An ode to eotab’s long-lived thread.

Please discuss. Wanted to start with saying there’s no guarantee with Greedy OR Delpit. Gotta look at secondary options.

Wdwgfh.

Where do we go from here.

Took me way too long to figure that out.

I said in the other thread, but drafting Collins from Tulsa is my dream draft scenario

I had to buy a vowel.

Thought it was Scrabble Hell LOL.

I am still seeking starting competition in our secondary. Depth must be a consideration when two key starters miss a full season. And I still want an absolute sledge LB in our middle.

Absolutely.

Can never have enough quality DBs. Ward misses time, not sure if Delpit can return and be what we expected when we drafted him. If Granny Williams plays for us again it will be a bonus, I would plan as if he is gone.

As much as I would like a LB such as David or Jack (both last names) I don't see it. Does Woods devalue LBs because we don't have good ones? Or do we not have good ones because Woods devalues them?

I thought Smith was our best LB. The most consistent, at least. Goodson was OK, but slow. Philips showed speed, but not much else. Maybe he can improve. Taki had the nice picks and a couple of games where he played well, but in the KC game he went back to missing tackles and trailing plays. Maybe that is what he is and the good games were outliers. It's a bad thing when Wilson gets significant snaps; he is completely lost out there.

Greedy...hopefully he went into our conditioning program and gets a little beastly on his body.

Delpit saw so little of him as long as he comes back healthier than ever i sort of see more promise in him.

Phillips could improve on conditioning with the off seas as it was a weird year but if he is our "1" in a 4-1-6 Defense I want him a little bigger and faster. Now for the 6. I think we got Ward, Harrison, Joseph, and a bevy of others that can be upgraded on in the FA and draft but if we are going to play 6 then we need at least 8 in a rotation for injured players.

Draft you got Owusu-Koramoah, Surratt,Moehrig, Nasirildeen, Horn, Wade as potential picks for us and I'm sure many more to each ones taste. but its a good draft to get the Players we need to build exactly what we want.

Just curious could Ohio State Pete Werner be that LB...does he have the speed? I loved the way he played when I watched.

#1 wish - stud MLB who can play 3 downs and covers sideline to sideline. Assuming we can't find one in F.A... then pull the trigger round 1 in the draft. I loved Patrick Queen last year ... whichever draft prospect is most like him this year is who I want. I would move up to get him too rather than reach for a less talented player at #26.

I don't think he devalues them at all, per se. I think the scheme is just one that isn't designed around them. It's allowed to be the weak link as long as the other two groups - front four and secondary - are strong. Well, the best players in our front four missed significant time this year and our secondary was a constant rotation.

If we look at the 49ers defense from a couple of years ago, they had REALLY good LBer play. This past season they were without Kwon Alexander and Malcolm Smith (who we have).... but, more importantly, they were without Dee Ford, Nick Bosa, Soloman Thomas, and Deforest Buckner. Also, Arik Armstead moved from being the backup DT to a starting DE spot. They also lost Richard Sherman and Jaquiski Tartt in the secondary.

So, when we look at how this defense was ran the year they were really good, they had a TON of top talent up front and in back.... and they got pretty good linebacker play in between. This year, between free agency poaching and injuries, their DLine and secondary are a mere shell of what they were... and their performance reflected it.


So, to come full circle here, all of that was to say that I don't think LB is "devalued" as much as it is just not where you NEED to hit a home run on talent acquisition. You need to get pressure and you need to defend the pass... after that, you need rangy LBers that can fill gaps and defend a TE, and while it certainly helps if they are All-Pro, as long as you have enough talent in front and behind, they don't have to be.

JC...who could be that LBer?

The only LB presently on the Browns roster who might have the versatility to cover and tackle sideline to sideline...Mack Wilson.

The only concern I have with Mack is "durability"...

boy, I wish I was as confident in Wilson as you are haha. I think he sucks (along with the other LBs).

Goodson and Taki are OK in run D ... but pass D is a nightmare across the board

can't have Taki in coverage, he is too slow. Wilson is horrible, I thought he would be good. Phillips is a good player, a good tackler. He is someone to build around.

We have got to get another good CB, and a true free safety. I am looking at this with the thought of no Williams and a slowed down Delpit. With Harrison and Joseph, SS is okay.

On the Dline, Billings will help, but he is not that young. I think Larry will be gone. We need a consistent edge rusher opposite Garrett. I hope they don't go down the Clowney road, dude always has some kind of issue.Elliot is young and showed some decent play, and this Taylor dude showed up.

All in all, I think the upgrades at LB, if there is any, would help the most, along with a dependable corner with speed.

Agreed. We need depth at CB because while Denzel and Greedy would make a great duo they are not dependable. I see us needing a good 5 new players on D along with a couple for depth and rotation.

We definitely need CB depth - even a starter to make anything we have now the depth, but this defense goes nowhere without the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse up front.

At a minimum, our priorities are DE and DT, followed by CB, then LB.

Half the NFL's CB's are free agents in March, it seems, so we should be able to fix that spot a wee bit. There are quite a few DE's & DT's hitting the market, too; even some young talent.

So, I would not be surprised at all to see us sign at least one free agent in each position group. If we make a "splash", I'd expect it to be at DE or DT.

I definitely would not rule out us making a trade with a rebuilding team or a team in Cap Hell.

This is an old piece, but applicable.

Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia
(originally appeared in The Onion, Number One In News)
Cities of Sjlbvdnzv, Grzny to Be First Recipients

Before an emergency joint session of Congress yesterday, President Clinton announced US plans to deploy over 75,000 vowels to the war-torn region of Bosnia. The deployment, the largest of its kind in American history, will provide the region with the critically needed letters A,E,I,O and U, and is hoped to render countless Bosnian names more pronounceable.

"For six years, we have stood by while names like Ygrjvslhv and Tzlynhr and Glrm have been horribly butchered by millions around the world," Clinton said. "Today, the United States must finally stand up and say 'Enough.' It is time the people of Bosnia finally had some vowels in their incomprehensible words. The US is proud to lead the crusade in this noble endeavour."

The deployment, dubbed Operation Vowel Storm by the State Department, is set for early next week, with the Adriatic port cities of Sjlbvdnzv and Grzny slated to be the first recipients. Two C-130 transport planes, each carrying over 500 24-count boxes of "E's," will fly from Andrews Air Force Base across the Atlantic and airdrop the letters over the cities.

Citizens of Grzny and Sjlbvdnzv eagerly await the arrival of the vowels. "My God, I do not think we can last another day," Trszg Grzdnjkln, 44, said. "I have six children and none of them has a name that is understandable to me or to anyone else. Mr. Clinton, please send my poor, wretched family just one 'E.' Please."

Said Sjlbvdnzv resident Grg Hmphrs, 67: "With just a few key letters, I could be George Humphries. This is my dream."

