DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2020 NFL Season 2020 NFL Draft Combine

Lol...

Mekhi Becton, 6-7, 364, runs 5.10 40 at Combine.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/0a...at-2020-combine

There is a lot to unpack in that performance alone. You don't come into the combine and run that well without putting in work.

He had to get out of his stance very well. He showed explosiveness, balance and a great connection between his lower half and his upper body. To me, he's the #1 LT in this draft. I expect him to continue to show exceptional athleticism coupled with rare size and power.

That wasn't some fat guy running, like that OT the Bengals drafted a couple years ago. Becton ran like an athlete, with great balance. I heard on the radio that he has 17% body fat, which is ridiculous for a man that big.

Andre Smith 2009...

Give me Wirfs at ten or trade down.

Wirfs is impressive.

Wirfs was very impressive. He would be a worthy selection at 10 also. The only question of him is playing on the left side. Whoever we take at 10 should be with an expectation to play LT.

1. He probably won't be there.

2. We probably won't take him for reasons mentioned.


We are probably going to stick at 10 unless we have pretty solid intel a player we want will fall a bit.


Simmons could fall to #10 as could Derrick Brown. If they are there, I would take them over any O lineman. Our O is closer to being good over our D. Brown is a monster in the middle. He plays the run well and pushes the middle in to the QBs face.

Boise State OT Ezra Cleveland just had an all-time kinda combine. Best 3-cone (7.26) and shuttle (4.46) of any OL in attendance

https://twitter.com/MathBomb/status/1233572269663846400

Not done entering testing for everybody, but looks like Andrew Thomas is going to land within elite range for RAS.

j/c:

Some of the drills at the Combine confound me. When I was worked for a collegiate scouting service, I put guys through a series of drills and I think they were important.

Earlier, I was watching a drill where the offensive linemen started off flat on their back w/their heads facing in the direction of the defense. That is so stupid. They would get up, and move in the direction the coach would move the football. That part made sense.

I would start them in their typical stance [I would NOT put them on their back] and then move them from side-to-side so I could evaluate their knee bend [that was a part of the drill.] It's important to check out their knee bend and make sure they aren't waist benders. [That's part of the drill.] The drill then asked for the guys to move backwards in a straight line [I think that is dumb] and finish by sprinting forward for 20 yards or so [Unnecessary.] Instead, I would have them open up after shuffling to see how their footwork, balance, and knee bend looked when they were being rushed from the outside and/or outside.

NFL.com's Prospect Rating Scale

8.0 The perfect prospect

7.3-7.5 Perennial All-Pro

7.0-7.1 Pro Bowl talent

6.7-6.8 Year 1 quality starter

6.5 Boom or bust prospect

6.3-6.4 Will be starter within first two seasons

6.1-6.2 Good backup who could become starter

6.0 Developmental traits-based prospect

5.8-5.9 Backup/special-teamer

5.5-5.6 Chance to make end of roster or practice squad

5.4 Priority free agent

5.0-5.1 Chance to be in an NFL training camp

NO GRADE Likely needs time in developmental league

**********

Following list of OTs includes those who are known as top prospects, as well as some others I have seen mentioned in connection with or mock-drafted to the Browns, either here at DT or other draft sites:

NFL.com's 2020 OT prospect ratings

Becton, Mekhi Louisville 6.49

Cleveland, Ezra Boise St 6.21

Jackson, Austin USC 6.31

Jones, Josh Houston 6.42

Niang, Lucas TCU 6.32

Peart, Matt Connecticut 6.17

Thomas, Andrew Georgia 6.48

Throckmorton, Calvin Oregon 5.95

Wills, Jedrick Alabama 6.89

Wirfs, Tristan Iowa 6.46

************

My comments:
Pretty underwhelming ratings overall for what we were told was a very strong OT draft. It seems to me that when you are drafting at #10, you should be getting a starter for sure, and also a potential Pro Bowl talent. Going by the ratings - if they are to be believed - only Wills meets that criteria. So I'm wondering if that shouldn't point towards either (a) going in a different direction (D-Line/LB/CB - eg: D Brown, I Simmons, J Okudah if avail), or (b) trading down for what would be a better value pick at the remaining OTs. Or do we just take the top 4 OT (Wills, Becton, Thomas, Wirfs) that falls to us at #10?


https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/prospe...L&year=2020

I thought Wirfs and Thomas would be a bit higher on those rankings

An interesting insight into the difference between how the professionals view a player versus how the internet views them.

Says to me that all the OTs are basically the same in terms of risk: no slam dunks like Joe Thomas. So, the only reason to be picking them high is that once they start to go, there will be a run.


An interesting project would be to take the complete rankings and apply it to the draft based on expected needs.... you just might find that some of those OTs fall to round 2

At 10, Xavier McKinney S from Bama is a beast. Reminds me of Ed Reed, can blitz, is a ball hawk, and a playmaker. At 41, I am liking Cole Kmet TE from Notre Dame. Njoku needs to go. At 70, Noah Igbinoghene CB from Auburn. He is a really good tackler and gets himself in the right position, and has electric speed for Special Teams. Draft OL later. Wasting high picks on OL makes zero sense unless you are an OL away from going deep in the Playoffs

OTs seem to be like QBs in the draft. Once the run (panic) starts, they go off the board quickly. I could see 6 or more being gone in the 1st round, just because its such a premium position in today's NFL. That said, it might make sense to trade back to 15-16-17 and take a Josh Jones there, because there doesn't seem to be that big a difference between him and the lower 3 of the top tier group. Doing that could net you another 2nd that you could use (along with one of our 3rds) to trade back into the late 1st round.

