One of the "guardrails" is to always look to improve the QB room/pipeline, Stefanski likes TEs, we had issues in short yardage situations at times. I wonder if we might look at Sam Ehlinger (or a similar prospect) in a Taysom Hill-like role. I'm not saying I'd draft him, I just came across an article on his predraft regimen the other day and it got me thinking.
Rondale Moore is kind of interesting to me. We could use more game breakers/defense stressers on offense. I don't know about 26, but if he's hanging around in the 2nd, he's kind of intriguing. A threat on the jet motion that Defenses can't ignore and could help in the return game. I'm not saying he'd be Tyreek Hill, but he might have that sort of potential.
Anyone else have these kind of draft musings or thoughts on mine?
You mess with the "Bull," you get the horns. Fiercely Independent.
There is history between Mayfield and Ehlinger and it's not good.
Here's the link. The continued development of the Browns' offense is inextricably tied to Mayfield. Introducing a distraction of this kind would be problematic. Cleveland's "new culture" is too delicate, at this point, to create a problem where none exists. I do like your thinking on adding a multi-dimensional offensive weapon but the personal chemistry between these two is toxic.
My primary concern with Moore is his injury history. He came on to the college scene as a phenomenal offensive weapon. He's been nicked up and may have lost some of his dynamic athleticism. I am not at all opposed to adding a player to juice up the offense. Any names that I mention as alternatives are just that names, I only know these players by what I've read about them. Anyway here are two names that might be similar to Moore. Jaelen Darden, North Texas and Anthony Swartz of Auburn.
Thought I would add this here. It is a pretty interesting article on what the NFL might be looking for in drafted prospects. I say might because it is the writers opinion, but one I think is pretty spot on.
2021 NFL Draft: New age traits and skills at each position that prospects need in today's NFL These are the skills draft prospects need in order to be successful in the modern NFL Chris Trapasso
By Chris Trapasso Feb 19, 2021 at 12:16 pm ET 6 min read micah-parsons.jpg USATSI The most vital aspect of scouting the NFL Draft is to know precisely what to look for. And the NFL evolves faster than any other billion-dollar entity, so knowing what to look for is a moving target.
Each year, it's important to stand back and examine the latest trends and themes from the previous seasons to see how GMs and coaches will pick, and then how they use their players in new, tweaked roles from even what they were asking of those players a season or two ago.
This article outlines the new-age traits and skills for prospects as they enter the NFL in 2021.
Tom Brady, king of the statuesque quarterbacks, just won his seventh Super Bowl and did so as a 43 year old on a new team. But don't let that fool you. Brady is the outlier of all anomalies and may have morphed from human to cyborg somewhere in the middle of the Patriots dynasty thanks to a steady two-decade long diet of pink Himalayan salt and avocado ice cream.
The highly athletic, ad-lib master describes the new, young wave at the quarterback position in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow -- all can win from the pocket, but they can also bust big plays when they go off-script and are legitimate multi-dimensional threats. Now, does every single quarterback have to be a phenomenal athletic specimen with street-ball skills outside the confines of the tackle box? No, not necessarily, but what Mahomes, Allen, Watson and Co. have done is raise the bar for playmaking at the position, and if you're a draft prospect who can only flourish as a stoic pocket passer, you're going to have to be absolutely surgical in essentially every game to play to their level.
Gone are the days when a big plus to your running back's game are his abilities to simply catch a screen pass and make things happen after the catch. We're entering an NFL in which backs are deployed as stand-in slot receivers, and the 2021 draft class will serve as the catalyst to this movement.
Najee Harris, Travis Etienne, Demetric Felton, and Kenny Gainwell can all, quite comfortably, line up in a classic receiver location before the snap, run an intricate route against a linebacker or safety, get open, catch the ball, and then utilize their honed running back skills in space down the field.
Offenses with running backs who have legitimate positional flexibility are ahead of the vast majority of the other attacks that don't have that luxury, and as the run game is slowly but surely moving the background of offensive philosophies, running backs can maintain value by proving to their coaches they can run sharp, separation-generating routes.
By now, it's old analysis to label separation skill as the "new" ability teams covet most from their wide receivers and tight ends. We know this. In some ways, the NFL is going retro -- think back to Bill Walsh and the debut of the West Coast Offense in the 1980s. It was predicated on precise rhythm in the offense and mostly, yards after the catch.
Because superfreaks like D.K. Metcalf or Julio Jones don't enter the league every season, and hyper-quick wideouts like Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs, and Deandre Hopkins are decently rare too -- wideouts who aren't unbelievably athletic or don't run in the 4.3s can carve a valuable niche for themselves in today's NFL.
