Friday, April 29, 2011

Browns down,up and pick Phil Taylor

I missed yesterday afternoon's Pirate loss to the Giants due to work meetings,so I don't have much to say there.
Pittsburgh is in Colorado for the next three games and since the starts preclude getting finished in time to take the tape to work,coverage is unlikely until Sunday's game.
I may cover the Giants in Washington or the Indians against Detroit or I may just focus on the draft....
I would have been on last night with the Browns first round pick,but the trade moved them so far down that I was at work when they selected.
I hope to be able to post tonight on both of the Browns second round picks before I leave the World Headquarters this evening.

The Cleveland Browns saw the players they liked best  go before them and decided on a bounty of picks from the Falcons as Cleveland dropped from six to twenty-seven in the first,added Atlanta's first and fourth this year and their first and fourth in next years draft for the trouble of dipping so low in the round.
Cleveland then swapped their third rounder to Kansas City to move up from 27 to 21 and selected a surprise on the surface in Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor.

I was disappointed at first that the pick was not the falling Da'Quan Bowers,but Taylor makes a lot of sense,which I will get to shortly.
But first Bowers is still available for Day two,the Browns pick fifth today,if somehow Bowers drops to Cleveland and the Browns nab him,I will be ecstatic!
Despite the knee issues,Bowers has the best potential of any defensive lineman in the draft and I am more than willing to take my chances in round two.
I was more than willing to take them at 21,so crossed fingers for Bowers later today.

Phil Taylor is huge at 335 lbs and when I saw the clips,the first thing that I thought of was this-this guy reminds me of Casey Hampton,the standout DT for Pittsburgh.
Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin instantly upgrade the Browns run defense with two huge run stuffers and in the division with Pittsburgh and Baltimore,one had better stop the run.
Defensive end might have been a bigger need area,but defensive tackle hopefully has now become a team strength with the addition of Taylor.
Taylor will not give you the pass rush of higher rated tackle Marcell Dareus or Nick Fairley,but he is going to be much harder to move against the run than those guys and I like that,especially since I am very tired of watching Steeler and Raven guards bully around the lighter defensive tackles favored by Eric Mangini.

The main issue that I have with Taylor is not picking him,it is moving up and losing a third rounder for him.
Looking at the teams between 21 and 27,I didn't really see a match for him in that range.
It seems like Cleveland gave away a pick,but sometimes you want to make sure you have your guy and the price has to be paid to be sure to land him.

I like the thinking and I'll like it even more with a possible addition of Da'Quan Bowers as the Browns pick at 37 and 59 in round two and do not (currently) own a third rounder.
My wish list for today?
37:Da'Quan Bowers DE Clemson
59: Either of these two wideouts would be great-Torrey Smith Maryland or Titus Young Boise State.
Give me Taylor,Bowers and your choice of the two WR's and I'll be sky high!
Until later!

Photo Credit:Jason Decrow-AP Photo

2 comments:

Ryan H. said...

I was wondering what your thoughts on the trade were. It was odd watching the draft by myself.

Shawn said...

Liked the Atlanta deal with both Green and Peterson off the board.
I liked Jones but not nearly as much as Green and I was fine with the deal there.

I was hoping for Bowers when I heard the trade announced (I was on my way to work listening on XM) and was disappointed at the time with Taylor,but it makes sense for the player,although I still don't
see where they had to move up for him.
If they land Bowers at 37 today,all is forgiven!!