Underrated Cleveland Browns

1: Ibraheim Campbell.  Primarily used as an in-the-box (strong) safety in college, he sort of got "typecast" that way by many amateur scouts.
He did much to break out of that box at the Senior Bowl, as he excelled in covering college football's top senior recievers, then in workouts.

The workout numbers show not just excellent safety speed, but explosiveness and mobility; that is the physical tools to cover well.

At some point, Donte Whitner has to retire.  We can hope and pray that Gipson can be re-signed.  But down the road, Campbell probably not only starts, but becomes an elite safety.  Yeah.  I said it.

2: Taylor Gabriel.  He's earned some reluctant, grudging respect, but not enough.  He's a shrimp like Hawk and Benjamin, but is much stronger physically.  He's made of baling wire.

I keep comparing him to Steve Smith.  That's partly why.  The other part is his attitude and determination.

A recent analysis gave credit to Hawkins and Gabriel, saying that they would be solid contributors and make some big plays, but would never be elite recievers.

In the case of Gabriel, that comes up short.  Last season, he was an undrafted rookie, learning his job like every rookie has to.  Yet from game one, he got open and caught everything thrown to him.

In his second season, he'll make a "jump", as most players do from year one to year two.  He started out on a par with Andrew Hawkins.  

3: Justin Gilbert.  Short and sweet: While many questioned drafting a cornerback instead of a wide reciever that high, few questioned that Gilbert had the kind of talent to warrant that pick.

He was a rookie last season, and he's a cornerback--not a quarterback.  I recently read that Manziel and Gilbert were fighting for their careers.  Wow.

He still has all that talent.  He's been working out with Joe Haden.  He's got his act together.  Like Gabriel, he's jumping from year one to year two.  What he's really fighting for is to START opposite Joe, and he has a decent chance to do it.

3: John Greco.  Pro Football Focus ranked him eighth overall among 64 NFL guards, and he's 30.  Need I say more?

4: Brian Hartline.  He had a so-so year last season as the Dolphins phased in younger, faster players, but he's still only 28.

While last season he only averaged 12.2 yards per-catch, in 2013 and 2014, he averaged 14.6 and 13.4 respectively, caught for a thousand yards in both seasons, with over 70 receptions each year.

Did I mention he's only 28?

5: Rob Housler.  Coaches matter.  Scheme matters.  Housler can block, but is more of a fast pass-catching tight end who can play H-back as well, and since Bruce Ariens installed his offensive system, there hasn't been much room for him.

Despite this, in 2014 Housler averaged 14.3 yards per-catch on 27 catches.  This was his fourth season in the NFL, and by a significant margin his highest figure.

The 2015 Browns offense will seek to use a pass-catching tight end a lot more than Ariens does, and Housler is physically a Cameron Jordan.

6: Barkevious Mingo.  We now know that Mingo played last season with one arm due to injury.  He was nevertheless on the field a lot, because he has rare ability in coverage.  As a passrusher, he wasn't sent a lot, but offenses had to respect him as a threat.

That was his second season.  He was less than impressive in his first season, but this was partly because he was splitting time between rushing and covering from the beginning.  He did get aimed at and steamrolled on runs, too.

The consensus is he needs to get bigger, but he's just got one of those metabolisms that make that difficult.

Still, I heard that Jason Taylor's listed weight was a lie, and that he never played at over 230 lbs in his career.  I heard this in a conversation between a defensive and offensive lineman.

Mingo reminds many of them of Taylor.

This season, he has both arms.  He is underrated because last season should be tossed out the window, because he has never been used like a conventional 3-4 OLB, and because coverage is also a valuable skill.

If you have an outside linebacker who can stifle a "move" tight end, it's a major asset.  Most 3-4 outside linebackers can only cover in a zone, and don't even try to run with these guys.  In many cases, a safety has to move outside.

7: Xavier Cooper.  Like Gabriel, he gets like-pulling-teeth respect, but not enough.  Does anybody remember Micheal Dean Perry?

This guy is like him.  Seriously. Micheal might have been a tad faster in pursuit, but Coop is stronger, and the first step and punch are eerily similar.  Just stay tuned.

8: Josh McCown.  That's right.  I'm not saying he's a superstar, just that he's a solid journeyman who can manage an offense.  He's not even getting that much respect.

Quarterbacks don't operate in a vacuum.  Everybody talks about the recievers he had in Tampa, but you can't throw from a prone position.

As usual, analysts stick with the negative, like his career stats.  Last season, while getting the snot beat out of him, he completed 56.3 % of his passes over 11 games.
The year prior in Chicago, he has time to throw and completed 66.5% for an 8.2 yard average over five games.

That's about the structure of his stats: One part good teams, two parts bad teams, throughout his career.  If you just take career stats without any context, you are not an analyst.

In 2 starts in 2011 with the Bears, his stats were roughly similar.

One analyst, when asked if we'll get the Bearss McCown or the Bucs McCown said "somewhere in between".  Chicken!

Do you think that this offensive line can somehow manage to protect the quarterback?  Are you aware that McCown is a past-master of the art of the hand-off, the pitch-out, and the toss-sweep?  (no really--it's true!)

This will be about 75% of his job here.  Does anybody else besides Flip and Pett get that?

And don't dwell on the recievers either.  Sure, both Tampa and da Bearss had a superior crew of wide-outs.  But as we saw, the offensive line was more important.

Josh McCown will never see a Pro Bowl or anything, but he's fully capable of winning a lot with this team--including against tough defenses.  If those defenses can't out-smashmouth this offensive line, they're in for some long days--as are their quarterbacks.

9: Scott Solomon.  Solomon was a true linebacker in college--not a lineman.  His physical tools are unspectacular, but he had a foot injury late in his college career, and wasn't 100% for his combine workouts.

He has great football intelligence and instincts, and has gotten a lot stronger (and maybe a little faster) now that his foot is okay.

Aside from a spot-appearance in week 6 (3 tackles), he only played in two games at the end of the 2014 season, and I myself totally missed him.

Seven tackles and one sack don't look impressive on paper, but they are for a 3-4 OLB who rotates in and out.  Nor does the one sack accurately reflect the rushed throws he forced, and some of his tackles were for losses.

I already listed Mingo, and of course they drafted Nate Orchard, who should be a force, so it's hard to project great things for Solomon.  However, he can take on blocks and play inside as well.

This is great!  I have to get into the backups for this list!

10: Billy Winn.  He was playing hurt much of last season.  Prior years more accurately show what he can do.  Winn could start for most teams, but here will be a rotational player on a defensive line that just added Randy Starks and Xavier Cooper, and will use John Hughes on run-downs.

This list could go on to include Connor Shaw, one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football history.  Everything but the arm.  Like Montana.

I could list a bunch more, and even include Manziel, who's been pre-declared a bust after two starts as a rookie.

It's the Browns, you see.  MOST of these players are underrated.