The more interesting (to me) of the two VP Personnel interviews the Browns just conducted is Lionel Vital. Literally every organization he has worked for has been very successful in the draft. He started out under Bill Belichick. Hate the guy all you want (I don't get that btw), but he's one of the best personnel guys in the business. I love his time under Ozzie Newsome as well.
Of course, I've known incompetent officers who retire as Captains and have to become Congressmen, so this doesn't necessarily mean that Vital is a genius or anything.
Going in his favor is the fact that he's held high positions on excellent staffs, and was always in demand. He might have bounced around on purpose, as other organizations offered him more money. I don't know.
Vital sounds pretty good to me though, in this position, in this organization, with DePodesta and Hue Jackson.
Terrelle Watson, who Hue Jackson probably had a lot to do with acquiring from the Bengals, is interesting. As a running back, he's nothing special, except probably on the goal line, but he has the physical dimensions of a super fast fullback. He could be tried there with the Browns.
He's a good receiver out of the backfield, and would work well as a runner on a zone-blocking team, but isn't here to challenge Crowell. He has a great chance to make the final roster, and if somebody gets hurt or needs a break, he can run some people over and move some chains. He's also here to help the other guys adapt to Hue's scheme.
Carson Wentz is stuck in my head now. Mike Mayock is badly outnumbered by people who rate Jared Goff higher, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. And as I've said about Mayock, he's the best when in comes to quarterbacks.
He's better than Phil Simms, who puts way too much weight on arm strength, how the ball looks leaving the hand, and fiery personalities.
Mayock has been studying quarterbacks with a critical eye for a long time, including his time as an NFL defensive back. The thing these players look for the most is mental mistakes.
As a safety, Mayock wanted to know how quickly a quarterback could progress through reads, or if he often got past his second read. Then, he wanted to know if he was a "Check down Charlie), or afraid to risk long passes. Then, he wanted to see if he locked onto receivers, or looked away from his real target before throwing. If he pump-faked. If he favored one guy too much, or one area of the field, or could throw to his left scrambling right or vice-versa.
Solomon Wilcotts is an analyst and commentator, but he's another guy I listen to about quarterbacks.
Mayock likes Wentz more than he likes Goff. If this were Phil Simms, I'd assume it's because he can throw harder, but because it's Mayock, I must pay attention. Clearly, Mayock isn't overly concerned about his reported tendency to lock onto receivers, or other criticisms I've heard just about everywhere else.
What if he's right, and the Browns agree?
Well, Goff will probably remain the popular pick, probably including with the Browns. But if it's close, the Browns will make no effort to trade up.
In fact, as we've all heard, Sashi Brown scoffed at the idea of trading up, and said that trading down would be more likely.
Always take anything these guys say with a grain of salt, of course, but he might have meant it. And it never hurts to advertise.
Taking a leap here, and assuming the questionable premise "Wentz=Goff", the Browns might trade down (sorry Tony).
It depends. The Panthers won't draft a quarterback, and if they stand pat, the Browns could safely move down one slot, since both quarterbacks are still there. If the Panthers trade down themselves, it's still possible that the other team would draft Bosa, or be dumb enough to draft a tackle.
But trading down is unlikely if the Browns see Goff or Wentz as the only two options. It could only be one slot, and the Chargers won't be motivated to do that dance.
But what if they decide Paxton Lynch will work?
Well, I'm getting in the weeds here. Lynch has huge talent, but is a huge risk. This is unlikely.
Based on what little I can get from the Senior Bowl, Carson Wentz threw with anticipation well in drills, and "looked good".
I'll be extremely interested in what Mike Mayock says about this kid after the Senior Bowl itself, because he's right there covering it as an analyst.
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