Cleveland Browns-Persons of Interest- Defense

The Browns defensive needs have been noted earlier on the blog and before the trade with the Giants that landed Odell Beckham, but cost the team their first round draft pick, I would have been hoping the Browns would somehow wind up with the disruptive defensive tackle from Houston, Ed Oliver.

Without that pick, those hopes were erased and I'm not sure that even my top hope now in LSU cornerback Greedy Williams is likely to be available.
Williams is one of the most polarizing players in this draft as some evaluators have Williams as a top fifteen player and the top corner in the draft, while others have Williams as a second rounder.
The knock on Williams is that he is more of a pure cover corner and not a strong tackler.
I don't think that the Browns have much of a chance of landing Williams, even if he falls to round two with their pick and it would require a trade up to get him, but if the cost is reasonable, I'd consider that trade.
Assuming Williams isn't available, my favorite corner would be Georgia's DeAndre Baker, but there are several corners all in the same second to early third round range that would all be acceptable selections including Temple's Rock Ya-Sin, Michigan State's Justin Layne and the fastest rising player of the bunch Sean Bunting of Central Michigan.
Jamel Dean of Auburn was a former Ohio State Buckeye with tons of speed but has suffered two knee injuries and after the Browns never received a snap from Howard Wilson after picking him, the Browns could be looking for a player that's a safer pick.
Ohio State's Kendall Sheffield has all the tools to be a starting corner and has elite level speed.
However, Sheffield was one of the more enigmatic Buckeyes that I have watched in Columbus and would be a project for the Browns.

The Browns could also use a safety and the best at the position are Nasir Adderly of Delaware and Taylor Rapp of Washington.
Adderly should be off the board, but Rapp ran a slower than expected time at the combine and it's not out of the question that Rapp could fall to the Browns.
Can the Browns live with the slow 40 time for a player that was very productive in his three-year career with the Huskies?
I'd gamble on a high character player that could be a starter for years rather than listen to a slow 40-yard dash.
If the Browns decide to take a safety on the final day, I think Marquis Blair of Utah and Mike Bell of Fresno State could help on special teams at first and perhaps develop into eventual contributors in the secondary.

The Browns might go linebacker with one of their two picks on day two.
Joe Schobert's rookie contract is finished at the end of the season and John Dorsey could decide that Christian Kirksey's contract is too rich for his salary hit at the same time.
The Browns might have a shot at the latest Alabama linebacker standout in the second round with Mack Wilson, but they will have to take him there.
If they prefer someone in the next round or two, Minnesota's Blair Cashman or Jermaine Pratt of N.C. State may be viable options with Cashman having the ability to be a special teams ace right off the starting block.
Day three possibilities could be Wisconsin's T.J.Edwards, Houston's Emeke Egbule, and West Virginia's David Long.

The defensive line is the strongest corps on the defense and yet it is the deepest group in the draft.
Unless Dorsey's decision is to take the best player on the board and that could happen, the Browns might wait to add a lineman,
Before the Beckham trade, I was hoping Houston's Ed Oliver would be available for Cleveland in the first round.
Oliver had been dropping with teams wondering if he was a defensive tackle or linebacker, but a tremendous pro day returned him to the status that he deserved entering the draft.
Rumors are flying of Dorsey's fondness for Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons, who would have never been a remote possibility, if not for an ACL tear that will cost him all of 2019 and a checkered off the field history.
Still, even with all of that, the Browns will have to trade up for Simmons.
Cleveland has also been attached to Ohio State's Dre'Mont Jones, who could be available in the second round, but is unlikely to be on the board in the third.
The Browns will likely take someone on day three, after the disappointing season from 2018 third rounder Chad Thomas, but who knows who that would be.
A player capable of returning punts would be a nice addition so something to look for would be an addition of a player with speed and that has kick returning experience.

It'll be interesting to see the newest Browns and what John Dorsey does over the next few days.
It is very nice for a change to be able to relax during the draft!