Speaking for myself it seems like the NFL moves in cycles.
The Niners run the ball. The Ravens IMO would have beaten KC if they would have run the ball like they did all year. That includes designed runs for Lamar. Instead they threw the ball from shotgun into the teeth of what KC does best dime and heavy nickle defenses.
Play action teams need a strong run game. The Steelers are returning to the run game.
If you have an impact runner like Nick. It opens up many options for an offense.
I am an old school guy. I became a football fan watching Jim Brown. I love the run game. Nick Chubb is one of my favorite players in all football.
As much as I hate it if he does not restructure his deal. He may get cut. I think he will restructure but who knows?
Getting Trey Benson in the third round would be grand theft IMO.
I love the run game too. And the Steelers are one of those teams that don't have a legitimate QB. That's why they not only depend on the run but just hired an OC that is heavily experienced in the running game. Let me know how much they depend on the run if they decide to spend 230 million on a QB. Each case is different. And if you take Lamarss rushing stats out of Baltimore's rushing yardage you would find they're really not that dependent on their RB. While Gus Edwards did score 13 td's he only had 812 rushing yards. Lamar had 821. So the idea that they depended on their star RB to power their O doesn't really add up.
I certainly don't think that Benson will be there in the third round at the Browns selection. There are enough teams that still don't have a QB his value will be high enough based on their current situation at QB he will of more value to "them" than to allow him to sit there that long IMO.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Lamar numbers count because they used him in designed runs as well. The Ravens have been until this year a run based team.
What the league does or individual teams matters not to me.
I believe in the run game. When you can average 4 + yards per carry. You put the defense into the position of having to cover both the run and pass.
That is precisely what the Niners do. Third and 2 opens up the entire field.
PFF has Benson ranked 84th. I have no clue when he will be drafted. I have read some of the scouting reports. I find them conflicting. Like some are just copying others.
What I noticed about Benson. When he scores he hands the ball to the ref. Body language as a player reminds me of Nick. You can see he is a team player with how he relates to teammates.
He had a major knee injury ACL, MCL, Meniscus. He was redshirted as a freshman.
He is powerful. He has big play speed. He catches the ball really well. What really stands out to me. He is efficient. He seems to always take the shortest route no waste.
He will be a guy I will track.
Berry like most GM's give their draft guys a full chance. At first I thought Ford maybe ok. Now I am not high on him.
I don't know what we are going to do at running back. All I know is I like Benson.
Is it possible to have a draft discussion about players and such?
No, it isn't
As for our 2nd pick, I see a few options from what I have read: Note: All specific evaluations sre from reviews of scouting reports - not my own Most of these players I haven't seen
WR: Troy Franklin Oregon Tall and fast Take the top off kinda receiver Excellent with the contested catch
Xavier Worthy Texas Fast, take the top off kinda receiver Not good with the contested catch Excellent kick return man
RB/Lb: Troy Benson - FSU Jonathan Brooks - Texas
These are the top 2 guys I think both have had knee injuries in their college careers
Talent wise, there are a fair number of Lb's that would go here but not much difference from the Lb's you could get 2-3 rounds later
DT/OT DT and OT could come into play but I haven't looked at them at all yet
Don't blame the clown for acting like a clown. Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.
I had no idea that discussing which positions should be addressed with the Browns earlier picks wasn't discussing the draft. I guess you learn something new every day.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
If you have an impact runner like Nick. It opens up many options for an offense.
I am an old school guy. I became a football fan watching Jim Brown. I love the run game. Nick Chubb is one of my favorite players in all football.
As much as I hate it if he does not restructure his deal. He may get cut. I think he will restructure but who knows?
Getting Trey Benson in the third round would be grand theft IMO.
Try to keep up. Your argument has been all along that even after signing watson to a 230 million dollar contract we need a premiere RB. You used Baltimore as one of your examples. Their starting RB is Gus Edwards who was an undrafted FA. So yes, your argument fell flat. Lamar IS in fact their leading rusher. They did NOT invest anything into Edwards and he isn't even a 1000 yard rusher. So bottom line is with a good QB you don't need to invest much in a RB to have a very productive running game as Baltimore has proven. So no, it's not about having a premiere RB and yes Lamar is their leading rusher. I didn't know this was that complicated.
