I was about to flush this where it belonged until I heard Njoku and a 2nd round pick.
Hmm...it's awful tempting. With a first round Left Tackle, Thumey at RG could instantly render this the best Offensive Line in the NFL.
Still, I don't think so:
1: Breech et al labor under the false ass umption that
While Berry will listen to offers for Njoku and most of the other players, he'd prefer to keep him, and let Stefanski run his 2-Tight End offense.
2: Like Fullbacks, pass-catching Tight Ends are undervalued, so Paul DePodesta loves the Fullback and Tight Ends for financial/cap reasons.
3: Thumey will expect even more than his Tag money on any extention. That's too damn much.
4: Teller, Forbes, and the Guard they'll probably draft should work out. For the last 2-3 games of 2020, Wyatt Teller was servicable.
The percieved need at Right Guard is another simpletonian ass umption.
Even if it were true, they could draft a Guard with...their second round pick.
. Get it, John?
Pete Smith, as always, offers the deepest insight into the Browns/Jadeveon Clowney rumors.
Pete said much of what I said, but left out that Clowney has been playing Outside Linebacker, and (I just found out) played hurt last season with a core muscle injury (which he got operated on).
Pete had to go and dump icewater on me by saying that Clowney probably wants another one-year deal (he's only 27) so that he can re-enter Free Agency in 2021 with his Brinks truck all detailed and tuned up.
I hope Pete is wrong (but he rarely is). There is some hope, as Pete suggests that the Browns could sweeten the base money with performance incentives.
That's a no-lose deal for the team. An obvious bonus would be 10+ sacks, but they could get into forced turnovers, TFL, etc.
I don't know Clowney, but he was originally gouging for 20 mil/year, right? Well, how about 17 mil/year (no front-loading--sigh) plus:
1: 750,000 if he plays in over 14 games.
2: 100,000 per sack after 8 sacks.
3: 1,000,000 if he gets 10 sacks.
4: 100,000 for every forced turnover after 4.
5: 500,000 if he forces over 8 turnovers.
6: 500,000 if he gets over 20 tackles-for-loss.
He would certainly have a chance to rake in all these bonuses as a base Defensive End (and occasional Linebacker and Defensive Tackle).
Is Clowney goal-oriented; willing to "bet on himself", responsive to challenges? Or is he more concerned about security (you know--"what if I get hurt?")
The contract could be structured so that Clowney could earn more than 21 or 22 in a given season, and maybe he would sign on for more than one season.
As Pete says, Jedeveon runs hot and cold, and performance bonuses would motivate him. Is he himself smart enough to know that? Beyond the bonuses, if he achieves them, he could really get "paid" with his next (and probably last) contract.
Matt Goul lists 5 Day 2 Linebackers that the Browns could draft (2nd or 3rd round).
Along with the guys I've already talked about, Matt lists Akeem Davis-Gaither but, in addition to weighing 224 lbs, this guy doesn't cover very well. A good player who can rush the passer too, but looks like more of a Day 3 guy to me.
Troy Dye is 6'3", 231 lbs, and is a 3-down Linebacker with good recognition, speed, and instincts (per Zierlein, mind you--so if I'm wrong it's his fault)
Anyway Troy can also blitze and cover (like a Safety), but is skinny. I guess he has one of those Webster Slaughter-like metabolisms that make it hard for him to build up muscle mass, but...ok I need to question Lance Zielein here:
6'3", 231 lbs isn't that skinny! He might not be a thumping MIKE, but there's definitely a place for him in any modern NFL defense as a Safetybacker, even if he shrinks to 225 lbs grinding out a season.
I think some of these guys get fixated on appearances, ya know? Why don't you guys look at the old Steel Curtain and check out Jack Lambert. Now that is skinny!
I like this Troy Dye guy (thanks Matt!)
Willie Gay Jr doesn't look that good. Per Zierlein, he lacks football intelligence and instincts. He tested great at the Combine, has prototypical Linebacker size, and is a terrific athlete...
But he got in a fight with his own Quarterback and got suspended for...some academic violation (had to be cheating).
Everybody deserves second chances, and we all screw up in our punkdoms, but "poor angles", "out of position", "takes the cheese" etc combined with this...I don't take this guy before the 5th round.
