Browns Draft Recap

Everyone always says how much they hate the grading of drafts immediately following the draft and how unfair it is, half will be wrong, etc.

And those same people read them all and in many cases write them, so why is that?
Because it's speculation and with the draft, speculation is fun!

I could sum this draft up quickly and without detail and simply say it's an A-.

The Browns landed arguably the best tackle in the draft in Alabama's Jedrick Wills in the first and my top-ranked safety in LSU's Grant Delpit in round two without giving anything up and adding a fifth-rounder to a draft that lacked one when the draft started.
Both Wills and Delpit almost certainly will be immediate starters.
Missouri defensive tackle Jordan Elliott is rated highly and should be a rotational player this season, and perhaps more for the 2021 season with both Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson eligible for free agency after the 2020 term.

One often hears the term "Overdrafted" when a player goes earlier than expected, but the Browns used two picks for receivers that use the seldom-used term "Underdrafted" with John Mackey Award winner Harrison Bryant of Florida Atlantic in the fourth round and Michigan wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones in the sixth frame.
Bryant should see plenty of field time in the Kevin Stefanski offense as a receiving tight end and Peoples-Jones may not break into the lineup at wide receiver as quickly but should have a chance to help with returning punts, which he did at Michigan, and perhaps kickoffs as well.

Some questioned the choice of Washington center Nick Harris due to his size, but Harris can play guard, fits the zone blocking scheme of new offensive line coach Bill Callahan, and could be the eventual replacement for J.C. Tretter, despite Tretter's contract extension that he signed last year.
LSU linebacker Jacob Phillips is an excellent tackler who has questions about his pass coverage.
At a minimum, Phillips should be able to be a two-down linebacker for Cleveland and even though I preferred Ohio State's Malik Harrison, who was taken one pick later by Baltimore, the worst thing that I can say about Phillips is that he might have been drafted a little early and it could be that new defensive coordinator Joe Woods might think that Phillips suits what he wants from his defense more than Harrison will.

Here are my kudos and concerns from the draft.
Please keep in mind that these are not projections on my mind, just some thoughts from each side of the ledger, and do not mean that I am predicting that either side is predictions on my part.

Kudos

1: When your guys fall to you- Don't get cute- take him.
The Browns did just that in the first round with Jedrick Wills and on day three with Harrison Bryant.
In the past, the Browns would get too clever, try to get something else, and wind up losing your guy.
This time they stayed put and took their player, now let's see if Wills is the best of four very good tackle prospects.

2: The draft did set up for the Browns at 41 in the second round with Grant Delpit, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Ashtyn Davis all available for the Browns to fill their need at safety.
With all three available when the Colts called to talk about moving up from 44, it made sense to take the free fifth-rounder as the Colts were unlikely to take a safety.
The Browns were then guaranteed that one of the three was going to be on the board for their pick.
That's a smart time to move down and add assets.

3: I've stated through the years that teams become playoff teams by accumulating players who can make impact plays and not by amassing multiple players that are average.
The Browns usually did this as part of the trading down process that the analytics people love so much but in this draft, Cleveland managed to grab who they rated as the best tackle, best safety, and maybe the best pass-catching tight end.
Impact players who make a difference will be the core of turning this organization around.

Concerns

1: I still wonder about the third-round selection of Jacob Phillips over Malik Harrison.
The Browns have noted that they like Phillips in passing situations as a good coverage linebacker, but when you watch his video, you see that Phillips doesn't have great lateral mobility and needs work in coverage.
I'm not the professional and I'm not knocking Phillips as a player at all as he has plenty to like, but I do find that a bit odd.

2) While I really like all three of the picks on the final day, I do wish that the Browns had found a way for another linebacker to be added.
The Browns linebackers are very young with only journeyman B.J. Goodson having experience beyond second-year men or rookies, so I'd be surprised if Andrew Berry doesn't go shopping for a veteran free agent either now or in June for a bargain cap casualty.

3) While I like the pick of Jordan Elliott for both value and talent, I do wonder about a pass rusher at defensive end.
It's clear that Olivier Vernon is going to return and should Vernon be able to stay healthy, he will more than provide the needed help for Myles Garrett off the edge.
However, Vernon's health is a fair topic to question as he has missed four or more games in each of the last three seasons.
Veteran Adrian Clayborn could help in limited situations and I guess the Browns can hope for Chad Thomas to show something, but if Vernon can't stay on the field the defensive end spot is a major concern.