The airdrop represents the largest deployment of any letter to a foreign country since 1984. During the summer of that year, the US shipped 92,000 consonants to Ethiopia, providing cities like Ouaouoaua, Eaoiiuae, and Aao with vital, life-giving supplies of L's, S's and T's.

Doing this shores up what we have - after we identify who we're retaining and re-sign them - and then allows us to have the Draft come to us. Make a Venn diagram ofBPA and NEED. Whichever player falls down the board and fits best into both categories will be our pick.

Venn Diagram - LOL.

Bud Dupree might be a good pick-up for us. Plus it weakens a hated division rival.

I think Joseph is a free agent

Who knows. Maybe we'll get lucky and a top prospect will get pulled over with something under their passenger seat or whathaveyou.

I would resign him.

so would I.

If Delpit comes back healthy, that is a question, I believe he is a true FS. With Harrison and Joseph, Woods can play his style of D.

A torn Achilles tendon is a really bad injury for a position that requires speed, leaping ability, and explosion to a spot. It might be overly optimistic to think Delpit will be what he once was in terms of physical abilities, at least right away. The Browns should probably be thinking of a Plan B at FS.

j/c

Anyone have insight on Phillips’s play this year? I’m always watching the ball....

Or Greedy’s nerve issue? By that I mean, what kind of nerve damage would cause a guy to miss a full year?

Re: Zaven Collins from Tulsa


I like this kid.. shoots the gaps well, and can tackle well in open field. which is what is needed in the MLB slot for this team.

This goes as well for Vernon also.

he was a pretty big liability most of the time I saw his grades/evaluations (obviously those are all up for debate). I’d say he isn’t good lol. But, just a rookie

my #1 wish for the offseason

Vernon won't be back.
He is a free agent in March, and with his injury, unless we're wanting to play fairy godmother, we won't be offering him a new contract. Someone else will be lining up opposite Myles next August.

I can get behind Zavan Collins. He has really good closing speed. It also looks like he has pretty good instincts.

What I liked about this highlight video is that most of the highlights were against top 25 teams. Way too often highlight videos are mostly against directional schools.

What I would have liked to see more of in the video is highlights of him filling

As a general statement, I wish someone would post lowlight videos for all these players. I've seen there best, now let me see their worst. I understand why no one makes those.

Additionally, I wish we had access to player interviews.

I love the 1st highlight and have visions of him doing this to Lamar.

That guy just jumps off the film. Impressive, but my one question is "level of competition". Would he still pop against a Clemson, OSU, or Alabama? Lots of great plays in there, but none of them against particularly strong teams.

One thing is for certain, that doesn't care about the competition, is that he appears to play smart.

I have read good things about Bolton in a few mock drafts. Have not watched any tape on him or any other draft prospect yet.

- Smart, aware, disciplined and in control based on those highlights. Looks to have enough size and is fast.

j/c:

There is seemingly a bunch of really good LBs at the top of the draft, but if we are looking at defense, the pass rush to me still needs to be a priority.

Sure, BPA/Value/Whatever you want to call it will be a factor with who is available and what our plans are in FA, but all things being equal I hope the Browns take a serious look at edge rushers to upgrade over Vernon and depth.

D4...Collins won't last until pick #26 and I doubt that the Browns are going to invest a whole lot to move up.

I'm not knocking the kid, just making an observation.

The one thing Depit has going for him is that he's young. If he works hard at rehab he should be OK in time. It may take awhile.

I’d agree ... if he lasts past 20 I’ll be surprised

Good article on Joe Woods, Myles Garrett, and the make-shift defense we trotted out in 2020...


What did we learn about the Browns’ defense this season and what does it means for next year?
By Ellis L. Williams, cleveland.com


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns defense probably deserves more credit than it’s getting considering all coordinator Joe Woods overcame in 2020.

Virtual offseason craziness aside, Woods commanded a unit that lost its second-round rookie safety and its first selection from 2019 before Week 1 began. Purposely cheap at linebacker, the Browns counted on creating pressure with four linemen and playing excellent back-end coverage.

Without Greedy Williams, No. 3 corner Terrance Mitchell stepped up by playing more snaps than any other Browns defender (1,225). It seems fitting safety Andrew Sendejo played the second most (999 snaps). Browns fans wanted him off the field all season, but that’s what happens when injuries strike. Instead of a dynamic rookie safety and a budding second-year corner, Woods deployed two veterans, one with plenty of quality football ahead of him and the other ripe for retirement.

Mitchell played well in 2020. Pro Football Focus rated him a 68.2 overall, 57th among qualified corners. He’s earned another contract either in Cleveland or elsewhere.

But everything that is right about Mitchell mirrors precisely what was wrong with the Browns defense. Mitchell proved reliable but not a difference-maker. He did his job well but didn’t perform surprisingly above expectation. Think about the jump or “level-up” that guard Wyatt Teller made. Cleveland desperately craved a defensive guy evolving into a game-changer, besides just Myles Garrett.

Cleveland’s defense finished 19th against the run and 25th versus the pass according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA, a stat that measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent.

Despite the unfavorable metrics, the Browns made their impact by forcing turnovers. Cleveland forced 21 takeaways and finished plus-five in turnover differential (ninth-best).

Last week I highlighted what positions the Browns must address in the 2021 draft. Spoiler alert: The top two spots are on defense. As critical as this may sound, there are several positives worth building upon.

Let’s highlight the two main things we learned about Cleveland’s defense and what it means for this unit going forward.


Myles Garrett is the next Aaron Donald

For years it’s been universally accepted that Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald is the best non-quarterback in football. Regardless of metric, Donald repeatedly proved superior to his peers by dominating offenses despite double- and triple-teams.




The above chart only includes defensive tackles. Below is the same metric but for defensive ends.





I wish the chart included all defensive linemen. If it did, we’d see Donald, Garrett and Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt separate as the top-tier pass rushers. Donald is double-teamed nearly three times as often as Garrett, but that’s because one plays predominately inside versus centers and guards.

All three win at impressive rates. Garrett was doubled 10% more often than Watt and created 16 sacks, including his season-total of 13. Watt finished with 15 sacks and Donald won his fourth defensive player of the year award.

But Garrett topped both in a metric founded by Brandon Thorn known as True Sack Rate or TSR. For an explanation on TSR, click here. Despite only playing 70% of snaps, Garrett finished with a 15.25 sack score, nearly four points higher than Watt. My colleague Doug Lesmerises interviewed Thorn a month ago and he crowned Garrett the next great pass rusher then. I’m here to agree with him.

Which is why it’s all the more important Browns GM Andrew Berry accurately identifies a worthy running mate at end opposite Garrett. Olivier Vernon almost filled that role but won’t be an option coming off a torn Achilles. Veteran Adrian Clayborn is a role player better served in small doses. He played poorly against the Chiefs and it cost the Browns dearly.

