I want to thank the Bleacher Report for awarding the Cleveland Browns an A-minus on their selection of Corey Coleman in the first round. It goes without saying that Hue and Sashi are greatly encouraged, and will strive to keep earning high grades from you in the future!
But seriously, I was hoping for some fireworks in rounds two and three, and didn't get any. Therefore, I humbly submit to the Bleacher Report that they should give Sashi and Hue a bad grade for rounds two and three.
Please don't misunderstand me. I know that you know what you're doing. I personally would want no part of the responsibility you bear. I would never presume to question your expertise. I'm merely expressing my own uninformed opinion, for you to consider or disregard as you deem proper.
Ok it's day 3 now and Sashi has found exactly NONE of the sleepers I told him about. I'm having to look these guys up from scratch.
First, it doesn't matter what tabloid experts or even ex-GMs and scouts say, or where these players were projected. Polian, Kirwan, Brandt, etc will tell you this, even when they say "I don't understand this pick".
Each team does its own research and sets up its own board. The best ones are those least influenced by consensus. Consensus is the herd.
That's because they learn about players face to face, and might recognize things others don't.
I'm not declaring success or failure here. I have no idea, and admit it. But I am saying this: NIETHER DO YOU. Keep an open mind. Be an armchair basher later.
Thus far, I see four wide receivers drafted. I can't believe this means Pryor is gone, but could well render Hawkins trade bait. Coleman will certainly take up one spot. Hartline seems too important as a big reliable guy to dump.
They unmistakably rolled the dice on these guys after Coleman, because the math says that at least one of them, and maybe as many as three, will get cut.
One guy (bad hands) has been discussed as a potential defensive back project. The practice squad could save somebody.
Historically, the failure rates outside of the top 100 are pretty high. I think the analytics geeks put their egos aside and accepted the probability that some of these guys will fail, so:
They took three more of them, expecting one NOT to fail. They prioritized wide receiver. They tried to make sure they could have a decent corps of them entering their inaugural season.
It makes sense. It usually takes a wide receiver around two seasons before he's mastered the nuances, and often a third season before he peaks.
Wide receiver was the big weak spot on the offense, even after losing Schwartz and Mack.
They can reasonably expect Coleman to make an immediate impact and do okay as he develops. They presumably like Hawkins as a slot guy, but are troubled by his injuries. His age, while not too bad, is still another factor.
Hartline isn't waiver or trade-proof. In fact, they hope the rookies will make him expendable. But it's unlikely.
Pryor, for all his talent, is unproven, and can't be counted on (even by his biggest fan, me). Including the promising microbe Jennings, eight receivers will be fighting for spots here.
They did it on purpose.
DeValve is unmistakably a candidate for "move" tight end. The scouting report you will read if you click that link seems flawed to me.
This guy has been working against cornerbacks and small safeties. He should have enough "suddenness" to get separation from linebackers on predominantly inside vertically biased routes.
Drango is a calculated risk as a potential starter, but a good bet for depth.
Kindred is more interesting. Gil Brandt guarantees he will be a special teams demon. As a safety, he (unlike Rodney Campbellfield), is best confined to the box.
But he is a potential rookie contributor in that role as well. He's an intimidator and a human missile. He is here first and foremost to make people sorry they touched the football, and to look for him before they do.
Oh he missed some tackles? Here's a hammer. Break your collarbone with it. Done? Ok now tackle somebody JEEEEZ
Ogbah was the most gifted of the remaining defensive end/olb prospects, and I suspect that Noah Spence's history, after Johnny and Josh, influenced this pick more than it should have, because Spence is much better in terms of production.
Still, Ogbah is a freak. In subs (70% of the time), he's well suited to either DE slot, and he has the athleticism to stand up. He's strong as hell AND fast as hell.
He's raw and needs work/refinement, and he's been accused of taking plays off. Ray Horton and company clearly feel they can take care of that.
His role will be the same here as Bosa's in San Diego.
Nassib is the same kind of player, and will compete directly with Ogbah, Orchard, Mingo, and Kruger. Unlike Ogbah, Nassib is relentless. But he's less talented and needs even more work. Despite his draft position, there's a good chance he lands on the practice squad. Late edit: That's idiotic somebody would claim him forget I said it.
