Cleveland Browns: 8 Players that impressed at 2018 Senior Bowl
By Peter Smith
The 2018 edition of the Reese’s Senior Bowl has concluded. Several players proved to be a nice surprise and could be of interest to the Cleveland Browns.
As much as it is an All-Star game, the Reese’s Senior Bowl has become a valuable tool in terms of evaluating players. Participants get coached by NFL teams and everyone can see how they operate in NFL practices as well as meeting with teams that could potentially draft them. The Cleveland Browns, like every other team, were in attendance hoping to get as much information as possible on players they might target in April.
Being able to study so many of these players, most tend to confirm what they show on tape, but one of the fun things about the event are the surprises. They tend to happen for a few reasons. In some cases, players were simply better than initially thought. Some have been training and putting it to use for the first time here and there are some that were complete mysteries until this week and it’s a testament to Phil Savage and his scouting crew in terms of finding a potential gem. Lastly, some guys might finally be over nagging injuries and operating at 100 percent again.
The following eight players fall into one of these categories and looked like players that could be of interest to the Cleveland Browns. Along with potentially adding more targets to the board or moving prospects up, it just goes to strengthen the overall feel of this draft class which the Browns have such a bevy of picks.
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Nathan Shepherd, DT, Fort Hays State
Height: 6’3 7/8″
Weight: 310 pounds
Arm: 33″
Wingspan: 80 5/8″
Hand: 10″
I’m not going to pretend I knew anything about Shepherd coming into this week. He was physically the most impressive prospect at the weigh-in at 6’3 7/8″ 310lbs, he was remarkably well put together.
In practices, the Canadian defensive lineman was flat out dominant. He was simply bigger and stronger than everyone he went against, looking like he belonged from the start. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken hand during the week which cut his week short. Maybe the NFL had a good idea about Shepherd before he got to Mobile, but my guess is he’s sending teams back to find more of his tape and learn more about him. That’s certainly true for me as he performed as well as anyone that participated.
While Fort Hays is certainly smaller than Charlotte, the team may find some similarities between Shepherd and Ogunjobi. They are enormously strong individuals. If he shows out well in athletic testing (likely his pro day given his hand injury), they could look to pair them up in the NFL.
Michael Gallup, WR, Colorado State
Height: 6′ 7/8″
Weight: 198 pounds
Arm: 30 7/8″
Wingspan: 74 5/8″
Hand: 9 1/8″
It was never a question that Michael Gallup was a pretty good receiver for me — the question was how good. Gallup looked the part of a top receiver. He showed great speed and separation skills all week. At times, he made it look easy. Factoring in his production at Colorado State, should he test well, he has a chance to be the top senior wide receiver.
For a team like the Browns that could use additional help at the receiver position, Gallup could be a factor for one of those three second round picks. He appears poised to contribute early for whichever quarterback the Browns decide to add.
Andrew Brown, DL, Virginia
Height: 6’3 1/2″
Weight: 294 pounds
Arm: 35 1/8″
Wingspan: 82 3/8″
Hand: 9 1/8″
Andrew Brown was a player I liked coming into the Senior Bowl, but he was better than I expected. He played all over the defensive line from the 3 to 5 to even playing on his feet for the Cavaliers. By coming in at 294 pounds, Brown made the statement that while he can still play end (and did in the game), he’s going to be a 3-tech in the NFL.
Brown looked every bit of his 5-star ranking coming out of high school. He was extremely powerful as a run defender and shows tremendous quickness off the ball. Brown looked like someone that could play on any down and have the potential to be a full-time starter in the NFL and the best player coming out of Virginia this year.
The defensive line obviously has a ton of talent on the Browns, but getting another defensive tackle that can add to the pass rush would be valuable. The fact that Brown can do that and more could be that make him an attractive option for the Browns.
DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Penn State
Height: 6′ 3/4″
Weight: 202 pounds
Arm: 32 5/8″
Wingspan: 76 1/4″
Hand: 9 1/4″
Hamilton, along with Poona Ford of Texas, were players that were able to participate in both the Shrine Game and Senior Bowl, taking full advantage of both. Hamilton had practices in St. Pete and one in Mobile where he struggled with drops. When he secured the ball, he was impressive as a playmaker. His route running was electric as he was able to set opponents up with angles along with varying up his moves to keep opponents off balance, creating a ton of separation.
