I'm skipping the first round entirely. All sorts of things could happen as targets are taken early, players slide, and trades are made.
Many evaluations of team "needs" I've heard and read are bogus. For example, Mitchell Schwartze isn't a great right tackle, but isn't a bad one either. You don't call this a "need".
Again, the wheels came off for the whole line, seemingly, when Alex Mack went down. Some kind of ripple effect seemed to make all the survivors worse. I can't explain why, aside from the possibility that Mack was exceptionally smart with his line-calls.
John Greco lost a few pounds and really surprised me at right guard. He's pretty damn good! Well...with Alex Mack he is, anyway.
However, Greco is 30, and that position could still be upgraded. In my previous blog, I gushed about how Mike Lupati would be a big upgrade (and make Greco maybe the best and most versatile backup in the NFL).
Even if the Browns landed Lupati, however, here's a guy who could possibly be there when the Browns pick in the second round:
Cameron Erving. What position does he play? Defensive tackle, left tackle, and center.
That's right. He came into college as a defensive tackle--and he was a pretty damn good one, too! He went straight from there to left tackle, and was All-American there, too. Then they moved him to center last season, and he was great there, too!
He played for Florida State in a pro-style offense. Although he's 6'5", 315, he's a genuine athlete with light feet and quickness (fits a zone/trap scheme).
He could play center, guard, or even tackle in the NFL, and that's rare. He has some rough edges, but nevertheless could be a day one starter.
He would immediately challenge Greco at right guard, or possibly even Schwartze at right tackle.
Ray Farmer has to look down the road apiece to the possibility that next time Alex Mack's contract comes up, he'll leave. He also has to cover for another disasterous injury (live and learn).
In Erving, at the very least, he adds depth all across the line, and is a probable starter somewhere in 2016. Five birds with one stone.
He's a riser, though, and might be gone. I'd spend a fourth rounder to make sure.
Tyler Croft is a "move" tight end/h-back who is ranked fifth at the position and projected to the third or fourth round. With Jordan Cameron probably destined to leave, and DeFelippo stressing the importance of that type of player, Croft could be a bargain.
He's 6'5", 246 and not at this point a good in-line blocker. This is the biggest scouting knock on him, because he's a natural reciever who finds soft spots, gets open, and doesn't drop anything.
He could go lower than he should go for three reasons: 1: I can find no combine numbers on him, and think that for some reason he didn't do the drills. (Unfortunately, he probably will at a Pro Day).
2: In 2013 he led Rutgers in recieving with 43 catches for 573 yards and four touchdowns. In 2014 there was a change at quarterback (for the worse) and he only caught 24 for 269 yards.
3: Again, he's not a good in-line blocker. Some teams won't want him for this reason, but we know that DeFelippo and the Browns are not on that list. They already have two blocking tight ends (who can catch), and just need another Cameron-type.
I was pleased to hear DeFelippo talk about using the running backs more as pass-recievers. As blocking fullbacks are to Tony Grossi, pass-catching running backs are to me.
Whenever a running back has no one to block--or by design sometimes when he does--he should go out for a pass. A defense can try to mirror a back, or else send passrushers to keep him in the backfield, but it's just about impossible to pick him up in coverage as he crosses the line at full speed.
You can't jam that. He'll run you over or go around you. You can't let him get behind you, so you've got to give him a cushion.
If the huddle breaks and he goes to the slot, you have to take somebody out of the box to try to cover him--spreading the run-stoppers out for the other back.
A running back can also be a blitze-burner. Rather than block the blitzer, he "chips" him to slow him down, but keeps going into the empty zone the blitzer left.
While I have the impression that DeFelippo wants to run a base two-tight ("12") set, pass-catching running backs give an offense the option to run a two-back 21, or even occasionally an elephant "22" set with two backs and two tight ends.
The Browns might be able to land a "scat-back" in this draft, but that's not a need in this offense. Nor is a blocking fullback who can't catch.
Croft would do fine.
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