Cleveland Browns Grab Oklahoma State’s Emmanuel Ogbah

The Cleveland Browns opened up the second round of the NFL Draft by taking pass rusher Emmanuel Ogbah from Oklahoma State.

Despite a number of offers and what seemed like a given that the Browns would move down, they opted to keep the pick. Executive vice president Sashi Brown suggested he was a first round pick on their board and simply too good to pass up here.

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Each of the Browns first two picks are physically incredible. Ogbah, like Corey Coleman, who was selected 15th overall last night, is one of the best pure athletes in the draft as James Cobern points out here:

Along with that, they are two of the rawest players, having relatively little clue how to fully utilize them on a football field. This may prove to be a trend the Browns opt to follow.

Here, Cobern shows just how athletic Ogbah is compared to other players when they came out. Ogbah is in a similar mold to Aldon Smith and Michael Johnson athletically, but actually was better than both in pure athleticism.

As with Coleman, the pick of Ogbah puts a lot of stress on the coaching staff to deliver in its development of these players. They have the physical tools to be All-Pro level players but they along with the coaching staff will have to work hard to get it out of them.

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According to the Browns, Ogbah is going to be an edge rusher, which adds to a crowded group. The Browns selected Nate Orchard from Utah last year and still have Barkevious Mingo and Paul Kruger on the roster.

Technically, they still have Armonty Bryant on the team, but this along with his drug chargers he’s currently facing probably means he will be moved or released. And unless someone else is moved along with Bryant, this likely means the end of Scott Solomon in Cleveland.

This should give the Browns a strength when it comes to pass rushers, but they need more production from everyone. Much can be blamed on Jim O’Neil last year, but they also just need guys to step up their play.

Given the depth of the position and the fact that Ogbah is so raw, the Browns may opt to keep his workload relative light this rookie season, focusing him on rushing the passer as early. In that way, he could be an excellent sub package player and give opponents fits if he really focuses on that part of his game.

Mingo in particular has been a good run defender and it may be a situation where he does the heavy lifting on running downs and then the team can bring in Ogbah to come in and attack the quarterback in obvious passing situations. Ogbah’s unique size at 6’4” and 273 pounds means he can potentially line up inside or outside in sub packages.

More nfl spin zone: Browns Make Decent Selection in Corey Coleman

The rest of the draft is critical in shaping how the pick of Ogbah and Coleman look because they don’t fill the most critical needs and may not be fulltime contributors early on because they are so raw. The Browns, throughout the draft process, have stressed the longview and there is no question that these two picks reflect that mindset.