Browns select Demetric Felton

  The Cleveland Browns completed their draft with their sixth-round selection of running back Demetric Felton from UCLA.

Felton averaged 111 rushing yards in his six games in 2020 for the Bruins, including a 206-yard explosion against Arizona.

Felton can catch the ball out of the backfield, catching 22 passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns, but he can also catch the ball on the outside as he played wide receiver at the Senior Bowl.

Felton was rated by most as a wide receiver entering the draft, but the Browns announced the pick with Felton as a running back, so Cleveland must be planning on trying him there or maybe as a jack of all trades type that sees Felton possibly used at either position depending on the situation.

Felton also returns kicks which add to his chances of making the roster.

Felton will likely have to beat out D'Earnest Johnson at running back or it's also possible he could take JoJo Natson's spot as kick returner, slot receiver, gadget play guy as well.

Felton is a smallish (5'8) receiver that wasn't changed to running back until the arrival of Chip Kelly at Westwood and could be an eventual fit in the slot.

Dane Brugler was impressed by Felton's play at the Senior Bowl, considering his lack of reps at receiver, but Cleveland must have different plans for the former Bruin.

I'll have a review of the draft over the next day or two and later tonight, I'll have the boxing challenge from the road office. 

Browns select Richard LeCounte

 Sometimes in the draft, there are productive college players that for one reason or another are downgraded by draft analysts and slip through the cracks of the draft.

Driving to the road office last night, I was listening to the draft and one of the NFL radio guys mentioned one of these players in safety Richard LeCounte of Georgia.

Georgia defensive backs were taken in the first round (Eric Stokes to Green Bay) and the second (Tyson Campbell to Jacksonville), but LeCounte was mentioned as a player that was just as productive for the Bulldogs, yet wasn't as highly rated.

The Browns took LeCounte and added him to their safety room and the 5'10 three-year starter at Georgia may have been added for his special team skills, which have been noted by several sources.

LeCounte is noted for his aggressiveness that can be sometimes a detriment in making the tackle, and his 40 time wasn't great and likely cost him in the draft.

But LeCounte plays faster than his time in the forty and he's been highly recommended by the Georgia program as the type of leader that draws players to him.

LeCounte is a very interesting selection for the fifth round and I would not surprised to see him make the Browns ahead of Sheldrick Redwine for one.

I'll be adding more on the Browns sixth-round pick tonight from the road office.

Browns select Tony Fields

 The Cleveland Browns used the first of their two fifth-rounders on a very interesting player in Tony Fields, a linebacker from West Virginia.

Fields started his career at Arizona and finished with a final year at West Virginia as a graduate transfer.

Fields racked up strong tackle numbers as a linebacker that runs to the ballcarrier and has been compared to the Browns second-round pick Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in his style of play.

Fields is 6'2, but only 222 pounds with more of a rangy build than a prototype linebacker.

Dane Brugler rated Fields as a 4th or 5th rounder that will need to play in space due to his size as larger blockers can push him away from the play.

Fields speed should help him play on coverage teams and this could be a pick that puts pressure on Mack Wilson to make the roster.

I just don't see the Browns keeping seven linebackers with Anthony Walker from free agency, Jacob Phillips, Malcolm Smith, and Sione Takitaki returning, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Fields drafted, and then Wilson.

I'm a Mack Wilson fan, but I may like him more than the front office does.

It'll be interesting to see how the linebacker situation plays out in Berea.

Browns select Tommy Togiai

    Ohio State defensive tackle Tommy Togiai was a player that I was hoping the Browns could land coming into the draft and especially entering day three.

I was a little disappointed that the Browns didn't take Togiai with their first pick in the fourth round, not that I was bothered by the selection of James Hudson, but the Browns could use more depth at defensive tackle.

But Togiai's improvement last season at Ohio State and his coming out a year made me think that someone was going to pick up a bargain.

That someone was still the Cleveland Browns, who selected Togiai with their own pick in the fourth round.

The 6'1 294 pounder might have been a day one or early day two pick in 2022, had Togiai returned to Columbus, but his decision to enter the draft may have cost him a few dollars with the upside of coming to a team that needed depth up the middle.

Togiai finished 2020 with three sacks and eight tackles for loss in his only season as a starter and at only 21, Togiai has plenty of room to develop.

Togiai is a powerhouse in the weight room and is a player that never takes a play off.

Togiai does need some work on his pass rush, but I agree with Dane Brugler's evaluation that at worst, Togiai is going to be a high effort run stopper, and with work and luck on his pass rush could develop to an upper-echelon defensive tackle.

A real bargain at this point in the draft.