This season Garrett declared “he got next.” He started the season on a tear, recording nine sacks and four forced fumbles in eight games. Then Garrett caught COVID-19 and didn’t look the same after his return. With a full offseason and hopefully no 2021 bad breaks, Garrett should be the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year.


Joe Woods deserves credit and a healthy depth chart

Remember, Terrance Mitchell led the Browns in snaps played. Back during training camp, I’m certain that wasn’t the plan Woods and Kevin Stefanski formulated. But injuries and the unforeseen happen in this league. Often it’s how a coach adjusts to chaos that indicates whether he is NFL quality or not.

Thinking back to our final postgame pod of the season, I remember fans calling for Woods to be fired. I wrote it off as an emotional kickback from a tough defeat, and hopefully, that was all it was. Because let’s be clear, the Browns have zero business moving on from Woods and won’t.

He’s a 17-year NFL coach who coordinated an excellent pass defense in San Francisco. At times, he showed flashes of what his full-strength defense could be capable of. Here an example of a call he made versus the Chiefs that forced a Kansas City field goal.

On third down, the Chiefs needed 10 yards to earn a first and reach the red zone. Woods made a gutsy call to blitz Mahomes by sending an overload to his right side. Notice safety Sendejo (23) scream toward the line of scrimmage and work for Mahomes. Then safety Ronnie Harrison (33) bails into coverage to replace Sendejo.

The call is mainly for the Browns’ right defensive end, who happens to be Clayborn here. Instead of rush off the edge, he bails into coverage. It’s the perfect call because Kansas City has a screen called to his side. Clayborn does an excellent job first gaining depth and then attacking when he recognizes screen.




This is an example of what Woods can be as a defensive play-caller. He made a well-timed call that forced the Chiefs to kick (and make) a 50-yard field goal. That’s a major win for any defense. He did this without the roster he originally planned for.

The Browns must allocate resources to the defense like they did Stefnaski’s offense a year. If they do, Woods will have every opportunity to prove himself as an upper-echelon coach next season.


What we learned

The Browns’ offense will remain their strength for at least the next few seasons. With the best offensive line in football, a growing quarterback and weapons galore, Cleveland plans on winning shootouts. But their best player resides on defense.

Next season, I expect this unit to take a major leap forward. And when that happens, it will because Garrett broke a sack record and Cleveland’s defense stayed healthy enough for Woods to install his comprehensive gameplan.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/01...-next-year.html

There was too much upheaval on D this past year. Hell, we had too much on O to at the end but D was more. Joe Woods is a good DC. I feel he knows what he is doing and an asset to our coaching staff. Give him 3 or 4 new players and some stability and I think we could be a top 10-12 D next year. JMO

Patrick Queen had a PFF grade of 29.8. I don't think I trust that grade

j/c

I'm not sure that the defense can be completed this offseason. I see constraints due to the need to preserve cap space for crucial re-signings of our own free agents. I keep hearing that the salary cap might be reduced because of revenue losses.

I think we can improve the defense but not complete the defense. Some work will remain for future offseasons. So, my approach would be to set some priorities and address those thoroughly.

We still need to get another DE to pair with Myles. I would make that #1. At pick 26 we arent likely to get one of the top ten pass rushers. Some of those guys haven't played a lot because of Covid or they have opted out or they are OLB's, not DE's. I would target a couple of guys just outside the top ten and probably reach for one of them at 26. I like Jaelin Phillips of Miami and I might like Ronnie Perkins of Oaklahoma more.

My second priority is the secondary. I would target multiple cornerbacks and safeties. The guys in the 2-3 round range when we pick that I like best are cornerback Paulson Adebo, Oregon and safties, Tulanoa Hufanga USC safety and Andre Cisco of Syracuse. Those two guys would add SS and FS depth to a depleted unit.

The third priority for me is the interior D Line. I would like to get more stout in that unit. Hufanga's cousin and fellow USC Trojan Marlon Tuilupolu has a very impressive skill set. I also like Tommy Togiai of Ohio State.

I realize professional GMs don't predetermine what positions they will draft at a particular slot. But the guys mentioned above will likely all be gone by the end of round 3. If Barry likes any of them he'll need to get them early.

I still have a man-crush on Zaven Collins but I think we can find linebacker help in the 4th round or later. Players taken in these rounds will have some holes in their game but could be developed over time and give us some S/T and sub package contributions now. Charles Snowden, Garret Wallow, Ventrell Miller or Tony Fields are the types of guys I'd expect us to look at.

yeah, Queen’s pass coverage was horrid all year. Teams targeted him at will. He’s good against the run though.

I'm responding to you, though you're not the only one....

Why do you put Dline over the secondary, in terms of priority? Is it because we now have an even bigger whole with Vernon gone? I just don't see how FS ever dropped from our #1 need (and #2, whatever it is, isn't close).

For me, its a macro point of view and not specific to any current year or team situation.....

Applying pressure on the QB screws up EVERYTHING. Timing, routes, mental reaction, footwork, arm release, body posture, WR responsiveness to recognizing broken play, etc.

Investing in the defensive line with applying pressure in mind should always be a focus, IMO. I think it allows the secondary to then react based on what they see in front of them and the movements/decisions the QB is forced to make.

Overall, investing in the trenches on both sides of the ball is always high on my list and our offensive line can limit the pressure applied as well.

To add to what I said, if you have a d-line that cannot consistently apply pressure, I don't care how good a CB might be, them continuously having to react to a new route adjustment if the QB has all day to throw will usually never be a winning battle on the defensive side.

j/c

When I think about an evaluation of Woods this year I get the same thoughts as I did last year when evaluating Baker at season's end.

Sure...there were obvious things that need(ed) to be better...but the circumstances were about as odd as they could get. To the point that one almost has to completely throw out the year that just passed and go back to why the guy is here in the first place and what credentials did he have/show to be here.

A near throw-away year for a reasonable and complete evaluation. JMO

I think Memphis's response was concise and addresses a lot of the reasoning for prioritizing "D-Line". I use quotes there because although it's obvious that DE is a line position, pass-rushing is the predominant function the Browns' need to improve.

In terms of positional value and market demand if you want a starting-caliber DE you will probably need to take him early. Once that's done I would use multiple high round picks to address the secondary. Those guys I mentioned as DB draft targets are generally ranked in the top 100.

We can argue about the unknown health status of Delpit and Greedy (I prefer not to). But I'm optimistic that one or both will be available to the team next season. I don't think Berry misleads with his comments. I understand that there is no advantage for him to overstate their recovery. So, I believe they will be available. We should still add more players on the back end. I would do so aggressively in this draft. Just not with the first round pick.

The only thing that may determine we take a different route in the draft is that pass rushers get drafted high. We aren't usually in a situation where we're drafting at #26. There could easily be five or six pass rushers already drafted by the time we make our pick.

