Cleveland Browns: 2019 7-Round mock draft, Vol. 4
By Peter Smith
Round 5 (via JAX): Olisaemeka Udoh, OT, Elon – 6-5.75, 327 lbs. (Senior Bowl)
Age: 22 years old (Feb. 14, 1997)
Oli Udoh is a player that has played his entire college career at right tackle while completely changing his body. As a sophomore, he was listed 356 pounds and two years later he looks like a prototype. In terms of sheer size, Udoh is similar to Greg Robinson: Massive, strong and flexible. Athletic testing will help confirm if it’s true, but at both the Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl, he looked like he had plenty of agility and pretty good feet.
There’s still some rawness with Udoh, but he competes. For example, the Shrine Game had him see action at guard where he’s never played before and he had some miscues, but when he was right, he was dominant. At the Senior Bowl going against a terrific set of edge defenders, he made some mistakes, but he was also the only player there able to shut down Montez Sweat.
Udoh needs development, getting more consistent with landmarks and what to expect from opponents as well as adjusting to the speed of the NFL, but he looks like the type of player that a team holds onto for a couple years, then steps in as a starter and excels.
The current right tackle Chris Hubbard had some ups and downs for the Browns and, even at his best, he’s always going leave something to be desired. Between he and Udoh, it’s about two inches and 40 pounds. If they believe in Hubbard at least for the short term, they can potentially be developing his replacement.
Last, but certainly not least, the Browns hired former Green Bay Packers offensive line coach James Campen. Between the team’s scouting department finding the right athletes and Campen’s coaching, the Packers had a ton of success getting mid to late draft picks to be successful. David Bakhtiari may well end up in Canton one day as a fourth-round pick, but J.C. Tretter and Corey Linsley were also mid round picks that have found success.
So whether it’s Udoh or someone else, it seems likely that the Browns will try to find guys that Campen can develop behind a relatively stable starting unit.
Some Other Interesting Possibilities Foregone: Andy Isabella, WR, Massachusetts; L.J. Humphrey, WR, Texas; Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State; Benny Snell, RB, Kentucky