As most of us now know, it's about 90% certain that the Browns will draft a quarterback first. Recent comments by the staff about Manziel seem to open the door a crack, but that's exactly what I would do, even if I had already decided to replace him.
I'm not alone in thinking that, but might be alone about his on the field performance. Other "analysts" seem to be governed by emotion as they just have to close sentences about his off the field issues with "...hasn't done much on the field, either".
Compare his statistics to Josh McCown's. Remember he was basically a rookie, at the lowest end of a steep growth curve. Be fair: He looked terrific, in context.
The current PR from Haslam and the new front office will get quarterback-hungry teams to actually dig up Manziel's game tape and study them. Unlike local pundits, they will see a lot more good stuff than bad stuff, and the Browns know it.
And I can't disallow the possibility that just conceivably Manziel could be retained! Not that they wouldn't draft a quarterback first anyway.
As it is, Manziel has little value, and yet the talent to embarrass the new front office, should they dump him. His retention, in and of itself, is a tacit endorsement which would increase his trade value by one round.
Everything he did on the field in pre-season would be predictably great, and now we're talking some real value!
Go ahead and draft Goff or Wentz. Now, if Johnny has behaved, he can start, and kick butt, while the new kid incubates.
Those of you who think Johnny's partying in the off-season with other professional athletes is the same as skipping a concussion treatment to party in Vegas while his team plays it's last game are way overboard.
The aforementioned, and his unavailability to Mike Pettine, are legitimate concerns, but there is more to that story too:
If I were Johnny Manziel and was called on the carpet for partying on my bye week, I wouldn't have lied about it. I would have said "Yeah. So what?"
But Johnny did lie, and got suspended. He was probably enraged over being treated like a child in the first place, and now humiliated, and he probably hated Mike Pettine's petticoated old lady guts.
Anyway, don't close that door all the way yet.
Now at the Senior Bowl practices Wentz impressed everybody. Notably, he threw with "great" anticipation, and made a great impression (showing leadership) on scouts, coaches, and players. At this point, he looks good for second overall (if it's not Goff).
But what about the other picks, atop the other rounds? There were guys at the Senior Bowl who could be there.
Braxton Miller was just too damn good to make it that far any more. Scouts say he ran sharp routes, and the whole route tree. I'm sure a lot of NFL GMs are shocked and amazed that Miller made the transition in one year (the consensus seems to be that it takes three or four years and rarely succeeds).
But if too many people are still too dumb to accept the obvious at face value, there's a remote chance that the next Antonio Brown could be there atop the second round.
As I've proven ad nauseam, wide receiver will not be a need for this team, but Miller is a rare bird, and would certainly be best available.
Miller could line up anywhere at any time, including at running back. That kind of versatility lets a coach get more of his best players on the field at the same time, more often.
Another potential second round guy is Noah Spence, who was basically the top passrusher in college last season. He's an outside linebacker who would fit Ray Horton's scheme perfectly. He's lined up everywhere, erect and down, and is viable in coverage.
Spence is 6'3", 253 lbs. Nobody should compare him to Nate Orchard, who is more a Kruger type. He's more like Scott Solomon, except more explosive and better in coverage. He's a prototype 3-4 OLB.
Unlike Johnny Manziel, Spence really was an addict (ecstasy), and a failed drug test at Ohio State got him permanently banned from the Big Ten. He went to rehab, and Urban Meier helped him get on with Eastern Kentucky. Noah wanted to rehabilitate his image by playing one more year while staying clean.
Without this in his record, he's a top fifteen talent. He's embarrassed everybody at the Senior Bowl and impressed in interviews.
Noah Spence could well be off the board for the Browns, but isn't the long shot Braxton Miller is. Passrushing is not exactly a need (see earlier entries) but could use a certain upgrade/insurance. Spence would be a safe pick with a high floor, and has a higher ceiling than Nate Orchard.
You'll hear about Carl Nassib, who is terrific but doesn't fit this scheme.
Cody Whitehair was maybe the top offensive line performer at the Senior Bowl. He's a right tackle or a guard. He fits a zone-blocking scheme, and should last into the third or fourth round.
He's noteworthy because Mitchell Schwartze is far from a lock to stick around, and many tackles who need to play guard in a conventional blocking system are fine at right tackle in a zone scheme.
Another low round guy who kicked butt at the Senior Bowl was tight end Jerelle Adams. Adams was moved all over the place by the coaches and was uncoverable.
He's 6'4", 245. He had weak quarterbacks, and didn't rack up extraordinary numbers as a receiver. CBS Sports of course says he needs to get bigger, but PFF rates him near the top as an in-line blocker. This guy is a real old school tight end who can play H-back in the NFL too.
The Browns are fine with Gary Barnidge right now, but could use some depth and an heir apparent behind him. He's already fairly refined in every area.
CBS Sports people aren't dumb about his size. NFL defensive ends and linebackers are bigger, so 245 is a little light for in-line blocking. But obviously, he should be up to 250 or so before training camp, and his techniques are good.
CBS is probably miscasting Adams as an in-line tight end, which he might only do half the time in the NFL. He is a lot like Barnidge (except faster). By now, everybody knows that Barnidge was right under a lot of people's noses for most of his career.
Maurice Cannaday is a 6'2" 192 lb. cornerback who also kicked butt in Senior Bowl practices.
PFF rated him in the bottom half of all college cornerbacks this past season, but were the same people who rated him as the top cornerback at the Senior Bowl.
They wondered aloud whether there might be some issue with discipline or concentration.
His statistics aren't unimpressive, with a ton of passes defensed. This guy shouldn't go before the fourth round.
After Justin Gilbert, who has had issues with discipline, and might not even like playing football much, the Browns will be very careful with guys like this, but he could be a sleeper.
The Browns don't need cornerbacks, in reality. They have cornerbacks coming out their ears. It's just that, except for Desir and Gilbert (I'm excluding anybody above age 32), they're like (ahem) Buster Skrine: Small, and overmatched by skyscraper X and Y receivers.
They'll be looking for guys like Cannaday, and he has looked good against the top Seniors this week.
Jordon Jenkins is another outside linebacker who could go late.
There are only thirty three picks ahead of the Browns second round pick, so they could get get Miller or Spence.
CBS has four outside linebackers rated ahead of Spence, but most of them fit 4-3 schemes better, so if somebody else nabs him, it will probably be a 3-4 or hybrid team. The Steelers and the Patriots are the biggest threats, but both teams have other needs as well.
Miller is currently rated tenth among wide receivers by CBS (behind Shepherd, who also looked very good at the Senior Bowl).
They have him going in the second or third round. I'll be checking that again, since Miller answered every question this week, and was THE biggest star of the practices.
With the cameras rolling and the recorders on, the scouts were careful, but when they thought no one was listening, it was "Wow did you see that!?"
All I can do is hope. Wentz can tear it up in the game all he wants. I hope Miller (who limped off the practice field Thursday) doesn't play or keeps limping.
Let everybody else take the "proven" "experienced" "outside" wide receivers.
At any rate, the Browns have a decent shot at landing a real stud in the second round. Miller and Spence are all that.
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