Ask Deebo Samuel, or A.J. Brown, or D.J. Moore.
Now that the league has become obsessed with high completion percentages, the ability to maximize the three-yard pass and morph it into a 12-yard gain has become en vogue once again, just like it was when Walsh had Jerry Rice and John Taylor running away from every corner in the league on drag routes in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Linebacker prospects who are legitimately good in coverage are so rare, it's almost become pointless trying to find them. Relatively soon, I do think we'll see the safety and linebacker spot essentially meld into one, but as for your "traditional" linebacker who's playing at the distinct second level of the field, there's like one or two in each draft class who can actually be impactful in coverage.
Because of his glaring, widespread weakness, coaches in college and the NFL asking their linebackers to affect the passing game in another way if they simply can't cover anyone or are lost in zone -- get after the quarterback.
In 2020, of qualifying linebackers, 30 of them rushed the passer on at least 20% of the passing downs when they were on the field, the most in at least the last 10 years in the NFL. But even if the uptick in linebackers as rushers is minimal year over year, it's a new philosophy more teams should incorporate into their game plans. It's better for a young linebacker to beat a running back in pass protection and disrupt the quarterback than he is to adequately cover a pass catcher in space.
While I do value coverage as the most heavily weighted category in my grading system when evaluating linebackers, "pass-rush/blitzing skill" has now entered the system as a new category.
Cornerbacks New-age trait: Twitch
In my eyes, gone are the days when you need to be a 6-1, 210-pound cornerback to play in the perimeter in the NFL. In fact, that type of size at the cornerback spot has transformed into a slight concern after spending years as a clear-cut luxury. Why? Because most corners that tall and that thick aren't the most fleet of foot and don't have twitched-up athletic traits, and the modern-day star wideout destroys press at the line with agility and can get open routinely with athleticism.
This past season, Julio Jones, Corey Davis, and Kenny Golladay were the only wideouts taller than 6-1 in the top 10 of yards per route run among qualifiers at the receiver position. From 11 through 20 in yards per route run, there were only three more pass catchers taller than 6-1 (Jakobi Meyers, Michael Thomas, and Allen Robinson).
The majority of the elite receivers today are smaller, more sudden, and more explosive than ever before. So cornerbacks entering the NFL who're confident they can beat up those wideouts at the line of scrimmage and smother them through their routes are almost always sorrily mistaken -- especially with the strict defensive holding rules enforced today.
Get me a twitched-up, hyper athlete who can handle burst and routes with abrupt changes in direction, even if that means drafting a 5-10, 185-pounder.
Safeties New-age trait: Legitimate versatility
The three safety look started to appear late in the playoffs and it's the wave of the future defensively in the NFL. And I'm not talking two classic safeties and one hulking Derwin James type. Because, well, Derwin James is a unicorn and oftentimes the 6-3, 220-pound second-level defenders aren't the most apt in coverage.
Because of the increase in pass-catching targets for quarterbacks, teams are simply going to have to keep more defensive backs on the field, and typically, safeties are better run-support players than cornerbacks when a run does occur. Worth noting here too -- for as much as the league is won and lost through the air, the NFL's run rate was still 43.3% in 2020, so it's not as if the run game has completely vanished.
Safeties who can cover in man, are instinctive in zone, are comfortable as a deep middle rover, patrol the intermediate levels at time as a robber, blitz in critical situations at get home, and, oh, range across the field to stop a running back dead in his tracks on 3rd and 4 are worth their weight in bitcoin, I mean, gold. Even if they are stellar in any particular area, versatility has become king.
Advanced stats courtesy of TruMedia unless otherwise noted
Last edited by Ballpeen; 02/21/2108:12 AM.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
By now, it's old analysis to label separation skill as the "new" ability teams covet most from their wide receivers and tight ends. We know this. In some ways, the NFL is going retro -- think back to Bill Walsh and the debut of the West Coast Offense in the 1980s. It was predicated on precise rhythm in the offense and mostly, yards after the catch.
Because superfreaks like D.K. Metcalf or Julio Jones don't enter the league every season, and hyper-quick wideouts like Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs, and Deandre Hopkins are decently rare too -- wideouts who aren't unbelievably athletic or don't run in the 4.3s can carve a valuable niche for themselves in today's NFL.
Ask Deebo Samuel, or A.J. Brown, or D.J. Moore.