You guys already know Buckeye Malik Harrison (better than me. I didn't watch any Ohio State games).
Malik is kind of a throw-back linebacker who can't (yet) cover well (except maybe in zone).
His 4.66 40 and 6.83 (cornerback-like--and he's 6'3"!!!) 3-cone say that he has the physical tools to become good in coverage eventually.
He's kicked ass vs elite competition and has a ton of experience. I like him a lot more now than I did before the combine (again: that 3-cone was off the charts!)
Evidently, Matt Goul expects Queen and Murray to get drafted in the first round. That's possible, but I doubt it. And one or more of these guys will slide into day 3.
In 2020, NFL defenses are looking for Safetybackers and Free Safeties who can also cover slot guys, but actual linebackers (like Malik Harrison) remain undervalued.
The modern front is a front 6 (not 7), and 2-Tight End offenses haven't changed that.
This is why pundits who say that the Browns urgently, desperately, need to fill this glaring need for more linebackers are...wrong (-pat-pat- I'm so proud of myself. Maybe I'm ready to enter politics!).
You do need a "thumper" Linebacker for sure (and a backup too), but the rest of your "linebackers" all need to cover, and that's why so many of them today are former safeties, and they're generally smaller and quicker.
Every "linebacker" in this draft class who can't man-cover Tight Ends or Running Backs (except maybe Harrison) will slide to day 3. Most of the oversized Strong Safeties will go higher than they did in 2019.
Everybody (except the aforementioned
Letting Schobert walk was one smart move. How many oversized Safeties and Linebackers who excel in coverage have I and others told you about in this draft class?
The Jagwires paid Joe around 10.5 mil/year.
Possibly the Jags DC Todd Wash runs a Gregg Williams-type system requiring a "field general" like the super-smart Schobert, but that's the only reason you'd pay a MLB that much in 2020.
The Browns will replace him for less than 25% of that, and the one or two players who will get that done will probably do everything he did...except miss tackles.
Malik Harrison could be another sneaky way for DePodesta to get an edge:
Just as it's smarter in the long run to take a first rounder next year instead of a second rounder this year, it's smarter to take a player with a higher cieling over a less talented, but more "pro ready" player.
This "pro-ready" bias is a foodball guy thing, and we're already seeing it as both amatuers and real experts rank the Offensive Tackles.
For a lot of these guys (including Joe Thomas), Ezra Cleveland and Josh Jones (who PFF ranks third by the way) aren't worth considering because they're not YET as good as the "big 4".
Paul DePodesta is always going to take the long view, and Andrew Berry will cooperate. They will draft players based on how good they project to be in their third and fourth NFL seasons.
This is why an Ezra Cleveland, Josh Jones, or an Austin Jackson are viable options for them--and why, with this perfect, ideal draft class, they can trade down and stockpile draft picks but I digress:
Malik Harrison is like Josh Jones or Ezra Cleveland, see?
He "can't cover", so the foodball guyz will all draft all but one of the Linebackers I've mentioned in this article ahead of him.
DePoBerry might nab Harrison in the 3rd (or even 4th) round.
Harrison might start immediately, and could certainly contribute in short yardage as a rookie, and for the foodball guyz that's all there is. (I'm exaggerating, of course--they're not that stupid--but their nownownow bias is extreme).
3 years from now, Malik Harris is probably shutting down Tight Ends in man coverage, and Ezra Cleveland is probably shutting down elite Edge-rushers.
WE could be wrong, and Cleveland or Harrison could crap out, but so could any of the guys drafted ahead of them. Greg Robinson was a 2nd overall pick.
Do you comprehend that Paul DePodesta isn't picking the players? That he never did?
It's a little complicated, as he had to make recommendations to and consult with real personnel guys like Andrew Berry. While some of his favorite players were no doubt picked (by the real personnel guys), most probably were not.
Sadly, Corey Coleman was almost certainly a DePodesta pick, and of course Paul infamously said that "we didn't think (Carson Wentz) would be a top 20 Quarterback" shut up, Paul!!!
Andrew Berry actually made the calls under Sashi Brown. It never ceases to crack me up when I hear people bashing Sashi Brown for bad draft picks. Sashi Brown had less to do with that than DePodesta did.
