As were Kush and Lamm, Witzmann has been below average as a run-blocker (in Witzmann's case) ok as a pass-protector.
Witzmann is a little different because he's a 6'7+" skyscraper who could potentially fill in at right tackle as well as either guard spot.
John Dorsey is "overloading" on veteran free agents journeyman offensive linemen. As far as I know, none of these guys (Kush/Lamm/Witzmann) qualify for practice squads, and they all know that at least one of them won't make it in Cleveland.
Rodney Harrisonfield qualifies for the Practice Squad, but unless he starts the season on it, he has to survive waivers unclaimed first, and I think he has an excellent chance of being one of the seven or eight offensive linemen on the final roster.
Harrison is a pure tackle, and a superior athlete with Joe Thomas-like physical tools. He's taller than Big Joe (to his disadvantage), but can move around like he does.
With Greg Williams the nominal starter at Left Tackle, James Campen might already have Harrison working at right tackle.
You get this, right? (sigh) ok:
1: In today's NFL, defenses routinely seek to overmatch right tackles with quick/fast edge-rushers. On passing downs, the athletic gap between Left and Right Tackles is much narrower.
2: It's still a lot easier to find guards than tackles.
3: Harrison was under 300 lbs as a rookie, but he remains 6'7". Assuming he has followed orders, (I admit, a leap of faith, given his history), he really should come back to training camp at at last 315, and significantly stronger.
Harrison got "jacked up" by bullrushers getting inside and under his pads in pass-pro, and "lunged" too much as a run-blocker too. He wasn't really ready for the NFL.
I'm not about to pile more dirt on Hue Jackson over making Harrison the starter at the last moment (since Greg Robinson wasn't available, and Joel Bitonio BELONGED at LG anyway, and Bob Wylie had a vote), but Desmond Harrison 2.0 can reasonably be expected to be an "upgrade" over 1.0 D O Y E E...
Anyway Harrison might have sucked as a rookie starter at LEFT tackle, but he has all that experience now, and Campen has to want to KEEP him, because
1: Short-term, he's a better athlete than most of the starting LEFT tackles in the NFL (let alone this Draft class), and he has 8(?)games worth of starting experience there.
The transition from left to right (and vice-vesa) is very difficult (opposite foot and hand-work, etc), but here Harrison has a full offseason to focus on that.
If I'm right, Campen will want him to be THE "swing-tackle" in 2019 because
2: Harrison is still "raw" and needs more polishing; there's no reason to push him ahead of Greg Robinson right now...but challenging Hubbard is a different matter.
3: Long-term, when Desmond Harrison enters his third season in 2020, he has the potential to be one of the best LEFT Tackles in the NFL.
The Draft could change this, but for now I think Kush and Desmond Harrison will be on the active roster in game 1.
Gee I apologize for going so deep into non-fantasy players and boring you to death🖕 with mere blockers and depth players excuse the hell outta ME!
🖕🖕🖕(
Andrew Gribble does a better job of filtering out idiotic questions than MKC does, and keeps surprising me with his deeper, more insightful responses:
What would it take for the Browns to trade into the 1st round from 17th in the second round?
My own response would be brief and blunt, but Andrew's reply, as it often does, made me reconsider:
Gribble compares the more recent Harvard trade value chart to the old Jimmy Johnson chart, and implies that it's a lot less expensive to move up in the draft than it used to be.
On this planet, the (real) expert consensus that the 2019 Browns are the favorites to win the AFC North and Superbowl contenders is accurate.
This is partly because the overall roster is stacked with talent.
I said this long before Dorsey pulled off the OBJ Trade:
Dorsey had too many draft picks, and if he didn't trade up (or into 2020 or beyond), his 4th-round and lower players might ALL get waived, so he should trade up or into the future.
NOW, Dorsey has already built an elite defensive line and nailed down a top 3 wide receiver!
...you guys who read this Blog know that OBJ was unneccessary (but acceptable for the price). You know that Zietler was on the block...
Anyway, now he has no first round pick, but his roster has no legitimate "needs" on offense or defense. His Browns as-is are ranked in the top ten in power-rankings, as favorites to win the AFC North, and as Superbowl contenders.
Sorry to keep hammering that, but a lot of you people have Stockholm Syndrome, and I'm not physically close enough to you to slap you awake.
Anyway, John Dorsey might move up in this 2019 draft.
But (correction intended) probably NOT for a cornerback to replace Rodney Mitchellfield, who broke his forearm, and returned shortly-- dammit what is WRONG with you people!?! You want to replace Mitchell as a health-risk off THAT injury!?!
Not that a THIRD stud press/man corner would hurt, but oh HELL no Dorsey won't trade up for one of those, especially with Steve Wilks (see numerous earlier posts) taking over for Gregg Williams.
WEAKSIDE linebacker and safety are the REAL priorities here.
...not that Dorsey won't move up for a stud, regardless of "need" or position.
...but he does need to move up or into the future to max out his remaining draft picks in this 2019 draft.
And I'm sorry: this is...analytics.
Waitaminnit! Don't run away from the big word, just because some "football guys" have trained you to laugh at it!
I wish I had had the software (let alone hardware) these youngsters have to help me out, but gdammit if you don't take PFF or Numberfire seriously, you need a brain transplant.
YOU PEOPLE don't want to know that Njoku sucked as a blocker in 2018, or that both Browns' offensive tackles were below average run-blockers.
You don't want to know that Zeitler was terrific run-blocker either...
But I am here for you, to muffle your spazzdom:
Corbett should do fine in year two at right guard. Probably not as good as Zeitler at first, but as good or better long-term...
Oh sorry to bore you again with the "grunts", but that's what we call "intelligence analysis", and you people don't get most of it.
"Analytics": What a fancy word to make fun of...
YOU PEOPLE are generally clueless. John Dorsey is almost as analytical as DePodesta and I are.
Oh yeah: "analytical" is a real word! It it pre-dates"analytics", and has a lot more to do with elementary logic and common sense than you people get...
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