Then the question might boil down to do we take the seventh rated pass rush in the draft or do we take the second best FS in the draft? At that point the choice becomes far more difficult for the talent evaluators.

Give these links time to load:

Hufanga
Adebo

Cisco

Bonus: Marlon Tuipulotu, I think he can two-gap but the dude has excellent athleticism for a DT.
Tuipulotu

Whether or not we go after a Zaven Collins is entirely dependent upon what we can do in Free Agency.

IF we can secure a DE opposite Myles, a DT next to Richardson, and perhaps one CB and one FS - and they don't have to be All-World talents, but just above average... then I see little problem with us then putting a premier talent at LB between all of that, and that would actually take us to another level as it closes a hole in the middle of the D.... BUT, before it can really be worthwhile to do that, we have to address the main things that make this defense go.

I'm a big fan of Collins. I hyped him in Pure Football before the Tulsa/Cincinnati game. I agree that if we address some of our other concerns in free agency then we may target him.

With that said, I hope we are not big buyers in FA this year.

I just don’t see how Collins is there at 26 after all the testing is done.

He won't be, we would have to move up to the 15 range.

Which is not a great idea because we need our picks now more than ever because we have players that are going to cost real money. Having cheap rookies is going to become a must real soon.

I mentioned that I don't want to go down a rabbit hole about Delpit but if the team has a firm understanding of his health that will also makes the DE vs secondary question easier to figure out.

I admit that my eyes are untrained about the nuances of drafting in general and DE in particular. My novice eyes don't see a lot of separation among the DEs, say from 7 to 12. What I like about Phillips is his fluidity and bend. What I like about Perkins is his combination of pass rush and impact on the running game.

I tend to agree, and it's not like we're "one player away". However, I'm a proponent of pushing more chips into the center of the table. Devil's advocate says Collins would be a cheap rookie, if you're giving away our extra 3rd and 4th for a can't miss that addresses a strong area of need - I'm all for it... and I think he's a can't miss.

Yeah, Collins is a bit of my own pipe dream. He’ll be gone before 20, at least.

I just see him as being a great equalizer to Lamar and the Steelers quick passing game too

1. There is no such thing as a can’t miss player.

2. If there is anything close to a can’t miss player he’s not available mid to late round.

Sure there are, they're drafted every year. The problem lies in correctly assessing a player as can't miss - to that end your point is true.

j/c

Link

I like several of the defenders mentioned at the bottom of this article. This is where I hope Andrew Berry does his shopping this year. Particularly, Witherspoon, Hooker, Tartt, and McMillan. There are other names on the list that I'm less familiar with except Ogunjobi.


Low-cost free agent signings that could make big impacts in 2021

Dec 26, 2020; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions defensive end Romeo Okwara (95) warms up before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

By Brad Spielberger
Jan 27, 2021
We’ve written before about the dangers of NFL teams “winning in March.” Shelling out the biggest contracts for premium free agents does not necessarily lead to wins on the football field come September. In general, there’s an onus to overpay for the top players available each offseason as several clubs vie for their services, and more often than not those players have a hard time living up to their lofty new deals.

Still, it’s of course impossible — or impractical — to fill out a full 53-man roster simply through the draft. Clubs need to supplement their core of players with help from the outside, and quality pro scouting can go a long way in identifying the best fits for a particular team. The best additions can often be low-cost, one-year fliers on players coming off an injury, a down season or those who haven’t quite reached their potential. Maybe a player doesn't fit a particular system, or a simple change of scenery is necessary.



Every offseason, a handful of near-minimum signings end up making huge impacts, and this season was no different. Look no further than the four teams that just played in the Conference Championship games:

Kansas City Chiefs: CB Bashaud Breeland signed a one-year, $2 million contract for the 2019 season and followed that up with a one-year, $3 million contract for this season. Among all outside cornerbacks who saw at least 15 playoff snaps over 2019-20, Breeland’s overall grade of 82.2 ranks third, and his 84.7 coverage grade ranks second.

Buffalo Bills: RT Daryl Williams signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract for the 2020 season. Among all right tackles with at least 100 snaps in the 2020 regular season, Williams’ overall grade of 79.4 ranked ninth, his pass-blocking grade of 80.0 ranked fourth and his run-blocking grade of 76.9 ranked 11th.

Only three other right tackles finished with grades above 75.0 in both run blocking and pass blocking in 2020: Jack Conklin, Tristan Wirfs and Ryan Ramczyk.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: He’s not so cheap this season playing on the franchise tag, but ED Shaquil Barrett signed a one-year, $4 million contract with Tampa prior to the 2019 season. Barrett has the most pressures in the NFL (157) among all edge from 2019-20. In 2019, he led the NFL with a staggering 19.5 sacks.

Green Bay Packers: Another right tackle in Rick Wagner was a smart, shrewd move for Green Bay. While he was not a true bargain-bin signing, Wagner signed a reasonable two-year, $11 million deal with the Packers. The key is they let longtime stalwart RT Bryan Bulaga walk, and he signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the the Los Angeles Chargers.

Wagner’s overall grade of 75.6 was exactly 14 points higher than Bulaga’s 61.6, and his pass blocking grade of 78.3 was over 13 points higher. He also outperformed Bulaga in run-blocking grade by 13 points.

The are several other examples around the league in recent years of low-cost signings that made a big impact. Here are just a handful from 2020:

Washington Football Team TE Logan Thomas (two-years, $6.145 million)
Washington Football Team CB Ronald Darby (one-year, $1,047,500)*
San Francisco 49ers CB Jason Verrett (one-year, $3 million)
Indianapolis Colts CB Xavier Rhodes (one-year, $3 million)
Arizona Cardinals T Kelvin Beachum (one-year, $1,187,500)*
Las Vegas Raiders WR Nelson Agholor (one-year, $1,047,500)*
* Veteran minimum

It’s wonderful to look back in hindsight and appreciate these moves, but how do we identify them beforehand?

First, there’s the very important context of NFL learning curves by position. PFF's Timo Riske investigated how each position adjusts to the NFL, and notably, edge rushers and tackles tend to have the steepest learning curves. A rough first year or two could lead to a decrease in snaps. Then a player is fighting just to get back on the field — but the talent could still be there.

Let’s start with Shaquil Barrett, a picture-perfect example of the value of PFF’s grading system.

Over the 2017-18 seasons, Barrett only recorded seven total sacks. However, his 55 total pressures on just 425 pass-rush snaps produced a higher rate of pressures per pass-rush snap than Cameron Jordan, T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, J.J. Watt and several other notable edge rushers.

The example of Ezekiel Ansah demonstrates the other side of this opportunity cost. Ansah had 398 pass rush snaps and 57 total pressures over the same sample, but he more than doubled Barrett's sack count with 15. Ansah signed a one-year, $9 million deal with Seattle.