It's been proven over and over in the NFL.
And I'll couple that with something else. RB's are cheap on the FA market. Signing a RB won't break your bank. Other positions will. If you can draft a CB, a OT, a edge rusher or other high salary positions you have ranked similarly on your draft board that is the best method of helping your salary cap. Just one more reason RB's continue to slide down draft boards.
I know, I know, you don't think any of that is about the draft.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
First off I am not making an argument. I started a draft thread to "discuss" draft prospects.
I never mentioned DW. I never said we need a premier running back. I said I liked the run game.
I mentioned the Niners and the Ravens as running teams. Lamar runs the ball. He is a premier runner. The Ravens led the NFL in 2023 in rushing. The Niners were third.
You don't need to add a thing. I am not here to argue.
My intent to discuss the draft.
You wish to carry on an argument do it on another thread. Por favor.
At this point it is unclear who the Browns will bring back at DT.
Tomlinson is signed. Hurst and Harris were on one year deals. My guess is Hurst will get a deal.
Leonard Taylor is probably a top fifty guy. I like his tape. He is quick. More of DT pass rusher type than NT type. Looks like a guy that would fit in rotation as an interior rusher.
First off I am not making an argument. I started a draft thread to "discuss" draft prospects.
I never mentioned DW. I never said we need a premier running back. I said I liked the run game.
I mentioned the Niners and the Ravens as running teams. Lamar runs the ball. He is a premier runner. The Ravens led the NFL in 2023 in rushing. The Niners were third.
You don't need to add a thing. I am not here to argue.
My intent to discuss the draft.
You wish to carry on an argument do it on another thread. Por favor.
Teams that are winning run more. It's not so much that they are running in order to win. It's more that once they are ahead, they run more. I don't remember the exact statistic, but the Ravens were behind a ridiculously low amount. It was something like they hadn't been behind at the end of any quarter the entire season until they played us. (Probably not quite that extreme)
I like the running game, too, but bell cows have a tendency to get beat up, and they are hard to replace. When a receiver gets hurt, he is somewhat easier to replace because other guys are playing a lot of snaps most of the time. Also, pass blocking isn't really WR dependant. Run blocking timing and strategy can vary a lot between the RBs it is being done for. I.e, what worked with Chubb won't necessarily work with other guys.
It'll be interesting to see which direction we go if we do draft a RB. It could say a lot about the intended direction of the offense (or not.) I wonder how much input Staley will have and what that impact will be (Dorsey as well.)
You know if this Benson is any relation to Cedric? I'll have to take a look at him.
You mess with the "Bull," you get the horns. Fiercely Independent.
We all have our opinions on draft picks and this guy put his out there.
This draft appears to have depth at the receiver position.
What do the Browns need from the receiver unit? Cooper returns. Moore returns. Tillman was a disappointment when Flacco was playing. He did not run the routes correctly.
Tillman was expected to be better than what he showed.
Bell has not done much to distinguish himself.
IMO with the depth at receiver in this draft class. Spending on a free agent unless it is a bargain and a difference maker. Makes little sense.
I really like Troy Franklin, however he most likely will be gone when we pick. Leggett looks interesting. I am sure there others who as time goes on may catch my eye.
I do not think they are related. Cedric is not a brother or parent.
I have doubts that Hunt will return. Ford is average at best. He is not a feature back.
It is uncertain when Nick will be ready and if he will be the same.
Given the drop in the draft for all running backs. IMO if we could get Benson in the third; it would be a wise choice.
