Christmas gift for fans? A good draft of a smart organization – Terry’s Talkin ‘Browns

ABOUT DRAFT 2020

Looking at a draft after a single season is often premature – especially when the year is not yet over.

For example, what can be said about choosing the Browns’ runoff? LSU safety Grant Delpit was designed to be a starter this season. He broke an Achilles tendon and is out this year.

In 2018, it was Austin Corbett – not Nick Chubb – who was the first choice in the second round of the draft by the Browns. Chubb came two selections later.

With the Browns, Corbett was seen as a failure. He failed the left tackle and then fought on guard. Former GM John Dorsey still liked Corbett, but he realized that the Nevada product had received a censure vote from the 2019 technical team.

After playing a total of 15 snaps for the Browns, Corbett was dealt with by the Rams for a 2021 pick in the fifth round.

Guess what? Corbett started the last 21 games in Rams’ guard. He’s not great. Profootballfocus.com (PFF) places him 11th out of 55 starting guards. You can discuss the ratings, but Corbett plays every snap for a good Rams team. He must be respectable.

PFF ranks the Browns’ guards at the top: Wyatt Teller as No. 1 and Joel Bitonio as No. 3.

After 14 games, we can draw some conclusions from the draft of the Browns 2020 ′. At the very least, it is promising.

It all started with the “alignment” sought by owner Jimmy Haslam. It was up to the strategy director, Paul DePodesta, to ensure that the front office and the technical team worked together.

This led to the hiring of GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski.

I went back to looking at the quote sheet after the 2020 draft.

“Andrew and I see things very similarly,” said Stefanski. “When we talk about the draft, we have some cultural non-negotiable and some schematic non-negotiable … we all knew where we were on a lot of issues.”

Stefanski and Berry created the “difficult, intelligent and responsible” mantra for players. They wanted to escape some of the character risks taken by previous regimes.

In terms of the scheme, the Browns looked for players who fit Stefanski’s zone and action blocking scheme. This requires players who are intelligent in football, because there is a lot of pre-snap movement involved.

On recruiting day, Berry said the Browns had 140 names “we think they fit properly in what we were looking for in the Browns organization: talent, scheme, character, mindset, whatever you want. We selected from a menu of players that we thought would be good Cleveland Browns. “

They ended up with six names.

THEY COULD NOT WAKE UP WITH A MISS

The Browns entered the draft needing a left tackle. There were four among the first in the class.

The Browns bet on Jedrick Wills Jr., believing that the right-hand man in Alabama could learn to play his opponent’s most demanding player in the NFL. Wills didn’t even play left tackle in high school.

This was a collaborative decision. Analysis, intelligence tests and pure Scouting ranked Wills in the elite category. But could he make the switch in the NFL? The final vote went to Bill Callahan, the veteran offensive line coach who gave Wills two thumbs up.

“It turns out that the best player available on our board is in a position of real need,” said DePodesta on draft night. “It doesn’t happen every year. We were thrilled to get Jedrick. “

I heard that the Browns ranked the top four tackles in this order: 1) Wills. 2) Tristan Wirfs. 3) Mehki Becton. 4) Andrew Thomas.

Wirfs had a good year for Tampa Bay, but he played well. Thomas struggled. Becton is talented, but has had some injuries.

As for Wills, Profootballfocus wrote: “He has been a rock for the Browns for most of the season protecting the blind side of Baker Mayfield … a major update on one of the most important positions in his attack.”

DIFFICULT TO KNOW

Second round delpit is injured.

Jordan Elliott, from the third round (choice 88), showed promise as a defensive tackle. He played 30% of the snaps. Next year, Elliott could be important if Larry Ogunjobi leaves via a free agency. So far, the Browns have not been able to extend a contract with Ogunjobi.

The Browns were very excited to catch Jacob Phillips (97th choice) at the end of the third round. They went to the training ground believing that Phillips could even become a starter.

But the linebacker hurt his knee. He tried to come back a few times, but played only 41 snaps in the first 11 games. He missed seven of those games. Finally healthy, Phillips played a record of the season’s 22 snaps in the 20-6 victory over the Giants.

“He did a great job,” said defensive coordinator Joe Woods on Thursday. “He’s a guy who plays ball for ball. When the lights come on, he plays with his hair on fire … He will only get better with each repetition he does. “

Remember that only about 20% of all choices in the third round become regular NFL starters.

NEVER HAVE TIGHTENED ENDS

The Browns had a third-round score at Harrison Bryant. They did not intend to make a tight final draft. But when Bryant fell for them in the fourth round (115), they quickly called out his name. The Florida Atlantic product was the winner of the John Mackey Award as the best college football player.

Some fans may remember Bryant’s two failures this season. Both were expensive. But coaches are on the rise with Bryant, who has played 57% of strokes this season. This is much more than tight end veteran David Njoku (36%).

Bryant entered the NFL with questions about his block, but this proved to be a pleasant surprise. Bryant managed 21 passes, including three for TDs. He is important in Stefanski’s heavy attack.

THE CENTER CAN PROTECT

Just as the Browns did not enter the draft in search of a center, they were thrilled to choose Nick Harris, from Washington, in the fifth round (160th). Like Bryant, they scored higher in Harris than when he fell in the draft.

Stefanski on Harris on draft day: “There is some flexibility in position with Nick. He’s a talented player, a very obvious scheme that matches his movement skills … I like the person’s makeup. As soon as we get our hands on it and teach it the system, we’ll see exactly where it fits – center or guard. “

Veteran JC Tretter remained healthy. But Harris was pressured into action as a guard last week, when Wyatt Teller and Chris Hubbard were injured. He did an excellent job. He hadn’t played a single offensive snap all season until the Giants’ game.

YOU MAY LIKE THIS MICHIGAN GUY

In the sixth round (187), the Browns selected Donovan Peoples-Jones. He had an inconsistent career as a receiver in Michigan.

With the Browns, he was on special teams. An injury at the end of the season for Odell Beckham Jr. led to a period of play at the Peoples-Jones.

He made two large TD catches among his 13 receptions. He also returned kicks and punts.

Coaches praise his intelligence, work ethic and willingness to learn a variety of positions. He played 60% of the snaps in the last three games, getting eight passes.

He seems to be a big deal in the sixth round.

It is difficult to know whether players like Phillips, Elliott, Bryant, Harris and Peoples-Jones will become long-term beginners. But as newbies, they have been able to help as actors.

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