Browns select James Hudson

   The Cleveland Browns had two picks in the early portion of the fourth round and it was assumed that unless no one wanted to trade up that the Browns would not use them both.

That's exactly what happened as after the Browns used the fourth-rounder acquired from the Eagles last season (110) on Cincinnati tackle James Hudson, the Browns swapped the pick added from Carolina last night (112) to the Detroit Lions.

Cleveland received the Lions fifth-round pick at 153 and the Lions fourth-rounder in 2022 for the aforementioned pick and the Browns seventh-rounder at 257, two picks before the final pick of the draft.

This places the Browns with their own pick in round four, two picks in round five ( from the Rams and Lions), and their own pick in the sixth round.

I'm still thinking that Andrew Berry isn't finished and may not use the remaining fourth and the two fifth-rounders.

Moving to James Hudson, a 6'4, 303-pound tackle that played for the Cincinnati Bearcats after transferring from Michigan earlier in his career.

Hudson was recruited as a defensive lineman and after a redshirt season was moved to tackle, but after a few games decided to transfer to Cincinnati.

You may remember the dustup over Hudson's eligibility between Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and Cincinnati's Luke Fickell over Michigan's lack of help in getting Hudson a waiver to be immediately eligible with the Bearcats.

Hudson claimed depression issues and the move to tackle, but the waiver was denied by the NCAA.

Hudson must have come around as he played tackle for Cincinnati making all-AAC in 2020.

Hudson is a bit unrefined as he has played only fourteen games at offensive line, but Dane Brugler likes his feet and strength, although he has shorter arms than most tackles which can be a liability.

Hudson had a third-round grade from Brugler, so early fourth isn't extremely far off and the Browns build their depth in the event Chris Hubbard isn't fully recovered from his late-season injury, so this selection makes a lot of sense.

I've worked all night and other than a short nap, I'm pushing myself to get through the draft.

As long as I'm up, I'll be writing about the newest Browns.

Boxing Challenge

The boxing Saturday covers two continents, two important heavyweight fights, a world championship fight, and two others of interest including the latest ridiculous news from the always ridiculous WBA.

Matchroom and DAZN start in the afternoon from Manchester, England with a heavyweight contest that could be very entertaining.

Former WBO champion Joseph Parker continues on his comeback trail against veteran gatekeeper Dereck Chisora in what is essentially an eliminator without being sanctioned as one.

Chisora usually makes entertaining fights, and when he loses, he can often lose spectacularly and while Parker's fights are seldom entertaining, his decision loss to Dillian Whyte was a great fight because Whyte forced Parker to stand and fight.

Who had two excellent fights with Dillian Whyte? Dereck Chisora.

I have a feeling this could be a very big action fight with the winner moving on to another contender in the division.

The co-feature sees the return to the ring of WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol against journeyman Craig Richards.

Bivol hasn't fought since October 2019 with a less than exciting win over Gilbert Castillo, and this is hoped to be a tune-up fight for Bivol, who may fight former super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez in his next fight.

Richards is 16-1, but hasn't fought anyone near the top ten and isn't expected to give Bivol much of a test, although Bivol's power is starting to be questioned after four decision wins in a row, so the tag for this fight could be about Bivol's power.

In the evening, Fox will have a preliminary card before a pay-per-view that really shouldn't be one.

The PPV could have an entertaining brawl between Mexican heavyweights Andy Ruiz and Chris Arreola.

Ruiz fights for the first time since dropping his three titles back to Anthony Joshua and is supposedly in shape after joining trainer Eddy Reynoso.

You hear that often through the careers of fighters that are out of shape, so I'm dubious but Reynoso isn't known as a coddling trainer so perhaps Ruiz is ready to go.

If Ruiz is ready, his fight with 40-year-old Chris Arreola could be fun to watch with punches exchanged often.

Arreola was often described in similar manners to Ruiz during his prime, but he has been in better shape in recent years and he set a record for punches thrown by a heavyweight in his last fight- a 2019 decision loss to Adam Kownacki, so this could be a good fight- for as long as it lasts.

The undercard on the PPV isn't much, but former WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa faces Abel Ramos in what could be the last run for Figueroa, who once showed so promise as a future star but for various reasons never fulfilled his potential.

Figueroa lost for the first time in 2019 to current WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas in a fight that he barely won a round and looks to be far too small against the best welterweights, but unable or unwilling to cut to 135 or 140 which would be the best weight for him.

Ramos lost a split decision to Ugas in his last fight, but the scorecard for Ramos was one of the worst in recent years and his only big win was the final round stoppage of Bryant Perrella with only seconds remaining.