Now that the league has become obsessed with high completion percentages, the ability to maximize the three-yard pass and morph it into a 12-yard gain has become en vogue once again, just like it was when Walsh had Jerry Rice and John Taylor running away from every corner in the league on drag routes in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
There are other parts of the article you posted that I might address at some point by offering draft prospects that I think line up with these trends. but for now, I offer you Jaelon Darden, WR, North Tx.
If he does nothing more than offer an improvement in the return game it's a win for the team. But I'd like to see him in our offense too. He might have to picked at #123 for us to get him
Unable to imbed some of these Youtube clips, sorry. There are others...
There is history between Mayfield and Ehlinger and it's not good.
Here's the link. The continued development of the Browns' offense is inextricably tied to Mayfield. Introducing a distraction of this kind would be problematic. Cleveland's "new culture" is too delicate, at this point, to create a problem where none exists. I do like your thinking on adding a multi-dimensional offensive weapon but the personal chemistry between these two is toxic.
My primary concern with Moore is his injury history. He came on to the college scene as a phenomenal offensive weapon. He's been nicked up and may have lost some of his dynamic athleticism. I am not at all opposed to adding a player to juice up the offense. Any names that I mention as alternatives are just that names, I only know these players by what I've read about them. Anyway here are two names that might be similar to Moore. Jaelen Darden, North Texas and Anthony Swartz of Auburn.
Link wasn't working, I had to add a colon, though in the quote it looks like the issue might be an extra http.
I'm not sure how much I'd be worried about the article. It's hard to tell how much of the alleged animosity is media-driven. It's definitely worth looking into, though. I'm not sure about any names of guys with similar skill sets coming out. Depending on what happens with Cam in NE, He could be interesting if he'd be content with the role. Though, I seem to remember NE having red zone troubles.
As far as speedy playmakers, I think Eskridge (?) is another name in that vein that I need to dig into. Part of my thinking with Moore is that the injuries might push him down far enough to where the risk might be worth it. I vaguely recall reading good things about Rondale's work ethic and intangibles, and I am a bit more willing to bet on guys with those. I do need to dig into him more. I think the idea is tied a fair bit to watching him torch Ohio State in 2018.
You mess with the "Bull," you get the horns. Fiercely Independent.
I was wondering taking all that into consideration if there is a player in the draft say between our pick at 26 and say 15 that they would trade up for?
We have:
1 pick in the first round #26 1 pick in the second round #59 2 picks in the third #89, and #91 2 picks in the fourth 1 in the fifth 1 in the sixth 1 in the seventh
After free agency there will not be many first string opportunities open.
This should be the year that maybe we trade up one time for a guy we love early and after that go BPA.
My guess is we will sign a safety and edge rusher in FA. And maybe a linebacker or corner if we can get the right guy.
I wonder if there is someone in those picks around 15 or so the Browns are drooling over.
One guy I see all over at different places in different mocks and a guy that may really fit the Browns is Koramoah.
In terms of Fields, when the season started I thought he was a sure-shot top 3 pick.
When the season ended I’m not sure I’d take him in the top half of the 1st round. There are some question marks
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
Definitely more questions on Fields, Wilson and Lance, but ultimately just about any QB ranked in the top 20-24 overall is going to get serious consideration in the top 10-12. It is what it is. Take their overall ranking, divide by 2. That's usually about as low as they will go.
People ask me what I do in spring when there's no football. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for fall
I was wondering taking all that into consideration if there is a player in the draft say between our pick at 26 and say 15 that they would trade up for?
We have:
1 pick in the first round #26 1 pick in the second round #59 2 picks in the third #89, and #91 2 picks in the fourth 1 in the fifth 1 in the sixth 1 in the seventh
After free agency there will not be many first string opportunities open.
This should be the year that maybe we trade up one time for a guy we love early and after that go BPA.
My guess is we will sign a safety and edge rusher in FA. And maybe a linebacker or corner if we can get the right guy.
I wonder if there is someone in those picks around 15 or so the Browns are drooling over.
One guy I see all over at different places in different mocks and a guy that may really fit the Browns is Koramoah.
He is kinda a linebacker/safety hybrid guy.
I agree and said the same on another thread.
In the past, quantity of players brought in was important. That isn't the case any longer.
I could see us moving up if a player we want is in reasonable striking range. I could also see us trading down out of the 1st round if we feel the players available aren't much different than players we can select later.
One thing we do know, this front office like to accumulate extra future picks. It gives you options in any given year.
I really don't expect we draft 2 players in both the 3rd and 4th rounds. I could see us trading at least 1 of those 4 picks for a future pick. Maybe more than 1 of those picks.
