I admit to never having heard of the Browns undrafted free agents (or half the draft picks). I lack the time and software to dig into them all, but fortunately I have help.
Thomas Moore (Fansided) alerted me to four of them to keep an eye on. Thomas is really good at building in quotes from smart people on these guys, rather than just being opinionated like me.
Craddock is a kicker, and I can't get too excited about him, but since he is a very good kicker, he has a real shot.
Mike Matthews' reviews are confusing. Tom does us the favor of saying that he is expected to be a backup.
It would be nice to have a Matthews on the roster again. Mike didn't inherit all the great genetic stuff physically, but we can safely assume that he's a brain and that his technique is already perfect.
It's unfortunate that he's only 6'2" without extra-long arms. Centers with longer arms are very desirable, since the farther he can stretch his right hand out to grip the ball, the farther away the entire offensive line can set up from the defensive line.
I hope he makes the cut, though, because not only Erving, but the other young guys, can learn a lot from this guy.
And because he's a Matthews, he really could be a sleeper.
Tight end J.P. Holtz could definitely be a sleeper. His college scheme required him to block a lot, but Tom (and those he quotes) describe him as a very good receiver too.
This should sound familiar, since Gary Barnidge was always a good receiver. In his case, it wasn't only his scheme, but the fact that he played behind high draft picks.
Holtz has a great chance of sticking around, since he is already a good in-line blocker. Barnidge and the wr/te just drafted are not. (In fairness, Barnidge is competent, but you don't waste him like that when you lack wide receivers).
Stample is a great inside run-stuffer well-suited to play nose tackle in a conventional 3-4.
Thomas seems to see more of a need for more of these guys than I do on this defense, though. Still, aside from the fact that Lawrence-Stample is a compact 6'1", his description matches that of John Hughes, who is older, under contract, and tradeable.
Among the draftees, Ricardo James is a potential sleeper. CBS Sports (probably Rang--that's the link) bottom lined him as a backup or big slot guy, but I can't fathom why.
He dropped a lot of passes, which of course is a huge red flag (especially for me). I wouldn't have touched this guy before the fourth round.
The drops are the big drawback. We have experienced Greg Little and Braylon Edwards here, so we bristle when we see that.
But I'm a geezer, so I remember that Jerry Rice dropped passes in college and as a rookie before doing what he did (btw also clocking over 4.6 in the 40).
Locally, I remember Webster Slaughter. He had a vision issue which messed up his depth perception. He dropped passes, until this was corrected. Then he became mister reliable.
Tim Couch's go-to guy (not going to look up his name here) was a converted quarterback who wore out the jugs machines practicing one-handed.
Girl Brandt said "You can coach hands. You can't coach tall, or fast".
Ricardo is blistering fast, big, and strong. He gets open, and he's lethal after the catch. If the Browns coaches can fix his stone hands, he's a stud, period. I mean a number one receiver.
Fortunately, the current regime is necessarily patient. I know that the vast majority of fans with 3 digit IQ's are as well (no offense to the rest of you honest).
The damned Steelers just reloaded, and could even be the top AFC Superbowl contenders now.
The cornerback they drafted high last season and lost to injury will return to health, and now they've added a corner/safety hybrid and another cornerback...along with a really disruptive pia interior defensive lineman dammit.
Now they get that damn running back with the funny name back too. Miller retires ok-they nabbed a tight end who's even BETTER oh god make it stop...
They're going to cut through the NFL like a hot knife through butter.
The Browns could knock off the perennially overrated Ravens once or twice, and outcoach the Bengals once if the stars align, but .500?
Grow up. Hue will spew but this is a rebuilding season, period.
Oh make no mistake: RG3 did what RG3 did, Hue Jackson is Hue Jackson, the defense was already very talented, and...ok but Steelers/Bengals not just yet.
You will get this part: The 16 Browns might win enough games to make absolutely sure that they can't get the number one pick no matter what. Even Black Cloud can see that.
But I cherish some hope for RG3 or Kessler.
Another article asked if running back is ok. It sort of made fun of Hue Jackson gushing over Crowell and Johnson. It pointed out that Crowell's average is now 3.8 ypc, behind an elite offensive line.
I must repeat myself here: The modified blocking scheme and run-left-only idiocy for most of last season got Crowell torpedoed and buried under mountains of defensive flesh for the majority of last season.
I have no access to these statistics here, but I'll bet if you isolate the last four games of 2015, Crowell probably averaged over 5 ypc, the bulk of it running to the strong side.
They didn't use a fullback and the blocking tight ends sucked. The team was pass-oriented because it was constantly coming from behind, and Crowell rarely had the chance to wear defenses down.
The underestimation of Isaiah Crowell is shallow and lazy and just plain dumb.
Hue MEANT what he said! Crowell and Johnson ARE more talented than the duo he had in Cincinnati!
Stop thinking Hue Jackson is a little kid, or a liar.
The Browns just added a lot of talent at wide receiver, tight end, linebacker, and defensive line. And safety. And offensive line.
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