Hamilton was the leading receiver at Penn State both his freshman year and senior year with Chris Godwin taking over in the middle two seasons, but Hamilton has ability in his own right. He’s still likely to end up being picked on day 3, but he becomes another attractive receiving option in a class full of them. If the Browns opt to take two receivers in this class, Hamilton might be someone to consider for the second.
Dorian O’Daniel, LB, Clemson
Height: 6′ 1/2″
Weight: 215 pounds
Arm: 31 1/8″
Wingspan: 76 1/4″
Hand: 9 1/4″
O’Daniel was not initially invited to the Senior Bowl — they had a few guys drop out before bringing him in, but he made the most of it. Yes, O’Daniel is undersized and he played behind a fantastic defensive line, but he was a productive player. This was his opportunity to show he was a good player in his own right.
O’Daniel looked good in coverage and was a fluid athlete. He also filled in the run game, laying down a few pretty good hits before suffering a rib injury that had him miss the game. The Browns have a good starting trio of linebackers, but a player with O’Daniel’s build could be a nice player for special teams, depth and potentially find his way on the field as a coverage specialist.
Ito Smith, RB, Southern Miss
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 201 pounds
Arm: 28 7/8″
Wingspan: 73 1/8″
Hand: 9 3/8″
Ito Smith was impressive at the weigh-in, looking like a muscled up bowling ball. He carried that over and had one of the better performances in practices on that Tuesday. Smith showed he’s a tough runner on the inside with pretty good balance. He takes advantage of his lack of height and can hide behind linemen a little bit
As the week progressed, he showed to be an able receiver even if he’s never going to have a massive catch radius, which was a pleasant surprise. Smith is also willing to get in there and pass protect. Despite his diminutive stature, he showed he wasn’t too small to be productive.
It’s still possible that Smith could end up going undrafted in such a competitive running back class, but he’s still a player that can come in and help a team immediately. The Browns are obviously in the market for a running back, but they should probably get two and Smith might be someone they like for the second.
Uchenna Nwosu, OLB, USC
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 245 pounds
Arm: 33 1/2″
Wingspan: 79″
Hand: 9 1/4″
At USC, Nwosu was used primarily as a stand up edge rusher. Going to the Senior Bowl, Nwosu wanted to prove he could be a full service linebacker while still being able to attack the quarterback. He spent the week as a traditional linebacker and did pretty well for himself.
Even at 245 pounds, Nwosu demonstrated some ability in coverage. That could really help him as teams can look at him as a SAM linebacker as opposed to just an edge rusher. And such a transition was done very successfully out of USC four years ago when Devon Kennard went from edge rusher to linebacker with the New York Giants where he’s enjoyed success.
As it relates to the Browns, he has some of the same attributes as Jamie Collins. Nwosu could conceivably play strong side linebacker and be a pass rushing threat off the edge. He’s not likely to be a great individual pass rusher, but as part of a blitz package, Nwosu could be a nice role player with developmental upside.
Brett Toth, OT, Army
Height: 6’5 3/4″
Weight: 303 pounds
Arm: 33″
Wingspan: 81 1/2″
Hand: 10 1/8″
Toth came into the week at a substantial disadvantage. Some much of the week gets boiled down to how offensive linemen fare in the 1-on-1 drills in the pit. Offensive linemen are already at a disadvantage, given the defensive linemen is coming full bore to get after the quarterback. That’s compounded when playing at Army , which attempted just 65 passes all season.
Toth had expected struggles in pass protection, but he also competed, showing good movement skills, agility and power. The technical part of it is going to be a process as is simply gaining the experience.
From a physical standpoint, Toth is the prototype. He’s got an impressive build and the desired length for offensive tackles. He’s going to have to fulfill his commitment with the Army before going to the NFL, but he was impressive this week and, with Alejandro Villenueva’s success, there’s a path for Toth to do the same.
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For a team with as many picks as the Browns have, Toth could be a really nice option. It seems likely that the Browns will try to move up for specific targets, but if they have a draft pick sitting toward the end of day 3, they could take Toth knowing full well that he won’t count against the roster for up to two years. If they like the talent, he might well be worth the wait to be a swing tackle with potential to be far more.