I'm liking Ray Davis as "my" RB so far. Benson has a bit too much Trent Richardson to him for me. Some of that might just be that the scars make me look for T-Rich "warning signs" when I'm scouting RBs, and one has a tendency to "find" what they are looking for. Benson is talented and can hit a hole and do good things, it just seemed that when he was doing good things a giant hole was right where it was supposed to be most of the time. Stylistically, Benson reminded me of Adrian Peterson, but I don't think he's nearly that talented, maybe end of career AP. Davis seems better at setting up things to "create" space. I think I might also bake "value" into my choices. Davis is a bit of an older prospect, which might lead to him sliding later in the draft. I don't mind age so much with high floor prospects at positions with historically short shelf lifes. I also feel like RBs that seem to see the game better age more gracefully. Of course, "value" goes out the window when guys start climbing big boards. I think Davis' penchant for making himself available for his QB would pair well with Watson.
Here are some other guys that I'm liking so far: Javon Bullard, DB, Georgia Kaimon Rucker, Edge, UNC Malachi Corley, WR, WKU
Still pretty early, though.
You mess with the "Bull," you get the horns. Fiercely Independent.
Don't know a lot about the player, but it would be weird to have 2 guys names Okoronkwo and Orhorhoro on the same DL.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Is this the year the Browns can DRAFT a potential 1000 Td WR? I can't think of another team other than the Bears Who simply cannot draft WRs The Browns need a WR that can threaten the defense at All 3 levels and us a game changer. When was the last Time this team could claim it had the best WR in the North ?
Is this the year the Browns can DRAFT a potential 1000 Td WR?
I don't know man. Since the most TD passes ever caught by a WR being Jerry Rice with 197 my money is no they can't. And I would feel pretty good about such a wager.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I don't know. He played in a pretty good group of WR's in Baltimore and his teammates not only liked him but he fit in quite well. Sometimes the narrative isn't based in facts.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
It has been reported that the Browns have met with both Braden Fiske and Troy Franklin.
Both these guys look like studs.
Franklin was one of the first receivers I looked at. He is all over the place in mock drafts. Myself I cannot see him getting out of the first round.
He has speed, length, gets open and catches the ball. He was very productive while at Oregon.
I expect him to blow up at the Combine. Most likely getting Franklin would mean trading up. I do not think the Browns will do that.
Berry IMO is not a believer in trading up. I think he leans more toward trading down to acquire more picks. He likes the odds of having more picks.
I never buy into a single philosophy. IMO each situation needs to be looked at as unique. If you have a high grade on a guy and he is in a position of need.
Let's say you have a low first round grade on the guy. It is now pick 42 and the guy is still there and you pick 54th. IMO you have to consider moving up.
Each case is different. IMO you have to remain open and flexible.
Hopefully Berry is the type of person who will trade up or trade down depending on the opportunity and situation. Like yourself I hope he's open minded enough to be willing to consider both scenarios at any given time. I'm not speaking of this situation per say. I haven't studied the draft that closely. It's just so hard to know who is going to be left on the Board by the time the Browns pick I feel I would waste a lot of time looking at several players who won't even be there. As for myself I find that to be an exercise in futility.
To each their own. I'm not trying to dissuade anyone one or belittle anyone who sees it differently than I do. That's just my personal take on it.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
The draft is so tricky. So, many factors to consider.
It has always astounded me at how inaccurate GM's are when it comes to the draft.
I am no expert by any means. I look at players and go by my gut. I don't get to interview. I don't follow college ball too much.
I look at tape mostly. Maybe watch highlights of the Senior bowl practices and Combine. I just look for guys that stand out to me. I pick a couple guys I like and see what happens to them.
I like Franklin, Fiske, and Benson. They stand out in my eyes. I would like to get any of them. If we don't get them I keep track of them for a year or so.
I have had hits and missses.
I know the Combine can be misleading. However, you can see a lot if you look closely. Some of the drills are really good at imitating on field football actions.
Watching Fiske at the Combine it's hard to miss that he is a big, fast, strong, coordinated, athletic guy. I think he will be a real challenge for O-linemen.
I see him as one or two gap player who could really get upfield and pressure. Benson looks really good. An all around back with speed and power.
Franklin has that Josh Gordon stride where he covers ground deceptively. He has the tool set that translates to the NFL.
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