Does Baker Mayfield need a mentor? No.
Terry Pluto didn't get the memo about Baker Mayfield's accuracy or the evolution of the NFL passing game. Terry thinks the Browns need a skyscraper wide receiver.
Don't get me wrong, now! A Julio Jones (or Josh Gordon) type is great to have for any quarterback. But with the referees handcuffing defensive backs today, smaller guys are having great success.
Also, accurate quarterbacks do well with or without a skyscraper.
Also, screw the labels: Njoku and DeValve count here.
Also, Higgins and Ratley are 6'1". Perriman is 6'2". Willies (who does still exist, Oblivia) is 6'3".
I wouldn't mind John Dorsey signing the 6'4" Tyrell Williams (if he's affordable), but Terry used the word "need". Baker Mayfield does not need a skyscraper.
Terry's readers' comments echoed this "who can Dorsey get" (at wide receiver) crap.
We really, really need to teach critical thinking in gradeschools (won't happen in Amerika).
Jeff Risdon is clueless about the Cleveland Browns, but here lists six players not invited to the combine who could prove out as good NFL players.
I was especially interested in EDGE Malik Reed and linebacker Ulysees Gilbert.
Jeff compares Reed to Genard Avery. Not really. Reed is slightly taller, and much lighter (not nearly as strong). He's only around 235 lbs., so he's a linebacker or nothing.
Jeff thinks he could go in the top 100, and might be right, as edge-rushers are hard to come by, and this draft is especially weak in that department.
Dorsey might draft him in the 4th round or lower, but not in the top 100. Malik could back up Avery situationally, be an immediate special teams asset, and possibly mature into a real linebacker over time.
Gilbert is a lot more interesting, because he looks like a safety/linebacker hybrid. He excels in coverage, is very fast, and covers a lot of ground.
Gilbert played for the Akron Zips and is 6'1", 227 lbs., so you can see why he fell through the cracks.
Gregg Williams would have been all over this guy, but I don't know if Wilks needs that "safetybacker" like Gregg did.
But Gilbert can carry more weight and has the right instincts. He might grow into a strong safety or a linebacker in time, but for sure, he would be a special teams star out of the gate.
Here are PFF's list of the top ten 2019 free agent linebackers. I personally want Hicks, Mosely, or Barr (almost in that order; "almost" because losing Mosely would hurt the Ravens).
Too bad their current teams and the rest of the NFL get a vote.
John Dorsey is one guy who could land one of these "big ones", (without massively overpaying), however.
Next are KJ Wright and Kwon Alexander, who are still young and have had some ups and downs. I bet John Dorsey reels in one of these five guys.
Dan Justik thinks the Browns would be wise to trade for 36 year old left tackle Donald Penn.
My kneejerk response to this was "hell no!", but, as he often does, Dan made me think about it.
Penn is no doubt in a fighting retreat from father time, but is still a very good player.
This is 2019. As I wrote in my last post, John Dorsey is out to win the AFC North (and more) this season. While in 2018, he wouldn't even think about coughing up draft assets for geezers, he has to consider it now.
I will channel kindred spirit Paul DePodesta here:
1: Your team is already loaded with young talent. Odds are, at least half your 2019 draft picks will not be with the team after training camp 2020.
2: You are in "win now" mode. You are not rebuilding.
3: Therefore, it is time to spend some petty cash and lower-round draft picks on quality veterans approaching their expiration dates.
These are (inexpensive) veterans who can step right in to contribute, and also provide leadership to, and help develop, your young roster.
4: Most of your geezer rentals will be gone in 2020, but they will have won you an extra game or two, and what they passed on to your younger players will remain with them.
Penn would help Desmond Harrison develop...
Dan ass umes that Penn will be better than both Harrison and Robinson (ass uming facts not in evidence). But then, Penn's less than 8 mil cap-hit weighs in here, and DePodesta would tell you:
Robinson is not elite. Harrison is an "experiment" that we are cautiously optimistic about. Hubbard improved, but niether he nor Robinson are "money in the bank".
These are veterans, and not ascending players. We can't count on them.
Donald Penn is still an upper-echelon left tackle. He is insurance.
Either he beats a younger guy out and starts, or he becomes the best swing-tackle in the NFL. He significantly upgrades offensive tackle (no matter what), and helps the younger guys develop.
Of course, how much would Penn "cost"?
If I were Dorsey, I would try to get rid of my lowest picks for Penn, but more realistically my fourth rounder and my sixth...
Rufio strikes again! Like everybody else, Rufio kinda lags behind me (blush-blush), but catches up eventually (in his case without reading and regurgitating my posts here).
It's not rocket science: If you have a mediocre quarterback, you need exceptional wide receivers. If you have a stud quarterback, you don't.
Rufio is way ahead of Cabbott, Pluto, Grossi etc here...DUH, right?
Rufio also points out that today's dominant pass-catching tight ends were generally drafted low. He doesn't offer an explanation for this. He just asks a bunch of "is it because" questions, and leaves it to his readers to figure out.
Fodder for a later post.
Rufio then says that sometimes it takes defensive players time to develop.
Rufio should have left that part out, but then, this is Cleveland. The suburbs include Myopia and Oblivia, and 25% of the population are Memorex Morons.
It's the same for offensive players. It applies to Corbett and Ratley. Defensively, Chad Thomas has already gone down the terlet in many alleged minds, right behind Ogbah.
But I can't pick on Rufio for pointing out the obvious, since, well...the obvious needs to be pointed out here, right?
Thomas Moore disappointed me by implicitly endorsing the mock draft of the biggest wide receiver in this draft (Metcalf) to the Browns at 17th overall.
Metcalf is "raw, but has potential".
Tom: Are you out of your gdam mind!?!
Yes. Tom is out of his mind. Like Pluto, HE thinks that Baker Mayfield desperately needs a receiver he can throw the ball up for grabs to.
You people: I am the smartest Browns analyst alive. You need to accept this reality.
The Browns don't need a project offensive tackle or wide receiver at 17th overall. Baker Mayfield, Freddie Kitchens, and Todd Monken don't need that...
Nevermind just skip everybody else and check with me in re the Browns from now on. A bunch of the other guys are stealing from this Blog as is.
Jeez Tom you broke my heart...eat my dust.
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