Of course, being a first-round pick compared to the undrafted Barrett also influenced the value, but the two players produced more or less exactly the same, except Ansah got home with twice as many sacks. As a result, he got more than twice the contract. Ansah has 2.5 sacks since then, while Barrett has 27.5 (both had dealt with injuries in recent years as well).

Who could be this year’s Shaquil Barrett? Another undrafted free agent edge rusher — Detroit Lions ED Romeo Okwara — performed quite similarly in PFF’s stable metrics in 2020 as Barrett did in 2018, actually outperforming him across the board:

Player Pass- rush grade Pass-rush grade on true pass rushes Pass-rush grade w/o play-action Pass-rush win rate
Shaq Barrett (2018) 73.3 83.3 76.2 17.3%
Romeo Okwara (2020) 85.9 90.9 88.0 19.5%
Barrett was and is a much better defender against the run. Okwara is a bit of a pure pass-rush specialist, but he could be a cheaper option in 2021 free agency compared to guys like Yannick Ngakoue and Matthew Judon that ends up providing more value for his new team.

BIG IMPACT ON FEW SNAPS/TOUCHES
How a player is used can, of course, make a big impact on how well they produce. Certain playing styles can lead to higher-leverage snaps. For example, deep threat WRs can go through a rough patch with drops, like Nelson Agholor in Philadelphia.

An interesting name here who has very little usage thus far in his career is Tennessee Titans WR Kalif Raymond. While Agholor was a first-round pick, Raymond is another undrafted guy, and he’s much smaller at 5-foot-8, 182 pounds. Still, Raymond is one of the true deep threat specialists in football. Over 2019-20, among all wide receivers with a minimum of 10 targets, Raymond’s average depth of target ranks sixth at 17.9 yards. His 19.8 yards per reception also ranks sixth.

Raymond's three drops on 16 targets in 2020 led to a receiving grade of 54.2 on the season, down from 76.8 in 2019, but Nelson Agholor’s 2019 receiving grade was quite similar at 55.1. Again, we understand that Raymond would also need to see a major uptick in snaps and targets, but the value in simply taking the top off a defense cannot be understated. Raymond has to be accounted for deep down the field every time he’s out there.



BETTING ON POSITIVE REGRESSION OR IMPROVED HEALTH
Certain positions simply experience more variance than others. Cornerbacks and safeties have the lowest year-to-year correlation in wins above replacement compared to every other position — and by a decent margin.

Injuries can impact this heavily, of course. Washington Football Team CB Ronald Darby is a prime example of the peaks and valleys that occur at wide corner in the NFL. Darby earned a 71.1 PFF grade in 2018, followed by 43.0 in 2019 and 78.3 in 2020. He was recovering from a torn ACL in 2019, which likely impacted his ability to plant, change direction and generally play an athletically demanding position at a high level. He struggled all season long but was back to his old self in 2020.

San Francisco 49ers CB Jason Verrett is another example of a great player held back by injuries, but there are also players like Indianapolis Colts CB Xavier Rhodes that benefited from playing more zone as opposed to man coverage.

There are a handful of cornerbacks that could fit this mold. Here are five notable names sorted by difference in 2019 and 2020 WAR:

Player 2019 WAR 2020 WAR +/-
Quinton Dunbar .446 -.173 .619
Nickell Robey-Coleman .356 -.028 .384
Kevin King .182 -.191 .373
Daryl Worley .199 -.126 .325
Gareon Conley .269 0* .269
*Conley missed the 2020 season

Gareon Conley’s absence in Houston was very apparent, as the Texans cornerbacks ranked 25th in coverage grade as a unit for the 2020 season. They also allowed the third-worst expected points added per play in the NFL at .244, only better than the Lions and Jaguars.

CONCLUSION
In an unprecedented offseason with a decreased salary cap, identifying low-cost players that could make significant contributions in 2021 is more important than ever. The middle-tier of free agency will be most heavily impacted, as the upper echelon of available players will likely still get their due. But after that it’s all about finding surplus value over cheap contracts.

The teams that do the best in this regard could have a serious advantage over the rest of the NFL, especially considering that this was already the case in a normal year.

More 2021 Low-Cost Contributor Candidates
WR Breshad Perriman
WR Kenny Stills
WR John Ross
WR Kendrick Bourne
WR Keelan Cole
WR Willie Snead IV
HB Marlon Mack
TE Anthony Firkser
T Cam Obinson
T Ty Nsekhe
T Ty Sambrailo
T Cam Robinson
G/C Ben Garland
G Denzelle Good
G Jon Feliciano
OL Matt Feiler
CB Cameron Sutton
CB Ahkello Witherspoon
CB Troy Hill
CB D.J. Hayden
CB Mike Hilton
S Bradley McDougald
S Malik Hooker
S Deon Bush
S Jaquiski Tartt
S Rayshawn Jenkins
LB Raekwon McMillan
LB Eric Wilson
ED Samson Ebukam
ED Barkevious Mingo
ED Tarell Basham
ED Kerry Hyder
ED Tyus Bowser
ED Jordan Jenkins
DI Mario Edwards Jr.
DI Roy Robertson-Harris
DI Christian Covington
DI Larry Ogunjobi

I know and thank you.

Myles Jack dropped to 36.

Guys that "there's no way they make it to 'x'" tumble way past 'x' every single Draft.
We got Wills at 10 when everyone was certain he was a lock to go Top 5; I seem to recall other players that everyone felt were Round 1 locks falling to the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

So much depends on what teams do before the Draft. Teams have holes now, but they're going to get more holes, and some of them big... and, they're going to plug others in Free Agency. This offseason, that is compounded even further by a Cap that will DECREASE. Teams that thought they had guys locked up are going to be making hard decisions and letting talent go; other teams will be snatching that talent up and filling big holes. Parity is about to get a reshuffle.

Not saying you'll be wrong in the end, but saying that absolutely nothing is for certain, especially once you get outside the top 3.

Collins = Not very fast. Don't see how he helps against a running QB like Lamar.

I think a LB like Nick Bolton or hybrid S/LB like Owusu-Koramoah provide more value for Browns D.

I don't know enough about either/any of them, but if Collins isn't that fast relative to the others, we don't need him. We need speed that can hit. We need size that can cover.

Simply: we need a guy that can chase Lamar and cover Kelce. That should be easy enough to find, right??

Myles Jack had major injury red flags.

My are points that you can’t count on a guy to fall if you are drafting at 26. And that trading up from 26 to get a guy is not a wise investment.

oh, you can't count on it, for sure; but you also can't outright say it won't happen, especially this far out. It may not be *likely*, but it can happen, especially in a year with extra volatility like this one. Heck, in addition to all of the above, there's also the guys that opted out of their seasons, but also won't be going back.