Nassib could also gain some weight, and actually play 3-4 LDE.
Like with the wide receivers, evidently they want to try to make sure they get DE/OLB covered in Ray's defense. This is about outside pressure in the passing game.
Cody Kessler will have the permabashers all over them, since it seems doubtful that they needed to spend that high a pick on him. But the fact that they did burn a third round pick on him definitely means that it was important to Hue (and you'll have to trust me on this: It was Hue) not to lose him.
Despite the consensus expert head-scratching over this pick, it's also quite possible that the BIA (Browns Intelligence Agency) suspected that somebody else was eyeballing him.
Without getting too deep into the weeds here, Front Office people can learn much from interviewing the player himself, and talking to his agent.
They have no reason to hide other teams interest in them. In fact, telling Hue or Sashi that the Ravens or somebody seemed excited only helps nudge the Browns into drafting them higher.
There are other ways to know, but if I told you I'd have to...never mind.
Anyway, Hue wanted this particular guy and wanted him a lot. If you are calling him an idiot, take a pill. Even the real experts who don't like the pick don't go anywhere near there.
Hue clearly values accuracy above all else. Kessler is labelled a game manager who throws ink passes and won't go deep. Timid.
I suspect that for Hue, this is easily fixed. Much, much easier to fix than, say, inaccuracy. In fact I don't need to channel Hue to tell you that duh.
I don't know his system or his coaches or their mandates. Don't know his team's personnel. If they lacked a deep threat, Kessler took what he could get.
The scouting report I linked listed other issues; the throwing on the move one often can't be fixed, but...see "Tom Brady".
I know what I don't know. I'll start picking on Hue after a couple years if...Kessler has been released he was drafted at the bottom of the third round for crying out loud gimme a break.
Oh holy crap Scooby Wright in the seventh round are you kidding me?
This guy is EXCELLENT! He slid a lot because he was banged up in 2015 and is pretty slow (4.86). But he makes up for it with aggressiveness and instincts.
Listen to me: Some guys can just feel what's coming and start moving before everybody else, and Wright is one of these rare (and underestimated) individuals. Being a fraction of a second slower than you should be doesn't matter when you've taken your first step before anybody else has moved.
He's also dinged for his size (6', 239). He can get trampled at the point of attack.
Scooby is a run-and-hit guy that you don't want messing with offensive linemen, but there is a definite and valuable role for him in a Horton defense.
This guy doesn't just chase people down and tackle them from behind. He blows things up in the backfield and gets sacks. He plays downhill as much as he can. He's an inspirational ball of energy and a born leader.
If I sound overly excited by this pick it's because I am. This guy would be a good pick in the third round, but in the seventh could be the steal of the draft. He will challenge for playing time immediately and probably be a big special teamer.
Overall it's way way wayyy too soon to judge this draft, but just going by the numbers (I forgot Shon Coleman who, despite not spelling his name right, will immediately fight for the start at right tackle), some reasonable predictions can be made:
Wide receiver and outside passrusher will have upgraded talent and actually too much depth.
Special teams might not be better, but shouldn't be worse.
Trade bait has been created.
Inside linebacker should be fine.
No opinion on the new cornerback. Just don't know. But he's 5'9" so we got more nickel corners than we know what to do with.
I forgot Wisconsin linebacker Joe Shobert (thanks Mary Kay)! Big huge omission on my part!
Joe is too small to be a great 3-4 outside linebacker, but looks just fine on the inside. He's called the best "block-shredder" in this class and is rated near the top as a passrusher.
While some regarded him as a special teamer and backup, that just doesn't make any sense.
Wow! Along with Scooby Wright, the Browns now have four really good players competing to start at two inside spots.
Something else that's very significant about Joe and Scooby: They're both very good blitzers. In fact every single defensive player taken by the Browns in this draft rate very high as passrushers.
That's Ray Horton. You never know where it's coming from. You just know it's coming.
Sorry I missed Joe. Backup my foot.
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