I can see why the Browns would like to sign Mychal Kendricks, but not why (aside from money) he would opt for the Browns over the Raiders.
Forget about roster talent: Kendricks wants an opportunity to play more, and the Raiders have holes at linebacker that the Browns don't.
Kendricks could maybe beat out Chris Kirksey here, but you need to stop dissing Denard Avery based solely on where he was drafted; he'll be an immediate top contender for playing time in 2018.
And the report of a one year deal looked wrong to me as well. The guy is 28; if you sign a "prove it" deal, you sign where you are confident you will start. You can't prove a damn thing collecting splinters.
And anyway, at that age, Kendricks wants the security of a longer-term deal. 29 is not a good age to enter free agency.
I'm not counting Kendricks out here, but my money is on the Raiders.
Joe Gilbert (WFNY) did another great "Film Room" article on Austin Corbett's prospects at left tackle.
I do have to stipulate that Joe mainly used film from one game (vs Northwestern), so this is a small sample size.
No knock on Joe: He's a columnist, not a scout: He just made his argument, and cobbled together some snippets to illustrate what he's talking about. I always find Joe's Film Rooms informative and educational.
Anyway, you can see a lot of reasons why Dorsey drafted Corbett over more physically-gifted candidates.
Corbett is highly refined and very intelligent. He takes small steps, and never leans or lunges. His hands (punch) are exceptional. He spots outside-in stunts instantly (that's unusual).
Joe Gilbert didn't mention this, but I will:
With these quarterbacks (I mean Taylor and Mayfield in the real world), and these running backs, Todd Haley won't do what Hue Fisher did in 2017.
Todd will run more zone-blocking, with more run-pass options, read-options, rollouts, etc.
All of these help the left tackle out.
Nobody is going to replace Joe Thomas (but Big Joe has volunteered his time to coach up his potential replacements how cool is that!?!)
Haley (not Hue but Haley) can mitigate the damage losing Thomas will cause.
Understand that defenders can't read pass from run as quickly vs zone-blocking. It "looks" the same. And zone fits hand-in-glove with run-pass options, zone reads, and rollouts.
Pass-catching tight ends who aren't good in-line blockers are more effective blockers in space, and zone-blocking schemes help them prosper. They get to chip and then hit guys their own size or smaller.
Fells is an elite in-line blocking tight end, but is also lethal in space, for that matter, but I digress:
Austin Corbett and Shon Coleman are the top left tackle contenders in my book. Moving Joel Bitonio there is a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency move which would blow interior line chemistry out of the water.
Niether could replace Joe Thomas in a Hue Palmer offense, but under Dorsey, the new left tackle won't be "on an island" nearly as often.
Austin Corbett has a good shot at left tackle in 2018...and of being above average too.
THIS JUST IN: Looks like they signed Kendricks (one year/3.5 mil) after all (and he's only 27 my bad).
Evidently Kirksey is on the spot. Kendricks is bigger, better in coverage, and faster too.
Kirksey is signed through 2021 (for a lot more money), and he's probably already on the trading block.
I'm kind of amazed that Mychal Kendricks came this cheap...it explains the one-year deal. He intends to negotiate his next contract on the field in 2018.
His previous contract approximated Christian Kirksey's current one.
Wow.
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