Cleveland Browns: 2017 NFL Draft Projected Targets
By Peter Smith
Quarterbacks
Patrick Mahomes II, Texas Tech
Age: 21 (Born Sept. 17, 1995)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 225
40-Yard Dash: 4.80s
Broad Jump: 9’6″
Vertical: 30″
3 Cone: 6.88s
Short Shuttle: 4.08s
Bench Press: DNP
Radar Gun: 60 mph
Production: 5,052 passing yards, 65.7 percent completions, 8.5 yards per attempt, 41 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 131 carries for 285 yards rushing, 12 rushing touchdowns
Notes: The son of former Major League pitcher Pat Mahomes, Mahomes took the reins of the Air Raid offense as a true freshman with four games of the season from Davis Webb and hasn’t looked back. Mahomes had offseason surgery in December to repair a broken scaphoid in his left (non throwing) wrist. His win-loss record in college and the Big 12 Conference are reasons to be skeptical.
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Mitchell Trubisky, North Carolina
Age: 22 (Born Aug. 20, 1994)
Height: 6-2.125
Weight: 222
40-Yard Dash: 4.67s
Broad Jump: 9’8″
Vertical: 27.5″
3 Cone: 6.87s
Short Shuttle: 4.25s
Bench Press: DNP
Radar Gun: 55 mph
Production: 3,748 passing yards, 68 percent completions, 8.4 yards per attempt, 30 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and 93 carries for 308 yards rushing, 5 rushing touchdowns
Notes: Trubisky is coming into the NFL with only 13 collegiate starts under his belt and some concerns over how he played in their last four games, losing three of them with their one victory against Citadel.
Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Age: 21 (Born Sept. 14, 1995)
Height: 6-2.5
Weight: 221
40-Yard Dash: 4.66s
Broad Jump: 9’11″
Vertical: 32.5″
3 Cone: 6.95s
Short Shuttle: 4.31s
Bench Press: DNP
Radar Gun: 49 mph
Production: 4,593 passing yards, 67 percent completions, 7.9 yards per attempt, 41 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and 165 carries for 629 yards rushing, 9 rushing touchdowns
Notes: Graduating college in three years with tremendous intelligence, character, and poise, Watson has everything teams covet in a quarterback with one notable exception. Watson’s arm strength as illustrated by the radar gun is woefully low and while the sample size for quarterbacks using that metric only goes back about a decade, the next quarterback to succeed with a number that low would be the first. Watson suffered a torn ACL as a freshman.
Deshone Kizer, Notre Dame
Age: 21 (Born Jan. 3, 1996)
Height: 6-4.125
Weight: 233
40-Yard Dash: 4.66s
Broad Jump: 8’9″
Vertical: 30.5″
3 Cone: 7.4s
Short Shuttle: 4.53s
Bench Press: DNP
Radar Gun: 56 mph
Production: 2,925 passing yards, 58.7 percent completions, 8.1 yards per attempt, 26 touchdowns, 9 interceptions and 129 carries for 472 yards rushing, 8 rushing touchdowns
Notes: Kizer opted to declare for the draft as a redshirt sophomore despite a mediocre season both individually and from a team standpoint and has done little to quell those concerns during the draft process.
Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee
Age: 22 (Born Jan. 26, 1995)
Height: 6-3.25
Weight: 216
40-Yard Dash: 4.64s
Broad Jump: 10’2″
Vertical: 33″
3 Cone: 6.75s
Short Shuttle: 4.31s
Bench Press: DNP
Radar Gun: Unavailable
Production: 2,946 passing yards, 63 percent completions, 8.3 yards per attempt, 27 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and 150 carries for 831 yards rushing, 12 rushing touchdowns
Notes: First name is actually Robert, Dobbs majored in aerospace engineering and is incredibly intelligent, earning an internship with Pratt and Whitney in addition to numerous scholarships. He started 32 games for the Vols, leading them to 22 wins and three bowl victories.
Davis Webb, Cal
Age: 22 (Born Jan. 22, 1995)
Height: 6-4.625
Weight: 229
40-Yard Dash: 4.79s
Broad Jump: 9’10″
Vertical: 33″
3 Cone: 6.92s
Short Shuttle: 4.21s
Bench Press: DNP
Radar Gun: 59 mph
Production: 4,295 passing yards, 61.6 percent completions, 6.9 yards per attempt, 37 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and 33 carries for -110 yards rushing, 6 rushing touchdowns
Notes: Webb began his career at Texas Tech and started much of his freshman and sophomore seasons before ultimately being replaced by Mahomes. After graduating, he then went to Cal to take the starting job which had a vacancy after Jared Goff declared for the 2016 NFL Draft and was selected No. 1 overall by the now Los Angeles Rams.
Jerod Evans, Virginia Tech
Age: 23 (Born Jan. 16, 1994)
Height: 6-2.75
Weight: 218
40-Yard Dash: 4.80s
Broad Jump: 9’4″
Vertical: 26.5″
3 Cone: 8.03s
Short Shuttle: 4.41s
Bench Press: DNP
Radar Gun: 55 mph
Production: 3,552 passing yards, 63.5 percent completions, 8.4 yards per attempt, 29 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and 204 carries for 846 yards rushing, 12 rushing touchdowns
Notes: Evans could have used another year of college as he only has 14 starts in his career, but declared in no small part due to his age.
Alek Torgersen, Penn
Age: Unavailable
Height: 6-2.375
Weight: 218
40-Yard Dash: 4.91s
Broad Jump: 9’9″
Vertical: 30″
3 Cone: 7.75s
Short Shuttle: 4.68s
Bench Press: DNP
Radar Gun: DNP (Not invited to the Combine)
Production: 2,231 passing yards, 66.9 percent completions, 7.5 yards per attempt, 17 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and 116 carries for 396 yards rushing, 8 rushing touchdowns
Notes: Torgersen led Penn to a 7-3 record this past season and was named First team All-Ivy for the second year in a row. He is Penn’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns (52), completion percentage (65.1), and total offense (7,937) and participated in the East-West Shrine Game.