Cleveland Browns Potential Targets for Day 2
By Peter Smith
The Cleveland Browns enter the second day of the draft with four selections, so let’s look at some of their options for players today.
The Cleveland Browns selected Corey Coleman on the first night of the draft and due to another trade, now have four picks entering the second day of the draft. The Browns own the top pick of day two as well as the 65th, 76th and 77th picks, all of which are in the third round. Executive Vice President Sashi Brown has said the team was already fielding calls with offers for the 32nd pick last night and it will likely continue today.
Related Story: Cleveland Browns Make Decent Selection in Corey Coleman
Given Brown’s penchant for making deals, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Browns trade down from 32 or try to use some of their later picks to move up to acquire better talent in the second round. The Browns have three picks in the third round, fourth round, and fifth round, so they have a ton of options in how they want to attack the draft.
Beyond the strategy of trading and moving around, let’s look at some of the players that would make a ton of sense for the Cleveland Browns today, starting in the second round.
Chris Jones, the defensive lineman from Mississippi State would be my pick at 32. After the San Francisco 49ers took DeForest Buckner one pick before the Browns were on the clock, the Browns moved down and added some extra ammo. The overwhelming need at the 5-tech defensive end is still there and Jones is a tremendous fit.
A’Shawn Robinson, thought by many to be a first round pick, is still available. He is not quite the athlete that Jones is in terms of his agility, but he has a little more explosion. Robinson also has a little bit less length for the position as well, but he can play it. Jones and Robinson had virtually the same production this past year as well.
Jason Spriggs, the offensive tackle from Indiana stands out if the Browns want to attack a right tackle that has the athleticism to play left tackle down the road. Spriggs is a terrific athlete, possesses good strength and played at an extremely high level for the Hoosiers this past year.
The one big issue with Spriggs is he’s just not a broadly built player. Whereas someone like Laremy Tunsil has broad shoulders and possesses a lot of ballast, Spriggs is pretty narrow. It means he’ll have to work a little harder with his feet to stay in front of opponents as a blocker, but he definitely has the feet needed to do it.
Reggie Ragland does not appear to be a great fit for what Horton says he wants in linebackers; smaller, faster guys who can hit. Nevertheless, Ragland is by no means a poor athlete and Horton may be happy to have one linebacker with some size that can come up, take on a block and fill the hole. It may be a situation where Ragland is just too good to worry about scheme and just take a great player.
If the Browns want to double up on wide receivers, Michael Thomas will be popular in Northeast Ohio because he went to Ohio State. He’s a great athlete and plays the game in a similar fashion as Josh Gordon does, albeit not as well.
The better player is likely Sterling Shepard from Oklahoma, who is shorter but just understands how to get open, catch the ball and get yards after the catch. Presumably, the Browns would want someone with size, but Corey Coleman is a big threat after the catch threat and so is Shepard.
Derrick Henry is an ideal running back for a team that wants to run behind gap scheme blocking, which includes the Browns. Henry is a freight train in how he runs. Once he gains steam, he’s difficult to stop. Like a freight train, however, Henry doesn’t move nearly as well going laterally. Just let him go downhill, straight ahead and win with momentum. He will occasionally make a man miss who is worried about getting run over but he is a pure power runner that would be a great complement to Duke Johnson.
Kenneth Dixon is a different style of running back. He’s not as big or powerful as Henry, but he’s far more agile and also provides a great receiving threat. Dixon was a phenomenal player at Louisiana Tech where at times, his offensive line was completely overpowered and it was still evident how talented he was.
Moving to players that look like they should be available in round three, there are still a number of good players the Browns can get.
If the Browns don’t grab Spriggs, Joe Haeg from North Dakota State is an incredible athlete. He also played a remarkable 60 games in college because of the FCS playoffs. The past two seasons, he protected Carson Wentz’s blindside, is intelligent, and a tough road grader. He needs to fix some issues in pass protection but he could be a great player in the NFL.
On the interior of the offensive line, Christian Westerman from Arizona State and Isaac Seumalo from Oregon State stand out. Both are power players that love to put the guy across from them on the ground. Westerman is more polished as a blocker while Seumalo is still developing as a technician, but both are good athletes that would fit in Hue’s power scheme at guard. Seumalo can also play center.
If the Browns don’t take Jones or Robinson to play the 5-tech, Bronson Kaufusi from BYU is the next best option. Kaufusi played anything from the zero to 9-tech on the defensive line and even outside linebacker during his time in Provo. Kaufusi’s defensive line coach was his father, so he basically mastered the Cougar defense. He also had one of the best combines of any player that participated and would bulk up to 300lbs if asked without question.
The only hangup for some with Kaufusi is he’s 24 years old. He’s also married and knows exactly what he wants and what he’s working for, so it’s a balancing act. Kaufusi is already a great athlete, so it’s not about him improving in that area. It’s just about him playing up to it on an NFL level.
For tight ends, Nick Vannett from Ohio State and Austin Hooper from Stanford would be great additions. The Browns desperately need someone who can play inline and do some blocking, but getting players that can also be threats to catch the ball and make plays is important too. With Coleman outside, having another threat up the middle of the field with Gary Barnidge would be great.
Hooper was a big part of Stanford’s offense while Vannett was sort of the odd man out at Ohio State. Both are good athletes, though with some small questions about power. They need to keep getting stronger but they can cause problems with their athleticism getting open and after the catch.
Charone Peake is a great fit for the Browns in terms of an outside receiving threat. His athletic testing results were basically identical to Josh Gordon, from height and weight to how well he moves. Some injuries held him back and he had 50 catches for 716 yards this past year, which is decent but not otherworldly. Nevertheless, he’s another deep threat with size that could be a nice complement to Coleman.
It might be early for him, but a name to keep an eye out for is Jatavis Brown, the linebacker from Akron. Not invited to the scouting combine, which may be part of why he’ll wait until day 3, he is undersized but productive and physically gifted. Tremendous speed and strength in a small package, if the Browns build a wall up front that can keep him clean, Brown can fly around and cause problems.
No quarterbacks were mentioned here, because it frankly seems pointless to add one, especially when accounting for the fact that the Browns already have a pair of first round picks and an extra second round pick next year. It seems as though they are banking on Robert Griffiin III now, but giving themselves options to go after a quarterback next year.
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These are just some of the best options that stand out for the Browns as great players and fits for Hue Jackson wants to do with this football team. Half of the story with the Browns right is if they will continue to make more trades, having made two already. Whatever happens, there will be plenty to discuss and analyze and we’ll have it all here.