Add in that a number of teams rely far too heavily on things like the Combine and you can get a bunch of teams making really poor choices. There is a TON that can happen where he easily falls to 26..... but, as was mentioned, if he's slow, we don't don't want him, anyway (which could very well be the thing that makes him fall - right past us).

I'm willing to bet my mortgage that Trevor Lawrence won't fall to #26

Hafanga looks good in those highlights.
Adebo's looks like a lowlights video

I like Cisco but didin't h hurt his knee?
What's the status on that?

Tuipulotu looks like a nice effort player but nothing special. Day 3 pick

Of course, these clips don't represent their whole body of work but, OK.

Cisco does have the ACL it may help us come draft day. Medical evaluations which we don't have access to will inform the team of his recovery timetable and assist in slotting him.

I actually liked Dorsey's thinking on drafting Ward over Bradley Chubb. It was very analytical of him. But I now believe he was wrong. DLine and team speed utmost importance.

Get used to seeing 4-2-5 as the Browns base defense

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2021/01/...lb-snap-counts/


One of the decisions Andrew Berry, Kevin Stefanski and the Browns staff made in the past offseason was to deliberately spend less resources at the linebacker position. That’s part of why Joe Schobert is now in Jacksonville. Based on how Stefanski and defensive coordinator Joe Woods deployed the players in 2020, don’t expect a significant investment in the off-ball LB position in 2021 either.

Like most of the rest of the NFL, the Browns used a base defense that had just two LBs on the field. The 4-2-5 or even the 4-1-6 as a base formation was the dominant deployment. Those two made up over half of the total defensive snaps in the NFL in 2020.

For the Browns, it was even more pronounced. Per John Kosko of Pro Football Focus, which tracks personnel on every snap, the Browns defense under Woods broke down like this in 2020:

4-3-4: 267 snaps (24.8%)

4-2-5: 721 snaps (66.9%)

The rest was primarily 4-1-6 though some heavy packages on short-yardage and red zone situations also factored in.

The linebacker snap count breakdown:

B.J. Goodson – 848 (78.7%)

Malcolm Smith – 559 (51.9%)

Sione Takitaki – 434 (40.3%)

Mack Wilson – 372 (34.5%)

Jacob Phillips – 169 (15.7%)

Tae Davis – 25 (2.3%)

Interestingly, Woods actually used three LBs significantly more than predecessor Steve Wilks in 2019. The Browns had a span of seven games in 2019 where there were more than two LBs on the field exactly once.

The relative lack of depth at safety compared to linebacker in 2020 likely contributed to the increased usage. With Grant Delpit, the team’s second-round pick and projected top safety before an injury wiped out his rookie season, coming back, the Browns could lean more on using one LB more than three in 2021.

So device, with the advantage of your HINDSIGHT...really!

I would caution against using what we did this past season as an indicator of what we'll do next season.

Yes, we are not likely to invest heavily in a free agent LBers unless we can get a true 3-down guy that can cover TE's, but the formations we ran aren't an indicator of preference in personnel as much as they are simply playing the in-game matchup game of who we currently have versus whomever our opponent was in a given situation. We didn't play the same packages in the 1st Qtr when the score was 0-0 as we did in the 3rd or 4th Qtrs when we had a one, two, or three score lead.

In either case, we do need ONE Linebacker that can be out there on all three downs and effectively cover big TE's (and maybe chase Lamar).

4-2-5 has been the base defense for the entire NFL for about a decade now.

If this Browns Wire article contains any kernels of truth and, i think it does. Then a prospect that might fit this scheme well is someone I'm giving a nickname right now...the Heavely Devil. AKa, Divine Deablo safety, Va. Tech. I think he last unti at least round 4, wher I think he would be good value.


https://nflmocks.com/2020/12/30/inside-war-room-2021-nfl-draft-defensive/

One of the more overlooked safeties in this year’s draft is Virginia Tech’s Divine Deablo. This past season Deablo became the first safety in school history to be named All-ACC after he posted 55 tackles and four picks. While he was definitely a productive defensive back in college, there are some questions on him having the skill set to play safety at the next level.

The biggest concern with his pro potential revolves around if he has the fluid hips to hold up in coverage in the secondary. Due to these concerns, he will likely slide into the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft and hopefully is picked by a team smart enough to understand how to use him. The wise way to use him would be to shift him into a nickel linebacker role. This move makes sense for Deablo as he has the size to make the transition (6-foot-3 226 pounds), tackling ability, and coverage skills to make this transition.

As of 2019, NFL teams that regularly incorporate the 3–4 defensive alignment scheme as a base include the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, and Arizona Cardinals.

I say you draft that guy based on his name alone.

Heck, I’ve even thought about going 4-4 against the Ravens lol

He's been very productive over his career at Va. Tech. His name is especially cool though.

DIVINE DEABLO...6-3..226#...5th year senior...

I need to watch some video on this guy...his size indicates that he is a physical tweener between LB and Safety.

Exactly, he might be that positionless defender the team can use to run the 4-2-5. Hopefully our scouting department has done their due diligence.

It’ll be interesting to see where things trend. Smaller and faster seems to be the current flavor on defense due to up tempo offenses and mobile QBs. You have speedy WRs like the Chiefs and then QBs like Jackson. The emphasis has become keeping those guys contained and in front of you.

Then you have offenses like ours with guys like Chubb and a zone stretch that love seeing more DBs on the field.

10 years ago it seemed like free safeties didn’t matter much and now they’re all the rage. It seems like LB has now become the undervalued position. Back when the Patriots started their dynasty, they had hulking former DL players like Bruschi and McGinest playing LB. Now LBs resemble more oversized DBs.

I wonder how the trend will keep evolving. Hell, next thing you know, some team will be the next hot item because they implement a power running game with a man-blocking scheme because the opposing defenses are too small.

I agree. Things are cyclical. The power run game will make a return at some point, whether it’s widely accepted or done by a few teams to buck the trends and take advantage offensively

A controlling run game slows down these scoring machines. Defenses are signing smaller faster players. They are not built to take Chubb beating on them for four quarters.

Many say the run game is fading, but if you look, the teams that can run are at the top of the heap.

I get kinda confused when I see Ski build an offence that is built to beat the kind of Defense they want to build ..

Browns D:
Myles Garrett
Jadeveon Clowney
Takk McKinley
Andrew Billings
Malik Jackson
Denzel Ward
Greg Newsome
Troy Hill
Greedy Williams
Anthony Walker
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Malcolm Smith
Mack Wilson
Sione Takitaki
John Johnson III
Ronnie Harrison
Grant Delpit
Sheldrick Redwine

https://twitter.com/H_Grove/status/1388317667388534792

DL and Pass rusher with the next two picks.

Then I really don’t care.

Murderers' Row

With that secondary, it's more like the 1st Air Cavalry.