...seriously, you think a lawyer and cap guy with a brain took it upon himself to override pros like Andrew Berry? You need to quit watching those crappy unreality shows (and Jerry Springer).
Berry made some mistakes, but Zeitler, Tretter, DeValve, Nassib, Ogbah, Njoku, Higgins, Garrett, Ogunjobi and the plethora of draft picks John Dorsey found under his Xmas tree were not among them.
I believe that Andrew Berry, having since the Brown regime worked 0under John Dorsey and Howard Roseman, must be "upgraded", and that there will be more Ogunjobis and Tretters, and fewer Colemans and...like the other WR from the Higgins class or something.
(By the way, I would trade Baker Mayfield and Njoku and our 2nd round pick and my first born offspring to Cinci for 1st overall (Burrow)...maybe more. Just had to get that off my chest.)
Everybody "misses" on draft picks (see Dorsey, John). Trading down for more draft picks is always smart whenever you don't have a target who is head and shoulders better than the rest (or you're not desperate for a Quarterback).
Once again, I tell you that Hunt, OBJ, and 10th overall (and Njoku and other players) are all on the trading block, regardless of what Stefanski or Berry or whoever says.
2021 (or even 2022) draft picks and players under contract will be considered. This is why Paul DePodesta is the Chief STRATEGY Officer, see?
Don't you think John Dorsey wanted DePodesta fired? (My bad--I myself thought and told you guys that Dorsey was semi-analytical and would work with DePodesta. I was very, very wrong).
Jimmy Haslam first hired "Mr Moneyball" and then refused to fire him through 2 regimes.
Sorry for the redundancy, but DePodesta wanted Sean McDermott over Hue Jackson, then Stefanski over Kitchens. I guarantee you that he fought the OBJ/Vernon trade tooth and nail.
And he was right. Every single time. We can bash Jimmy Haslam for all of this stuff, but the 3 smart things he did was hiring, refusing to fire, and enpowering Paul DePodesta.
Casey Kinnamon thinks the 2020 Browns Special Teams will be extra special, and Captain Obvious and I concur.
Gillan and Seifert enter their second seasons. JoJo Natson is like ("Ice Cube") Gerald McNeil; a microbe who is as easy to swat as a fly...with a screwdriver.
The bottom of the roster fills our the Special Teams units, and the 2020 Browns have so far retained most of those players.
All of the units should improve in 2020, and JoJo Natson should make at lesst the kick return unit scarier all by himself.
Errumm...Andrew Berry needs to build a team aimed to defeat the Ravens. The Ravens are, and should remain, the best team in the AFC North.
That's cool, since a lot of other teams are trying to copy them (notably the multiple Tight Ends and zone-blocking).
Outside of Seattle and Arizona, nobody has a QB like Lamar Jackson, but if you build a defense to stop the Ravens, you can probably duke it out with the rest of the copycat offenses.
The Ravens Defense...well read this. (Or don't! I can summarize: We're all gonna die!!!)
Except the Browns under Kitchens beat them last season. The Ravens returned the favor by utterly stuffing Nick Chubb, but:
That Browns offense was not commited to zone-blocking or play-action. It did not have Jack Conlin. Njoku was MIA, there was no Hooper, Hubbard and Robinson were the OTs, and (as usual) Mayfield was forcing passes to the injured OBJ instead of just doing what made him great (don't keep me started).
The 2020 Browns offense should be able to rack up points on any defense, including the Ravens.
...ah jeez...you see Offenses have the advantage of acting instead of reacting.
The extremely talented and well-coached Ravens Defense can be stifled and confused by the Shanahan offense, especially by a Quarterback who burns blitzes llke Baker Mayfield did all his life...until 2019 and OBJ but I digress:
Anyhoo the 2020 Browns have a real shot vs the 2020 Ravens.
While the Ravens have managed to tread water, the Browns have upgraded their talent significantly, and will finish off their Offensive line...
Screw it. Ravens fans have every right to expect a Superbowl, with the Browns being an oversized speed-bump at worst. They're loaded and brilliantly coached.
It is what it is. The Browns are loaded too, and could upset them, but a Ravens' sweep is likely.
However, the 2020 Browns should sweep the overrated Steelers and the Bengals...
Okbye
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