Not exactly. Peterson had an unprecedented size/speed ratio (was a freak), but was not a good receiver, and his brutal running style did not bode well for his health or longevity in the NFL.
Barkley is actually a better prospect than Peterson was. Indeed, in terms of overall production, Ebineezer Belle, David Johnson, Zeke Elliott, Karim Hunt, and others have been better than Adrian Peterson, and so is Barkley.
Any real analyst, unmoved by hyperbole, perceives and adapts to these facts.
The guy who suggested Barkley first overall repeatedly said that unless the Browns felt one particular quarterback was clearly superior, they could get at least a top three quarterback at four.
The rest of the panel kept saying that you just can't gamble on the quarterback you want being there at four. I really wish more people could comprehend english.
Tony Grossi is freaking me out lately. First, he says that Corey Coleman is on a bubble. If not for Tony's track history, I'd laugh at that. Unfortunately, Grossi isn't wrong very often. He clearly does have genuine inside sources.
Tony cites what amounts to a lack of discipline (and perhaps dedication), along with his injuries. None of us can see how deep this goes, or if it persists.
I hope he's wrong, because Coleman could be a lethal weapon, from the slot, outside, as a returner, or even at running back.
Next, Tony tells us that he thinks Joe Thomas is more likely to retire this offseason than not. Joe has back and joint issues, and recovers slowly from games, despite his (wisely) attenuated practice schedule.
This would be bad. Tony has decided that Roderick Johnson is no valid candidate in 2018, and later quotes Joe Thomas as saying that most left tackles from outside the Big Ten need a year or two on the bench before they can compete at this level.
I don't know why Roderick doesn't count here. He's about to enter his second season. He was baptized by Myles Garrett, and mentored by Big Joe.
Still, Johnson is unlikely to suddenly be very good. Tony is right that moving Shon Coleman to the left side would be disruptive, and I restate that it's foolish to expect Joel Bitonio to excel on that island.
Drango did okay there (to my amazement), but when a tight end has to help a tackle out, he can't be a downfield receiver (and he did need help sometimes). Drango is a bandaid.
In 2018, Joe's retirement could drasticly alter the Browns' draft strategy.
None of the left tackles rate a top ten pick (not that somebody won't do it or anything).
Orlando Brown Jr. is being panned for his high pad level and lack of bend, but he's 6'8"--even taller than his father.
I remember that Browns right tackle. He played "tall" as well, but when the speed guys tried to sneak around him, he stuck out his paw and drove them to the turf. If not, the guy had to take an extra-wide loop.
The bullrush didn't work either. If, by deceit, you got past his hands, he was massive enough that you lost your mojo when you hit him, and he could recover and teach you a lesson (Brown Senior felt insulted by bull-rushes).
Senior, like Junior, often had to place his hands on shoulder pads instead of inside them against the chest. Well, he was four or five inches taller than most of the guys he faced, and they deliberately got as low as they could on him.
How low do these guys think a guy can bend before he's on his knees?
No problem! Senior just pushed them face-first into the turf, or kinda tossed them aside! "Yeah you keep that leverage! There you go!"
Junior is ranked fourth, and could last til the second round. The other guys do seem to project better to the left side.
If the Browns want McGlinchey or Kolton Miller, they might have to give up one of their top two picks (and the super-running back if I'm right) and trade down to nab them lower.
Another possible sleeper is Connor Williams, who was doing great at left tackle, but suffered a season-ending injury early in 2017.
Daryl Ruiter wrote a good article about how the Browns new all-star front office and Todd Haley will give the team more credibility with free agents and other teams.
Some guys talk about Hue as a lame duck. Nah! If Hue got fired, the next Head Coach is already here.
Pat McNanoman wrote an unusually above average article on the Browns needs.
But as usual, I need to help him out anyway:
1: You can't judge wide receivers in a vacuum. For Pat, it doesn't matter who is throwing the ball. You just look at catches and yards and that's how good a receiver is period.
2: Free safety might fix itself as two rookies return, and McCourty might be used there. And for the moment I'm still leaning towards Gregg Williams' opinions over yours.
Other than that, Pat outdid himself, which is why I linked him in this time.
Bucky Brooks has my back on Saquon Barkley first overall. So does David Carr (the older bro ex-QB).
Bucky breaks him down in a scouting report. David says the Browns could still get a top three quarterback in this draft at four anyway.
I guess David doesn't see any huge differences between the quarterbacks...or maybe doesn't care. One of the names he threw out was
Anyway, David was a quarterback, and (like Jim Miller, Rich Gannon et al) hammers on the importance of a running game to help a quarterback out.
What happened to Carson Palmer after David Johnson got hurt? Prescott wasn't the same without Elliott. John Elway didn't win a Superbowl until he got Taylor.
And come to think of it, David Carr himself might never have had that running back.
Bucky does mention a few really low-yardage games for Barkley, but I'll want to figure out if he means on the ground or overall, since if Bucky is only talking about ground yards, it's meaningless.
This Adam Rank guy aint so bad. He thinks the Browns should just pay Kirk Cousins whatever it takes, and pile up even more talent around him to produce an instacontender.
He sounds a lot like me around six weeks ago, which clearly illustrates his superior intellect.
But that was before some of my real experts (and McGloughan) pumped my Cousins brakes. Cousins is probably a top ten quarterback, but definitely not a top five, and it looks like he's about to get paid like a top ONE, and I aint fallin for it.
It's not only the money, but the back end guarantees and stuff his agent will no doubt demand.
Mike Mayock agrees with Rank. Mike doesn't think any of these quarterbacks are like Carson Wentz, and does like Cousins.
Per Mayock, if the Browns get Cousins, they can add Barkley and Minkah Fitzpatrick and contend for a Division Title in 2018.
...ok it's Mayock, so I'm wavering. Well let's see how rediculous the Cousins bidding war gets. There is no such thing as "money is no object" in the NFL...Ok well there shouldn't be.
As for Mayock, he "demotes" Mayfield for exclusively off-the-field concerns. That is, how will he handle press conferences, will he out-tweet Trump, and/or stir up all sorts of unneccessary contoversey?
All of that is legit. But I bet you that if he ignored the political stuff, Mayock would rank Mayfield right about where McGloughan does.
Is Mayfield Aaron Rodgers in 2019? If he is, would you prefer Cousins...for three times the money?
Just playing Devil's Advocate here. Mayock has me undecided again, damn him.
Vinnie Lyer wrote a decent article on potential free agents for the Browns needs, but made a few screw-ups:
1: RT Shon Coleman, starting for the first time in his second NFL season, is about where Mitchell Schwartze was at the same point in his own career. He improved slowly but surely, and will continue to improve. Right tackle is not an area of need.
2: Brien Boddy-Calhoun was the best nickel corner in the NFL last season. What are you smoking, Vinnie?
3: DeShone Kizer was a much bigger disappointment than Corey Coleman. Targets are irrelevant when they don't land in the correct zip code.
However, Vinnie was really smart about the free agents he listed (how much, how old, what tier, short or long-term, etc), and also about targetting outside, and not slot, receivers.
He also came up with some left tackle options (Nate Solder becomes A-1 if Big Joe retires).
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