If the value in the draft seems centered on the 2nd round, which it probably will for us as dictated where we are picking. I could see us trading our 1st rounder for some teams 2nd rounder and something next year, and trading both our 3rd rounders to get back up in to round two, giving us three 2nd round picks this year.
I could be on board with that.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
I think it would be very hard for anyone to make an educated guess as what we will do in the draft until we see the results of free agency. Only then will we know our biggest weakness going into the draft. Only then will we know to what degree our needs have been met.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I think that we are more likely to trade down this year than up.
I think that there are a lot of prospects that will be closely rated on our board. To trade up to a higher tier of prospect, I think will require us to use next year's 1st rounder. I also think that at pick 26 there will be about 10 players or so that we feel are fairly even so we can drop down to the tail end of the 1st/top of the 2nd and still get one of those guys.
Don't blame the clown for acting like a clown. Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.
I think that we are more likely to trade down this year than up.
I think that there are a lot of prospects that will be closely rated on our board. To trade up to a higher tier of prospect, I think will require us to use next year's 1st rounder. I also think that at pick 26 there will be about 10 players or so that we feel are fairly even so we can drop down to the tail end of the 1st/top of the 2nd and still get one of those guys.
That too. lol
I agree. No way we are going to use next year picks, 1st or any. If we can't do it with a 3rd or 4th this year, or some combination, it won't happen and why I think a trade down is very realistic. Why I think the odds might be better we trade up...who knows.
As late in round 1 as we are drafting, there may not be a big difference...especially considering 4-5 QBs will probably go in round 1.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
"More and more we are starting to see linebackers weighing in less than 240-pounds; in the last three years of the draft, the first linebacker selected has weighed under the 240-pound mark — Roquan Smith (236 pounds) in 2019, Devin White in 2019 (237 pounds), and Isaiah Simmons (230 pounds) this last year. Another attribute these three shared is their speed. Smith was the slowest of the bunch running a 4.51 and Simmons the fastest, running the 40 in 4.39 seconds.
Matt Valdovinos of Pro Football Network sees Owusu-Koramoah as a top-10 linebacker entering the 2020 season:
"The next great hybrid player, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah blurs the line between linebacker and safety. Notre Dame was as comfortably lining him up in the slot as they were rushing him off the edge. A Swiss-army-knife, his blend of length at 6’1″ and speed make his floor tremendous”
This guy is up and down all over the first round.
From what I have seen he is the guy that fits what Woods wants to do.
I know in the past I've seen back up QBs who are big and have experience in that role. Example I think his name was Bell??? he was a backup QB for Baker at Oklahoma and came in that wildcat role. So he was drafted or UDFA more likely as a TE his number was 10. I think also Hill from the Saints was a QB in college and came in as a TE.
So a big QB around 250 who is not known for his passing game but was used in short yardage situations. There actually are several but honestly our Running game with our OL and with Chubb and Hunt is actually pretty good we don't need that guy. Baker is a tough cookie and he is pretty successful in his QB Sneaks (except for the dang fumbling....) but again we don't need to over think it and we can expand on the personnel we got.
I would look into Cole Kelley Southeast Louisiana 6'7" 260 as a TE although he played QB in college and is in the draft as a QB. jmho
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
I wish more (/any) all-22 tape of prospects was freely available. I "need" to watch more DBs, but it's so hard (/time-consuming) to try to extract a good read from what I can find on YouTube.
You mess with the "Bull," you get the horns. Fiercely Independent.
First round one player "in range" that I want more than any other.
In range is the the key phrase.
I have seen Koramorah mocked as high as 7 and have seen him mocked to the Browns.
He is the guy I want most. Second is Trevon Moehrig.
Koramorah stands alone in this draft with his skill set.
He is fast. Has great instincts.
"you watch Owusu-Koramoah’s tape and realize that linebacking, albeit at a very high level, is only part of the story. Last season, Owusu-Koramoah played 212 snaps in the box, 331 snaps in the slot, 88 snaps on the defensive line, 14 snaps at outside cornerback, and two snaps at free safety (!)."
No other player in this draft shows that versatility.
Wow. That's kinda the ideal ILB for this defense, and a skillset that bucks the "DLine and Secondary first" mantra because he can assist both, thus he elevates both; kinda like a force multiplier.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
I don't watch much college ball only the big games.
But I saw a game with Koramoah that Tony Dungy was doing.
He was carrying on about Koramoah and his instincts.
Defense is reaction. In order to excel you have to study film and learn the offense you are playing.