There's a lot to like about this draft for the Browns and there isn't a clear scream at the TV selection here as even the best drafts in the past have possessed (Chad Thomas over Sam Hubbard, anyone?).
However, the other teams in the AFC North did quite well in the draft as well and it's fair to question how much the gap between the Browns and the Ravens/Steelers has been narrowed.
How well did they do?
I'll be back soon with a look at the drafts of the other divisional rivals and how well their haul worked out for 2020.

Browns select Jedrick Wills

The tenth pick arrived in the first round for the Cleveland Browns in Thursday's NFL Draft and they had three of the four options available to plug their hole at left tackle as only Andrew Thomas of Georgia had been selected before the Browns choice.

I had written the day before about the four tackles and about which I liked best of a field so closely matched and when I wrote the piece, I liked Tristan Wirfs best with his Iowa background and combine showing, Andrew Thomas as the most NFL ready, Mehki Becton as the player with the highest potential and highest bust factor and Jedrick Wills as perhaps the best all-around lineman, but with a question about his shorter arm reach.

After I was finished, something was nagging at me about the post and I knew what it was- I needed to look at these guys again.
Every draft writer seemed to have the four players in a different order with Dane Brugler of The Athletic rating Jedrick Wills first and Ourlads listing Tristan Wirfs in the first slot and Wills fourth.
I wrote the other two persons of interest posts and decided to skip my normal Browns preview on the team needs to watch more videos of the four tackles.

Side note: I had never heard of someone named "Voch Lombardi" before he made a guest appearance on a Browns' podcast and I was impressed with his knowledge of offensive line work.
I made sure to watch his videos (I didn't the first time) and I was quite impressed- if you want to look at your team's draftee (If not, Jedrick Wills) give Voch Lombardi a look.


I decided to watch different videos than I had previously, spent a few hours watching the four players, taking notes, etc and when the night was finished I realized that I had made a mistake.
That mistake was underrating Jederick Wills, whom I had rated behind Tristan Wirfs and Andrew Thomas and ahead of Mekhi Becton.
Without writing another post, I made this note inside the book of players that I keep each year-Jedrick Wills is at least even with Tristan Wirfs as my favorite and could prove to be the best of this class.

Back to the Browns and the clock is rolling, I still would be happy with any of the three but I'm hoping for Wirfs or Wills, but these are the Browns and for the good work that Cleveland accomplished in free agency, I still have the uneasy memories of Andrew Berry's drafts that he assisted Sashi Brown in that era, which basically ended with Myles Garrett and not much else with various trades that saw the Browns move down for multiple picks with few panning out.
Well, give Berry credit because the Browns kept the tenth pick and took Jedrick Wills as their selection to plug the left tackle opening for a long time.

At 6'4 and 312 pounds, Jedrick Wills has slightly more than average size (which says a lot for the evolution of size for an offensive lineman), but has very nimble feet and is extremely athletic and is the best pass-blocking tackle available.
In one of the videos that feature Wills is picking defenders off their feet and throwing them back downfield in pass protection.
Wills is a tackle that can overpower a rusher, yet has enough finesse to deal with someone attacking off the edge as he keeps his feet and finishes off his blocks.
Wills does have shorter arms than one would like from an elite tackle and could have some issues with the best power rushers for his first year or two until he gains experience, but other than that doesn't really have a weakness.

I also realized when looking at the tackles post, that I had forgotten to write something that I wanted to add as I mentioned Wills (and Tristan Wirfs as well) would be moving from the right tackle to the left tackle position, but I left out a portion that I wished I hadn't- Wills was blocking for Tua Tagovailoa, a left-handed passer.
Left tackle is usually the key spot on the line for pass protection, but for Alabama, Tagovailoa was their quarterback and his blindside was being protected by the right tackle-Jedrick Wills.

Tackle is a position that hits in the first round as often as it misses and nothing is a guarantee, but the Browns seem to have the makings of a pretty decent offensive line with Jedrick Willis and Joel Bitonio on the left side, J.C. Tretter at the center position and Jack Conklin at right tackle with only a battle at right guard to decided at training camp.
I'm a believer in building programs around exceptional players rather than quantities of average ones and by staying at the tenth pick, the Browns may have added an exceptional player.
Andrew Berry continues a good start in running the Browns and has a second and two third-rounders to use in tonight's second day of the draft.
It'll be interesting to see what he comes up with tonight.