Cleveland Browns: Locating the value in the 2018 NFL Draft

With such a war chest of draft assets, it’s critical the Cleveland Browns maximize the value this year to enable the team to make a step forward.

Value is one of the more ‘inside baseball’ topics when it comes to the the NFL Draft. Some argue it’s paramount in evaluating the draft while others take the view that in a few years, no one will care about the cost incurred as long as it leads to good players.

The issue is that value is interpreted through the prism of evaluation. One team will think a player is more valuable than another depending on how they evaluate them. A player could be in the top 50 for one team and not on the board at all for another for a variety of reasons. Value absolutely matters, but beauty is in the eye of beholder.

Ultimately, the Browns likely have a far different view than I do on this, but based on my analysis, the value in this draft is as follows.

Quarterback

For the Browns, this should be dealt with immediately and not impact them beyond that, but quarterbacks rarely get picked at value. This class does offer a pretty good supply of prospects for every day of the draft, so it’s a good class.

Running Back

There isn’t a place in the draft where a team won’t be able to get a running back worth the pick. This class is talented enough and deep enough where almost every back taken will go at a good value. A few teams will could take two and completely reinvent their running back group for next season and there should be at least a handful of players that will be household names to come from this group.

Wide Receiver

Like with running back, there isn’t a place in the draft where a team can’t get value at the receiver position. It seems this class won’t see a receiver picked until the second half of the first round, but this class does have a receiver that warrants going much earlier than that. There’s no such thing as a bad receiver class anymore and this class is loaded, even if the obvious ‘X’ receiver like a Julio Jones or A.J. Green isn’t in it.

Tight End

There are some good tight end prospects in this class, but by in large, the class leaves a lot to be desired. The value is going to be late day two and day three of the draft and much of that is going to be on tight ends that play in space. For true inline tight ends, the value is day three.

Offensive Tackle

This class is a struggle before day three. There are some talented offensive tackles that will go early, but it seems like teams will be forced to reach for them in desperate attempt to fill holes in their lineups. Day three has some athletic prospects that are incredibly raw, but the entire class is raw, so it’s not that much of a drop off.

Guard

This class has some supremely gifted guards that can come in and play immediately and could play at a high level. There is a ton of value throughout the draft class, but the best buys may come on the first two days of this draft.

Center

While it doesn’t have quite the top end ability of the guard group, the center class has a ton of talent. Day two is where teams will get the most bang for their buck and teams could get franchise caliber pivots in the second and third rounds of the draft.

Edge

The pass rushing class is limited. There are some really talented players in this class, but there are simply not enough to go around and as a result, value will be difficult to come by in any round. Like with offensive tackle, teams tend to reach for this position and limited supply only makes that more problematic.

Nose

There isn’t much in terms of star power at this position, despite the press clippings that suggest otherwise. It’s a position that gets overrated every year and then goes later than people expect. With good reason. Despite the hype of some of the prospects this year, the guys who will get picked on day three will have just as much long term potential as guys go on day two or, in the event someone really reaches, round one.

3-Technique

The value here is going to come on day three. There are some very good players, but little separates those rated to go in the first round or second round as will go on day three of the draft. Every single player has a flag that would suggest their upside is capped, so while the ones that go earlier might seem safer, some that go late may end up just as good.

Linebacker

As with running back, this is a historic class. There is elite talent at the top and starting caliber talent that will be available on day three and likely after the draft. There isn’t a single team in the NFL that needs help at linebacker that can’t find it in this class.

Corner

There are a handful of really nice prospects that will go early, but the vast majority of players selected in this class will only be marginally better than those selected on day three of the draft in terms of long term projection. Unless a team find themselves in position to pick one of those really good players early, they would be smart to be patient and grab a couple guys late.

Strong Safety

This is a position with a ton of value in this class. Most of that value will come in day two and day three, but this is a position where teams will be able to find starting caliber talent late in the draft and there are some potential stars that could go in the first two days.

Free Safety

This is a poor free safety class. There are a few talented prospects and some may come at a value on day three, but there just don’t appear to be many answers for teams in this class at this position.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Full 7-round projection

When it comes to the Browns, they should address quarterback immediately and they seem likely to grab an edge rusher with the other first round pick. The value when it comes to the picks for the Browns in the second round really lean heavily toward offensive skill positions with running back and receiver.

Day three is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to offensive tackle, defensive tackle and the secondary. Should the team want to improve the depth at linebacker, they should be able to cash in there or even after the draft. They need to make the first five picks count, but hopefully they do better on day three of the draft than the team did last year, which was largely a wasted opportunity.

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