Then have the instincts in game time and the physical skills to execute.
This guy the tape does not lie. This guy can play.
You never know how the draft will go by pick 26. But this is a player that I think the Browns will track. And if they see the chance to get him they will. Even if it requires moving up a few spots.
I believe we will need to move up to mid teens to get him and I would. Perfect for our D, I believe.
Patsies always looking for more draft picks. Offer the 3 and 4 and maybe move up to get him at #15 (if he is still there). Otherwise, I like Moehrig at 26.
Speaking of Random thoughts about the Draft, what's everyones opinion on how not having a combine will affect draft prospects. I mean not the top tear guys, but the ones that some teams always seem to find at the Combine or at least gets they beliefs confirmed at the combine?
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
The athletic freaks might fall some (/not get bumped up as much), but I don't expect a ton of difference. While they'll still have the opportunity for wow moments at Pro Days, there won't be the side by side comparison of "he makes this projected top draft pick look almost pedestrian" or even "he looks just as good as." For some scouts the visual trumps the measured. Small school guys could also get overlooked some.
I'm not sure what they are doing about the medical side of things. That could potentially be a big deal.
You mess with the "Bull," you get the horns. Fiercely Independent.
For starters, I think that not having the Combine is a mistake and an unnecessary reaction at this point. That said, my thoughts on it don't matter; it's not happening and that's that. Maybe the NFL's attempts to monetize the production of it haven't been successful enough and so this is their justification for just dropping it altogether for now and the future?
I think, like Bull said, that it will hurt the workout-warriors the most. Those guys every year who shoot up the boards with eye-popping workouts will find it harder to do so. Now, those effects will trickle out over time as Pro Days happen, and those Pro Days will be hyper-scrutinized by the bobbleheads to attempt to make direct comparisons with other players, but those comparisons will be time-shifted.... basically, I think that it will mostly hurt the Draft Gurus.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
Can you really prevent a player that is not yet in the league and not yet a member of the NFLPA from holding a private workout or from attending their school's Pro Day?
Those events are not put on by the league; they're simply attended by the league.
Now, I suppose you could try telling the teams that they are not allowed to send scouts to Pro Days, but good luck with that.... the league can't even stop teams from video taping their opponents.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
I'm guessing it goes the other way. More building up of Pro days. The NFL needs something to fill it's network with year round. Endless speculation gets repetitive without new things to "analyze." Schools might also want in on the action particularly with the whole allowing student athletes to make money moving along. Being able to provide maximum exposure will be an even bigger selling point for schools.
If *I* were the league, I'd stop dropping my own money on hosting the Combine and I'd offer schools the opportunity to purchase the rights to being an "Official Regional NFL Combine Host". An easy million or two per year would do it, and you basically sell them a sales territory... if a player attends a school in a given territory, they MUST attend that regional Combine.
New revenue stream, AND you can now sell TV coverage for multiple events because you've planned ahead and ensured that there will be no overlap of days
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
I am not sure why colleges would be up for forking over a few mil to host an event. I suppose it might have some impact on their recruiting.
It might work if you opened it up to various cities in the name of economic development. Those cities in turn could "rent" facilities at a local college who had the means to meet all the requirements set by he NFL. Things like practice facility, hotel rooms available, etc.
To make it work for the community, it would have to be open to the public for paid attendance.
In the end, it seems that one location for all is the most efficient way to pull this off. It would be a 4-5 week deal to spread it out. Teams wouldn't want to spread their scouting teams out and or zig zagging across the country.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Speaking of Random thoughts about the Draft, what's everyones opinion on how not having a combine will affect draft prospects. I mean not the top tear guys, but the ones that some teams always seem to find at the Combine or at least gets they beliefs confirmed at the combine?
Regarding the 'not-top-tier-guys' comment:
When I saw what Michael Dunn and Blake Hance were able to do at the end of the year, I have 100% confidence that our present FO will have little issue with identifying off-radar guys who they think have potential.
Lots of faith in the FO on the Offensive side of the ball .. Not so much on the D side ..
Yeah...I thing they tried but it didn't work out so well.
K Johnson got hurt early, K Joseph was dinged a lot and is a tweener (Safety/LB) without the physical ability to really be a tweener, Sendejo was never supposed to play that much, Clayorn was dinged early, M Stewart made some plays (said in my Romeo Crennel voice), Vincent Taylor likely expedited Larry O's departure, The Harrison trade looks brilliant. If those guys would have been healthy (and stayed healthy-er) perhaps we could think more-favorably on what they tried/did on the D side.
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