Rashard Weaver: DE: Pittsburgh
Daviyon Nixon: DT: Iowa
Jamar Johnson: S: Indiana
Tre Brown: CB: Oklahoma

That's just on defense.

We could go Michael Carter: RB: North Carolina (though I doubt Ernest Johnson would appreciate that)

Is this the physical profile for a Bullet type player I have read about? Seems like everything for anything.

3 yards and cloud of dust rings a bell, a pass can go wrong two ways.....if you have the ball and score TDs and other team gets very few possessions, good things can happen....Go Browns!!!

bard..Joe Woods and Berry had to be shocked that JOK was still on the board. JOKs athletic ability seems to fit a defensive scheme that Woods might prefer.

IMO, Delpit was drafted last year to possibly take on that position but his injury put a stop to any plan of a hybrid LB/SS.

Now with LBs JOK and Delpit, Joe Woods should be able to run more of his defensive playbook.

Well, Mac we can live with those surprises OK, LOLetc. I want to see Woods and his D do more of about three things: First, get themselves off the field more; second, create more turnovers and takeaways; and, third, but not least, score every now and then. Our Line and this deck secondary should do all that and get some sacks.

j/c...
A pretty good overview of who he is and how we got here...

Curtis Weaver: Why is everyone talking about him?

The Browns defensive line looks a lot different this year

By Barry Shuck May 21, 2021, 4:28am EDT 6 Comments


Did you hear that Cleveland GM Andrew Berry stole a fifth-round pick from the Miami Dolphins? Snatched. Seized. Kidnapped. Usurped. Captured.

And did you hear that the player they absconded just might be the answer to the right defensive end position as a stud pass rusher?

Curtis Weaver. Yeh, that’s his name. Never heard of him? Really? Well, let’s take a look at this young man.

In last year’s NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins drafted Weaver in the fifth-round as an EDGE rusher out of Boise State. Weaver (6’-2”, 265 pounds) had the college football production numbers that should have vaulted his draft status earlier than where he was drafted. One word: highly productive. Okay, that’s two words, but he is an intelligent athlete with a high motor and should become a solid defender for the Browns.

Or, he should have been with the Dolphins.

Weaver was never hurt in college, yet in Miami training camp he encountered a freak accident in the second week of full-contact sessions. He took on a block near the end of practice and felt a crack inside his cleat. Although in pain, he participated on the next play only to feel even more pain. He was then instructed to head towards the training room.

When Weaver got inside the training room, the trainers asked him to take off his cleat. As he did and removed his now-blood soaked sock, one of his toes was just, well....dangling. It seems that the big toe had completely snapped when the front of his cleat had gotten bent downwards.

From there, he was sent to the hospital. The extent of the trauma is described as an injury to the sesamoid bone in his big toe. It was there that he learned that his rookie season in the NFL was now over. The likelihood was that Miami would place him on season-ending IR even if surgery was not needed.

However, a few hours later he was informed that the Dolphins were cutting him with a waived/injured designation. This meant he was headed to the waiver wire. Miami’s full intent was to push him through waivers, re-sign him and then place Weaver on IR. However, that plan backfired.

When asked, Miami head coach Brian Flores stated in Sports Illustrated why they had made the decision to waive/injure Weaver and expose him to the waiver wire:

“A lot goes into these decisions: the injury itself, player performance, salary cap, depth at the position, next year’s draft. Those conversations happen with myself, (General Manager) Chris (Grier), (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore), the coaching staff. He’s waived. He could get claimed. It’s a small percentage of players who do get claimed in this situation. We’ll see if we get him back.”

Browns’ GM Andrew Berry put in a claim for him. On August 25, 2020, Weaver officially became a Cleveland Brown.

At the time, the Browns had just come off a 6-10-0 season under then-head coach Freddie Kitchens, so they had the 10th spot in the waiver system. Since Miami was slotted Number 5, this meant only eight clubs were ahead of Cleveland. None of those teams put in a claim for Weaver, however, the Los Angeles Rams did with the 20th waiver wire slot.


Scouting report
That may be all well and good, but aren’t we talking about a fifth-round draft pick? What’s the big deal?

Weaver was a three-year starter for Boise State, but before that he attended St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, California and played varsity basketball and football. The top defensive end in the nation in 2016 was Nick Bosa. Weaver was ranked #40 and the 83rd best high school player in his state. He was named to the California Small Schools All-State Football Team and rated as a three-star recruit.

He received quite a bit of attention from D-1 schools including Wisconsin, Boise State and Illinois plus some D-2 schools. On his official visit to Boise State, he felt at home and announced his intention on National Signing Day.

He was a redshirt in 2016, and then played in all 14 games his freshman season. Weaver had 33 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble, a defensive touchdown, 13 tackles for loss, one forced fumble plus 11 sacks.

In his second year, Wilson had 43 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. When the smoke had cleared, he was named First Team All-Mountain West.

2019 was the year that brought all his efforts together: 19.5 tackles for loss, 52 total tackles, one interception, one forced fumble, and 13.5 sacks. Again, he was named First Team All-Mountain West, but he also was a Ted Hendricks Award finalist, a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist, plus was named Mountain West Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

When his college career was completed, he had set the Mountain West Conference (MWC) record for career sacks with 34. He was also the only defensive player in college football to ever average 9.5 sacks or better during a three-year stint.

There were doubters who stated that the blocking standards and talent level in regards to the offensive linemen in the MWC weren’t as stringent as other conferences. Regardless, Weaver was ultra-productive at Boise State and was a problem for every offensive coordinator in that conference.

Weaver was the first player to receive grades above 90 from Pro Football Focus as a pass rusher since the Browns’ Myles Garrett in his playing days at Texas A&M. It has been noted that Weaver’s hand battles and placement along with better bend are some of the reasons he ended up in opposing backfields so often. He is also a leader.

Here is a 2020 pre-draft scouting report from TheLastWordOnSports.com:

“Over the past three college football seasons, few players rivaled Curtis Weaver in terms of being able to force negative plays week in and week out. His 34 career sacks are currently a Mountain West record. Those scouts and other talent evaluators who adhere to the notion that players can successfully transition their production from college to the pros will certainly have their eye on Weaver. He’s a smart, instinctual player who’s elusive in space which makes him capable of blowing up plays in the backfield.

Perhaps the biggest concern surrounding Weaver is his ability to convert speed to power doesn’t jump out which will inhibit his ability to dominate at the point of attack against the top tackles in the league. That probably creates a limit to his ceiling. But he does have a future at the next level.”

Here is the scouting report on The Draft Network:

“Does well to reduce, tilt, flatten and work around the outside hip of offensive tackles. Generally takes good rush angles and complements his rush with ideal footwork. He’s slippery when working through gaps and around edges. Rushes with a plan, showcasing an expansive array of moves to get home. Executes with good timing. He looked comfortable in any role, which speaks to his football IQ.”