The win over Perrella looks better after Perrella's recent draw against Tony Harrison, which I thought Perrella won close, and this again could be an action fight if Figueroa is in shape.

The final challenge fight isn't from the PPV, it is from the Fox preview show with former WBA junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara moving up to middleweight for one of the WBA's ridiculous minor titles.

It's not only that Lara is in a "title" fight in his first fight at the weight, or that he looked disinterested in his last win over Greg Vendetti, it's his opponent Thomas LaManna.

LaManna like Vendetti isn't a fighter of this level and the only question in this one is-  Will Lara care enough to stop his opponent or like against Vendetti, be more than happy to drag fans through twelve rounds of "action".

LaManna has lost to both fighters that he's faced that are even fringe contenders (Dusty Hernandez-Harrison and Jorge Cota) and is undeserving of facing Lara period-let alone for a 'title' as worthless as that title.

Keep in mind that his five-round knockout loss to Jorge Cota was against a fighter used to build other fighters at the contender level, hence Cota's early KO losses to Jermell Charlo (in 3) and Erickson Lubin (in 4) and Cota being fed to promising Sebastian Fundora on this PPV card in a bout that I didn't even place on the challenge.

Yet Cota stopped LaManna, LaManna has lost two of his last four and has never fought at middleweight, yet he is on national television for a "title" from a sanctioning body.

LaManna's last two wins are over fighters with 30-26 and 22-14 records and even against a 38-year-old and aging Lara, he seems sadly out of his league- PBC and the WBA should be ashamed.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 54-52.

Heavyweights. 12 Rds 

Joseph Parker vs Dereck Chisora

Both: Parker Unanimous Decision

WBA Light Heavyweight Title. 12 Rds

Dmitry Bivol vs Craig Richards

R.L: Bivol KO 7

TRS: Bivol KO 5

Heavyweights. 12 Rds

Andy Ruiz vs Chris Arreola

R.L: Ruiz KO 10

TRS: Ruiz KO 6

Welterweights 12 Rds

Omar Figueroa vs Abel Ramos

Both: Figueroa Unanimous Decision

Middleweights 12 Rds

Erislandy Lara vs Thomas LaManna

R.L: Lara Unanimous Decision

TRS: Lara KO 9

Browns select Anthony Schwartz

   The Cleveland Browns offense hasn't been in question entering the 2021 draft, but the one hole in the offense was that the Browns lacked a fast receiver that could get deep or be used in different ways with the ball in his hands.

The Browns attempted to solve that in the third round with the pick acquired from New Orleans at number 91 in Auburn wide receiver Anthony Schwartz.

Schwartz brings speed and not the type of speed that is usually thought of as fast.

Schwartz is a player with Olympic sprinter type of speed and has been clocked as fast as 4.26 in the 40-yard dash, which gives him the fastest number of all players in the draft.

Schwartz caught 54 passes in 2020 for 636 yards and three touchdowns, one of those a school-record 91-yard touchdown reception.

Schwartz also rushed for over 300 yards in three years at Auburn and seven touchdowns, which shows that Gonzalez can be used on jet sweeps, swing passes (that can count as running plays depending on where the ball was caught).

Schwartz isn't as refined of a receiver as Ole Miss's Elijah Moore or Purdue's Rondale Moore, the two players that I wanted for the Browns (both players were off the board before the Browns second-round pick), but he brings even better speed and can be involved in a similar manner in the offense.

Schwartz was mentioned as having to actually have to slow down into his routes because he was going through things too fast!

Dane Brugler had Schwartz as a fourth-rounder, which isn't so bad considering the third-rounder was one late in the round, says he has the speed to make an impact but has a frame that may not make him a high volume receiver.

For you, fantasy players out there, think of two or three catches for 70 yards and maybe a touchdown type and you'll know how Schwartz projects.

Schwartz could be a player involved in gadget plays in his first year or so and then breaks into the offense, should things go well for him.

Schwartz appears to be a boom or bust pick, but I cannot blame Andrew Berry for attempting to add a home run hitter to the offense.

The Browns now have three fourth-round picks, two of them early in the round, with pick 110 from the Eagles coming fifth in the round, the pick obtained from Carolina on day two at 113, and the Browns own pick at 132.

I would be surprised if the Browns used all of these picks and they might be looking to move one of the early picks for a third-rounder next season.

Cleveland owns picks in rounds five, six, and seven.

Round five is from the Rams at 169 from the Austin Corbett trade.

Round six is their own pick at 211 and Round seven is the pick from the Bills at 257, two picks away from Mr.Irrelevant.