DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2021 NFL Season 2021 NFL Draft The EDGE could be the biggest move for us.

I think that Curtis Weaver may have something to him, at least rotaionally.

Personally I'd make a play for Trey Hendrickson, Romeo Okawara or Carl Lawson. I'd then perhaps take a mid / late round chance on a guy like Janarius Robinson, Jordan Smith, William Bradley-King or Ellerson Smith.

It has to be the BPA in round 1 or 2 that isnt a HB, QB or OT. Edge, CB, Safety, LB, DT, WR. After that, take a few flyers.

Some guys who opted out will drop - like Jevon Holland - if hes there in round 2, for example, run up and hand the card in....

Ive seen a few mocks with us getting Phillips for the DL. I definitely think we’re going to be targeting front 7 early

A edge rusher in free agency is a must. If you wait until the draft, you are playing a losing hand.

Especially drafting at #26. The position goes fast and the top talent is pretty much depleted by then. Sure you can find a great player at #26 in an edge rusher, but your odds of success have greatly diminished by that point.

With under $18m (estimated) cap space, it'll be interesting to see what we do. I can't imagine we try for a top tier guy - but someone like Hendrickson, Okwara or even Takk might be doable. I'd love to see OV back if it was a team friendly deal.

I really don't pay much attention to cap until we have the actual numbers as determined by the league. There seems to be a range of numbers reported, so for me, I'll wait on that.

Once we know, we will have a better idea of what we might be able to do...we do have a few players we can cut to add cap dollars.

The 2020 depth of Clayborne, Vernon and Garrett, was pretty premo as far as Browns years and depth they had at DE per year go,

Now the question is, going forward, how much of that 2020 greatness will take a hit, and how to address it.

But A toast, to appreciate the Edge rushing on the team this past year.

Yup, I did one where I was able to trade down and still grab Phillips.

Addressing DE and DT are HUGE areas of concern, and if I know this FO, we will do what we can to address them both, and the other areas, in free agency so that we can go into the Draft in a position where we don't have to try to force anything to happen.

Draft report on Weaver for any folks interested:

https://thedraftnetwork.com/player/curtis-weaver/NdZQK5w8Zi

Phillips is easily the most talented but his injury history is so out there. 3 concussions and already retired once.

That and he looks like Kid 'N Play.

Definitely think we hit the D-line early in this draft; we need to get some young talent there.

I see us signing a free agent DE for a year or two, but doubling-up and getting another DE with a Day 1 or Day 2 pick. I think signing a guy like Takk McKinley would be perfect for this scenario.

Need to build up some depth here to keep MG fresher; I know a lot of people think COVID hurt him, but I think he got worn out a bit throughout the year as well.

I wouldn't touch the guy even as a free agent. His brain has been bruised too many times. The kid might already be slobbering out the side of his mouth.

It is pretty alarming. How many Derrick Henry stiff-arms would he be able to sustain?
I started to sour on this edge class a month or so ago. It's Kwitty Paye as a base end and a bunch of guys who either lack explosiveness (ie: Basham and Weaver) or have 2 pass-rush moves (ie: Rousseau, Oweh, Tryon, Jones II...like everyone).

A lot of day 2 rotational guys who are going to need to take to heavy coaching before they become starters.

If Ojulari comes in close to 250 lbs,I'd take him in the first, though (I think he played around 238 in college).

The again, if we played a 3-4 defense, I'd probably love this class

Actually it was Myles himself who stated he had lingering effects of Covid.

Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett still feeling effects of COVID-19: 'Bound to affect your lungs'

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf...cts/3988579001/

From our earlier conversation ; Deipit / Elliot / Philips , draft didn't do anything for me .. I don't think much of this draft class as far as Edge goes.. Picking in the twenty range I would into Horn , Moriegh ( spelling ) Collins or Barimore from Alabama .. Edge in FA as a stop gap ..

I agree. It is a weak edge and LB class.

Decent on DB and safties, interior line is strong and WR is strong....oh...qb looks strong as well.

I wouldn't draft an edge player in the first 2 or 3 rounds this year, they are either way to light to play full time DE in a 4-3, one dimensional in their pass rush, have medical concerns, or lack playing experience. If we draft a pass rusher I suggest we look at some of the small school guys like Koonce at Buffalo or Ray Johnson from Georgia Southern.

Yeah Vernon is not going to be back here. For his sake, I hope he can still play somewhere

Sheldon Richardson is 30, his birthday is in November, he is under a contract for 1 more year. Now, given the run defense of the 2020 Browns, I would think, the Browns could do a lot worse than locking up another 1, 2, or 3 year contract for Richardson in the middle
Good solid Players who like playing football and are reliable veterans, to figure they can play well until age 33 is not unusual at all.
And To go around hoping the team will find someone who can play in the middle when the team already has Richardson, and inevitably finding out the other person can't stop the run as well or come up with key plays when needed, as well is just manufacturing a team need unnecessarily.