The only positions the Browns are solid at are RB, WR, C, DL. Everything else needs to be upgraded. I would tank for Trevor Lawrence next year. Mayfield has no chance to be elite, he chokes in the clutch, and he acts like an immature child

I agree ... OTs wont last in this one. There is a run of them every year

Great! Another poster who "likes" his own posts ...

Offensive linemen can be easily found in Rounds 4+. Wasting high picks on OL does not make any sense at all

Not saying you're wrong, but which Tackles, right or left, around the NFL, were drafted in rounds 4+?

We all know who this is.

Supe's burner account?

Maybe a son ..daughter or relative ?

J/C
The rating categories are fine. I don't put much stock in internet media types ability to grade players. Zuerlein is far from infallible. He has a media background. Nothing in is background is related to scouting. He isn't the best or the worst of his ilk. Just keep in mind, there is no scouting or coaching on any level on his resume.

Players need to be graded by people who place them within their schemes for the things those schemes need from the player.

Just another stray thought crept into my head. I'm feeling more and more comfortable with taking one of Becton, Wirfs, Wills or Thompson at ten. It is highly probable that more than one of them will be on the board at ten. If somehow that didn't happen if we could get a small trade down I'd take Jones later in the first round.

The chances that the Browns don't get a player that can help the O-line with their first pick seems pretty remote.

I realize this is the kind of statement that smells of optimism which is like blood in the water for a shark or wizened Dawgtalker. LOL.

Apparently, there's some buzz that Jordan Love, QB, Utah, could move into the top 10, with the Raiders (#12), Colts (#13), and Bucs (#14) possibly trading up to take him. If 4 QBs (Burrow, Tagovailoa, Herbert, Love), along with Chase Young, Derrick Brown, Jeff Okudah, and Isaiah Simmons go in the top 10, the Browns could trade down into the low teens and still get one of the top 4 OT, while picking up additional draft capital.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001...ove-into-top-10

I'm expecting that and I'd rather trade up and get Simmons. As of right now our starting SAM is Willie Harvey

Remember Thursday when we thought we could get Wirfs or Simmons at ten? That was fun.

I think it's more Takitaki at SAM. I don't know why people are in such a hurry to get rid of Kirksey. He's pretty close to the same player as Schobert, but he tore a pec last year. It's not something that will slow him down, and he's not even that old yet.

Kirksey missed significant time two years ago. Schobert never misses a game. It’s hard to believe Kirksey will be here. This is the first year we have an easy out of that contract. If they don’t wanna pony up for Schobert, hard to believe they’d pony up for Kirksey.

They'd probably like to replace both with younger, cheaper players, but Kirksey will probably not be until next year. Need some experience at LB. Plus, Kirksey's the guy who's been voted a captain by the team, not Joe. Injuries happen, I imagine the team knows if he's healthy now, and I suspect he is. It shouldn't be something that lingers.

2019 Captains Link

I’m not buying this at all. Kirksey missed the past two seasons. These guys aren’t paying him that contract. They’d have gotten out last year if it wasn’t guaranteed.

I’m a Browns Fan and generally a homer (it’s the only way to be. Positive about the team and all). I like Kirksey. I like players who are homegrown talent. I just don’t see these guys watching Joe Schobert walk for over 10 million a year, and willing to pay a guy who’s missed the last two seasons. He was Training Camp Captain and Captain for two games. Schobert made the calls and was far more of a leader for this defense last season than Kirksey, and they weren’t even in the same ballpark.


Maybe they’re playing a supplemental pick strategy..... trades and late free agents and let contracts expire? That’d be the only explanation I could see

Schoberts contract is uo. Kirksey's is not. That is a huge difference. They did not cut Schobert. They just decided at least to this point to not re sign.

He was voted as a team captain in 2017, 2018, and 2019. He's the one the guys in the locker room see as the leader on D. I think that matters. Yes, he's had bad injury luck. A pec isn't something that's chronic usually. I'd be more worried about the hamstring injury from 2018, but he was moving around great last year (when we saw him, admittedly) and is now a couple of years removed. As far as I can tell, he never missed a game in college. Thomas Davis missed most of 2009-2011 due to injury, but hasn't missed hardly any games since. I see Kirksey's situation as similar. Injuries can happen to anyone. It doesn't mean that they will.

Sashi might not have kept him. Berry is not Sashi.

Joe is the leader we had. Kirksey is the leader the team wanted. Leadership on D wasn't that great the past two years. I'm not sure why people keep pointing to Joe's leadership as a positive instead of an indictment. He's a nice, smart guy and a solid play caller/relayer. But our D was underwhelmingly led on the field.

Simmons at 10 was a hell of a dream. Move up for him?

I agree. It isn't a good enough reason to take any at #10 IMO unless all the remaining players are graded in a similar range and there aren't any 7.0's as an example.

If we are dead set on drafting a OT, we could probably drop 4-5 slots and get the same guy we could have had at 10.