Number 3 was Andrew Thomas at 10th overall. While I think a trade-down is just as possible, I'd be dumb to quibble with this--the guy is outstanding.
But "linebacker" (really Safetybacker) Davion Taylor is yet still another guy I had overlooked (should go in the 4th round or lower).
You've got to know that Paul DePodesta loves guys like this:
The main reason Davion will slide that far is because he's very inexperienced, and is still just learning to play football.
Mike Preifer is no doubt lobbying for Taylor, because he'll be a great special teams asset immediately.
As for playing on defense, he's a project.
If these coaches bring Taylor or rookies like him the way Lord Insideous in New England does, he'll be asked to master one little niche role right away, and only challenged to do more after he has become proficient in that little niche.
This could be man covering or spying a Kareem Hunt or Jared Cook type running back, or mirroring a Lamar Jackson, or something.
The player might get on the field for 3 plays in one game, not at all in the next, twice after that, etc. By the end of his rookie season, he might be filling 2 or 4 of these little roles, and playing 8-12 snaps per game.
This is why the Patriots so consistently succeed with their lower round picks and undrafteds. Other coaches just park them on the bench and throw the whole playbook at them.
But I digress: Taylor clocked under 4.5, benched 21 times (6', 228) and got under 7 seconds in the 3-cone, so he's not just a track star.
He's the perfect lump of NFL clay with astronomical upside (in year 2 or later).
DePodesta will ask Berry and the scouts to pay extra attention to raw athletes like this after the top 3 rounds. They often make the active roster as special teams players, and have a great chance to develop into starters and stars by their 3rd seasons.
That's how you fill out your core roster on a shoestring. That's part of
Anyhow Taylor is more talented than most of the linebackers and Safetybackers I listed in my last couple posts, and could go 1-3 rounds lower.
Center/Guard Tyler Biadasz (Wisconsin, Remington award winner) is another very interesting (maybe) day 3 guy.
Zierlein dinged him for being vulnerable to power in pass protection, but he's 6'4", so Hans and Franz and Callahan help him out with that.
He definitely fits the zone-blocking scheme that Stefanski will run here, can compete for the start at Right Guard immediately, and could become JC Tretters' heir apparent.
There is already good depth here on the inside offensive line, but a lot of these guys have low cielings, and max out as "meh" journeymen.
You kinda either need to draft them higher, or else get 4-5 guys fighting over 2 roster slots and accept that you'll have to stash somebody on the practice squad or release him.
Biadasz would have a good chance. I mean Wisconsin? Remington Award? 6'4" 312 lbs?
And Frank is right: Wisconsin Offensive Linemen are pro-ready. Tyler might come in here and be the front runner at Right Guard!
This was a terrific article, except Frank? The Browns "need to vastly improve" their Offensive Line after signing Conklin? I'm sorry. I'm confiscating the word "vastly". It will be returned to you when you can use it responsibly.
Several young Browns' players should be returning to the team a lot better than they were last season.
This is utterly predictable, but here in Cleveland, we never expect it.
Like Linebacker Mack Wilson. He had to start sooner than the coaches wanted due to injuries, and PFF ranked him among the worst in the NFL for the year.
However, Mack improved as he gained experience, and really started "getting it" over the last few games of his rookie season.
This guy started for Alabama under Nick Saban, and at one point was considered a possible first round pick. He got to play next to Joe Schobert for 14 games, and seems to be the favorite to move inside and take over MIKE this season.
In addition to his upward trend in performance and his predictable "leap" from year 1 to year 2, Mack Wilson might be better inside than he was outside.
Sione Takitaki is in competition with Wilson for MIKE, and happens to be another guy who can be expected to make a big leap forward in 2020.
Takitaki needed more "work" when he was drafted. That kept him on special teams (and injured) for most of his rookie season, but he played well in his 100 or so snap cameo late in 2019.
Takitaki is really unusual, as (6'1", 238 lbs) he played Defensive End until his senior season.
While his combine numbers were pedestrian, his performance as a linebacker was not, and was the only reason he even got drafted.
Analysts didn't think much of Takitaki as a pro prospect, and he had some off-the-field issues as well (then he got married and grew up a lot).
What bothers me about these analyses is the fact that all these guys ignored the fact that he had very little experience as an off-the-ball linebacker, and was still learning the position when he was drafted.
All their criticisms of him were legitimate, but almost all of them were attributable to inexperience.
I don't know how good Takitaki will be in his second season, but his performance as a rookie showed real promise.
I do know that this linebacker is used to taking on and defeating offensive linemen who tower over him, and that he PFF graded him higher than everybody except Schobert in 2019.
I can't wait to see what Takitaki can do once he's learned how to play his position.
For all we know, Takitaki could have a Shobertian brain! You shouldn't be dismissing this guy!
Greedy Williams is a pretty obvious "leap" guy *so is Denzel Ward, who enters year 3*.
Williams instantly answered questions about his run-support and tackling as a rookie, but was still skinny and undersized (6'2", 185).
Hans and Franz should have him pumped up heading into 2020.
Steve Wilks ran more zone than man coverage in 2019, and Greedy (like Ward) is a press/man guy first. (Williams is also custom-built for off-man, by the way).
If we take new DC Joe Woods at his word, he'll run man coverage outside (Terrence Mitchell is still here too).
That's idiot-proof for the outside cornerbacks. They are supposed to erase the guys they are covering, period.
Rodney Ratleyfield enters his third season, but is still primed for a "leap".
Ratley was a beanpole when he was drafted in the 6th round, but his combine numbers were off the chart.
He was raw when he was drafted two years ago, but that was then, and this is now.
Ratley should be over 205 lbs, have mastered the whole route tree, and have chemistry with Baker Mayfiield.
He's a 4.36 tall deep threat, but can also shake loose umderneath and do RAC damage.
If the Browns trade OBJ, Ratley might be Stephon Diggs.
It's late...ok Drew Forbes is another young guy who should make a big leap in 2020, and I'm sure I've missed a couple more.
Now go get your shovel, and dig these guys up from wherever you buried them, because they're not dead yet.
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