I'd still like a run-first D-tackle in round 3 or so, but I agree, DT is not a double-dip need (assuming we take advantage of the situation and lock up Richardson).

D-End almost certainly is (Clayborn didn't exactly light it up and could be moved off of if cap space is needed).

Same with CB. We have to fill the slot at a minimum before the draft. The depth guys we can possibly wait on as teams look to get under the cap and trade/release players (though upgrading Greedy would be even better).

Heck, slot and DE are my two biggest Free Agent needs. Even off-ball LBer can be held back until we see what all veterans become available if we so choose.

I'd still like to take a flyer on Malik Hooker, though. His range at Free Safety is special when healthy. No one is likely to offer him any guarantees, so I'd give him a 500,000-1 mil signing bonus on a 2-year deal just to see if we can get lucky. Does it still count as a double-dip if you take a flyer on a safety and then draft one?

Is Brandon Graham too old for a one-year rental if we don't get Watt? No way the Eagles fit in a soon-to-be 33 year old DE on the last year of his contract.

j/c

I just want to point out that Richardson filled in quite well at DE (at times) last year as well. He's a keeper.

I would expect Richardson to restructure his contract or not be with the team in 2020.

How about,
Ogbah,
Nassib,
Orchard,
Avery, I miss them.

If any team is blind enough to rely on Eliott and Taylor at this point in their careers, for a full season, with them being even the #1 rotation spot for one of their two inside DT positions, then they'll deserve the getting their backsides handed to them that they'll get.

J/c

I would rather the team address DE in free agency. If not i think a lot draft options are bunched together and that you could take one on day two of the draft. I say this to preface my preference to take a DT in round one. I want Jay Tufele of USC. He can be summed up this way. He is 1 technique with the athletcim of a 3 tech. Ive seen the dude run down ball carriers from behind 15 yards downfield. Sent from my phone usually spell some what better.

I agree. After Payne and maybe one other, I don't think the DE group is all that good, or should I say a sure thing. At least as far as drafting a "sure thing" goes. All the other have some big question marks attached. As you said, we probably have as good a chance of getting a good player at the position drafting them in the 3rd round as drafting them at #26.

Me? I push that position down the draft board.

We are at the point where drafting with need as a primary focus needs to be abandoned. Filling a need should be addressed in free agency.

If sustained success over the next decade is a goal, we need to worry less about drafting positions and focus on drafting the best players. Those players may not be a "need" today, but they very well could in a year or two. I'll even go so far as to say "they will be" needed down the road.

Now that the team has crossed over so to speak, I don't want this to be a 2 year deal. I want the team to be a playoff contender year after year.

We have a 2-3 year window with this basic roster of core players. Rookies aren't going to make that big of an impact.

Bring in 2-3 free agents on 2 year deals and see where it leads. Use the draft to stock the team with capable players and give them time to develop in to the next core of starters.


Just look at the O line. Wills is here long term, or should be, and I would say Teller should be a long term fixture. Treeter and Bitonio aren't long term any longer. I doubt either will be here in 2 years. Conklin, I think we have him through this season. We need to either replace him or sign him again.

QB we are set. QB and O line are the key components on the O IMO. Finding quality backs and receivers isn't all that hard if you have a decent QB and a decent O line.

I am not saying backs and receivers aren't important and don't mean to diminish what they do or there aren't some who do clearly stand out above the rest. I am just saying there are always a good supply of free agents and potential draftees that can be had in any given year. To me, those are positions of opportunity. If given the opportunity, teams have plenty of players at those positions who would perform well as long as the team has a quality QB and a quality O line.

I thought Elliot was a rookie this year. And Taylor is like a second year player. I don't understand your comment.

This team needs LINEBACKERS LINEBACKERS AND LINEBACKERS!

To be fair, it is kind of hard to go into a season relying on young players who haven't shown "it" yet.

It's not like our D-line depth are top end draft picks. Hopefully they work, but...

Getting at least 1 more guy is still pretty high up there.

Maybe I'm just jealous of all these nothing-but-1st-round-draft-pick D-lines. Then again, If we signed JJ Watt and draft Barrmore out of Alabama, that would be us. A bit of overkill perhaps, but still

There is no way this FO lets one free agent eat up almost all of our available cap. If they can't get the price down, or come up with a structure to dramatically lower the hit in 2021, then I don't see it happening. They aren't going to sacrifice the long-term health of the team for one guy on a short-term deal.