing skills, vision and deployment of a pass rush plan are all highly inconsistent and his tightly wound frame presents other restrictions. His production against Power 5 competition compared to other games against lesser opponents brings deserving questions to the table. Zuniga has some upside because of his play strength, length and versatility, but he’s likely a rotational piece that needs to grow considerably to be more than that.”
#187 Tyrie Cleveland, WR, Florida. “True deep threat player. Cleveland is exclusively an outside guy who can really stretch the field vertically. He ran a reported sub-4.4 at The Opening as a high school recruit. At 6-foot-2, Cleveland has some long strides when running. He can really eat up cushion on players who are playing against him in off coverage, often getting “even” with them and asserting advantage when getting vertical. His route tree consists of mostly 9-route, skinny posts and bubble screens, but for what he does, he does it pretty well.”
# 244 A.J. Green, CB, Oklahoma State. “AJ displays sufficient reactive athleticism for the position. His tackling efficiency has been better on the perimeter than it has been against the run. In the passing game, while playing press man, he easily opens his hips and runs upfield with 9 routes on outside releases. In off man, his technique is sufficient. He demonstrates ideal length for the position and good foot quickness. He has a good transition at the top of the route and demonstrates good ball skills when the ball is in the air. This is and outside corner whose skill also projects well as a vice/gunner on special teams.”
This weeks mock draft is not my final but it does have some players I really want the Browns to draft. Of course Andrew Thomas is number one on my list and should be there at pick #10. I’m really impressed with Jeremy Chinn, not only because of his size, 6’3″, 219 lbs., but because he could come in on third down and play LB. And speaking of LB, Logan Wilson is a football player. I know that helps because he plays football, but he seems like a guy the Patriots or Steelers would draft. Tough and smart.
Next week I’m going to have some fun and include some trades in my mock. I’m going to have three trades in the top ten and one will include the Browns. There’s a great article on the Orange and Brown Report (@TheOBR) written by Jared Mueller (@JaredKMueller) in which he discusses potential trade downs for the Browns from pick number 10. It’s called “NFL Draft: Trade Down Values of Pick 10.” He discusses the potential trade downs for the Browns all the way down to pick 23. He also includes the draft pick compensation for the tenth pick using the Jimmy Johnson value chart, but also provides the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective chart. You can find this article in the Team News section in the middle of the page and is dated April 5th. You don’t have to be a premium member to read it, but I always encourage everyone to sign up for the premium membership. Believe me the price is worth it this time of year.
I know you’re tired of re-watching past Browns wins on NFL Gamepass, mainly because there weren’t that many wins, but you have the exciting new uniform unveil next week and then the draft the week after that. I hope everyone stays safe, stays at home, supports your locally owned businesses and as always WASH YOUR HANDS. Go Browns.