Browns plans for him?
It seems very clear that the Browns consider Curtis Weaver can come in and someday soon become that dominant pass rushing machine he once was while in college or insert him at linebacker. The franchise was ear-marked to draft a young stud defensive end in this year’s draft, yet they did not. The speculation is that Berry believes Weaver is that vernal guy.

By claiming Weaver when he had just developed his injury, this meant that Cleveland had to immediately place him on IR and pay him for an entire year. Which they did. Later, Weaver would have surgery. It also meant that they had to save a spot on the 90-man training camp roster for this year until he was completely healthy enough to participate in camp. Which they did that, too.

Browns’ head coach Kevin Stefanski had this to say about Weaver in a recent article in The Beacon Journal about his expectations of Weaver making a contribution to the defense:

“Those are the type of guys that we’re going to give them every opportunity to grow, and they have to put the work in to make it happen. I love Curtis, and really, you can put him with the second-year players, or you can put him with the rookies and say this is truly his first year with us.”

According to Weaver’s agent Ron Slavin, he signed a four-year deal with the Dolphins for $3.602,996 million with a $308,000 signing bonus which is standard for a fifth-round pick. He got the same deal with Cleveland.

Players who are designated as waived/injured usually don’t get picked up by other teams for the reason that other clubs don’t want to take on the salary to pay a player who is injured and has zero chance of playing that year. For the Browns and Berry, Weaver seems to be that rare exception. He will be 23 years old in August while his cap number in 2021 is just $660,000.

In training camp this year, Weaver will be working for a spot behind either Myles Garrett or Jadeveon Clowney. Currently, those two backup roles are penciled in as Porter Gustin and Takk McKinley. Weaver will have to be patient plus he is facing a jump in competition from the Mountain West Conference.

The beauty of Weaver is that he has been in Ohio a full year instead of being claimed just now. At least his new teammates won’t be strangers as he spent the entire 2020 season at the Browns’ facilities complete with his rehab process. He has quietly and diligently spent the past six months working to regain his core strength, running, cutting, lifting and all the other rigors of working out. Now, the toe and his body have fully-healed and he was cleared by the team doctors two months ago.

Can Weaver secure one of those four or five defensive end roster spots? His defensive line coach, Chris Kiffin, believes in him:

“It’s exciting. He bought in, and we all saw the change. Word spread around the building like, ‘Man, this guy might be something.’ He’s been fun. We’ve had him in the meeting rooms all year long and he’s a good personality. We’re anxious as can be to get him out there and see what he can do.”

To be factual, once he became injured, the Dolphins decided Weaver simply wasn’t worth keeping around.

Sometimes it takes a tragedy to get you triumph. It may have happened for Weaver. And since Andrew Berry did not draft a pass rushing defensive end in this year’s draft, the Browns are counting on it.

https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2021/5/21/22426897/curtis-weaver-why-is-everyone-talking-about-him

I really hope he works out.

Crazy about the injury. One might say he suffered from an open sesamoid...

...I'll see myself out.

lol!


It's a great story, and potentially the steal of the year. At the very worst, he should be able to develop into a solid rotational guy. Our long-term 3rd or 4th DE. If he blows up and takes a starting DE spot, so much the better.... either way, our depth is improved and we're better positioned to keep pressure on offenses throughout a game.

For whatever CBS knows ....... but if they're right ...... look out.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranki...not-far-behind/


Ranking NFL's top 10 defenses for 2021: Hail to the Football Team, with Bucs and Browns not far behind

We've spent a lot of time this offseason talking about offenses. But enough of that.

Now, it's time to move to the other side of the ball. Because while offense has a greater effect on overall team performance -- and is more consistent year over year -- than defense, you still need to put up some resistance in order to actually win football games. Rather than go through every team from 32-1 on this side of the ball like we did on offense, however, we're going to reveal our top 10 defenses here, and then debut a list of teams from outside that group that have the best chance to crash the party as the best defense in football.

Without further ado ...

(You can read the rest of the teams at the link)

3. Cleveland Browns
As high a hopes as I have for the Ravens, they are even higher for the Browns. They should be the most improved defense in the league. John Johnson III might have been the best free-agent signing of the offseason, a perfect match of skill set and team need. He'll diversify the team's coverages with his ability to play center field and rotate into two-high looks, and to make plays on the ball. Cleveland also added both Troy Hill (in free agency) and Greg Newsome II (in the draft) to Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams at corner, plus they have Grant Delpit coming back from injury and Ronnie Harrison for a full season. They signed Jadeveon Clowney and Takkarist McKinley to supplement Myles Garrett on the edge, and brought in Malik Jackson and Tommy Togiai to work with Jordan Elliott and Andrew Billings up the middle. Throw in linebacker Anthony Walker and jack-of-all-trades Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and this might be the most versatile group in the NFL.

bro if our defense even finishes in the top 10 at the end of the season...when the last time that happened? 2014 season with Pettine?

What will be more impressive is if the defense finishes in the Top 10 along with having a Top 10 offense.

We've seen all too many times where teams wouldn't even work their offenses because we posed no threat, so our defenses had stats that looked better than they were.

I'd heard of Weaver, hasn't played a down yet, iirc, think he's a guy with upside I'd like to see make the 53 to see where it goes.

Defense where do they go from here,
Ahead of myself: WE all know, 8 Charlie Fryes, Quinns, Thaddeus', and so on are not equal to one top QB in this league, on that note the tough question number 2.

The Browns are expected to have a lot of success including playoff level in the upcoming season, the defense is expected to be top quality and part of it is using a lot of cover guys and more snaps in dime defense than otherwise.

1. Do the Browns have a veteran true Cornerback not named Denzel Ward or Troy Hill?
2. Is this player a real veteran cornerback or one of the other categeories.?

a) A hopeful veteran who has experience but has not yet been really good.

b) A 1st year player with high expectations but we never really know until it's tested.

c) A position player who is not a true cornerback.

It'd be fun to just wave the Brown and Orange flag and not question anything but that is a tough question to answer that may be a future look back at why they didn't live up as a group to expected success.

Having two of three starting CB's as veterans goes a LONG way. You can afford to start a rookie/Greedy on the other side. Further backing this is the guys behind them: we are LOADED at Safety. Yes, Delpit will be a redshirt rookie, but he was lighting it up in camp last year before his injury and he has a year of learning under his belt.

This isn't to say that it will all be roses and fairy farts, because it won't be. QB's will still get theirs, we will still give up some big plays, we will still allow completions and some of them will be in the endzone... but we will still stop more than we allow. We're gonna be Ok.

The weaknesses that offenses choose to attack will still be starting-caliber players; not recycled backup role players forced into a starting role.

Yeah as really having two CB vets does go a very long way. But hope Greedy will star off the bat!