2009 vs 2010

[Geech]

It seems to me that 2009 is a good year for OLB, OT, and OC. 2010 looks to be a good year for DL, RB, and S. Should we just take who we think is the best player available and possibly end up with a 2nd tier RB or S this year and a 2nd tier OC next year, or should we jump on one of the top 3 OCs this year and worry about RB, DL, and Safety next year?

 

I've seen some fan mocks that have us taking guys like DT Jarron Gilbert and CB Vontae Davis in the 2nd. Should we take a chance on these types or look to 2010?

 

Safeties Taylor Mays and Eric "The Fifth Dimension" Berry by themselves are better than the whole crop of 2009. FYI, Berry will be a Junior in 2010.

 

Can we take this into consideration when devising strategy? Is it too risky? We don't know where we will be picking in 2010, but can we look at things in this manner?

 

My own personal Browns mock has Jennings in the 2nd, but I could easily change that to an OT. There are the top 5 OTs that everyone is always discussing, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if 6 or more OTs are gone by the time the 2nd round comes along.

 

-Al

[Guest Aloysius]

The crazy thing is that if Berry and Georgia Tech's Morgan Burnett declare, Taylor Mays could be the 3rd safety taken in next year's draft.

 

I'm not sure it's a strategy actual GM's would use: they'd prefer to have a guy around learning their system and helping them win now over deferring a year for a better prospect. But I think it makes a whole lot of sense - if we can get by on Abram Elam (and maybe a veteran cut by another team) at SS, we should have a shot at one of the top three safeties next year.

 

One potential problem with that, however, is that we may be also looking to replace Brodney Pool next year. If he plays well and a new CBA isn't negotiated, he'll be a restricted free agent and we can hold onto him. But if he bombs or a new CBA is agreed to, we may have to fill two safety spots, which probably shouldn't be done with two rooks.

 

So I think the strategy would apply more to 3-4 DE, where the class this year is about as weak as next year's is strong. Tyson Jackson, Fili Moala, and Jarron Gilbert are the only Day One guys this year, whereas all of these guys could play their way into the top two rounds of next year's draft:

• Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
• Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma *
• Arthur Jones, Syracuse
• Vince Oghobaase, Duke
• Dan Williams, Tennessee
• Jared Odrick, Penn State
• Boo Robinson, Wake Forest
• DeMarcus Granger, Oklahama

Now that we have C.J. Mosley for depth, it may make more sense to not take a DE until the later rounds, perhaps even waiting until the UDFA signing period. Fortunately, there should be some nice prospects available: Rulon Davis and Zach Potter are two guys I think are a year in the weight room away from being solid backup 3-4 DE's. If we add a developmental guy this year and an early round guy next year, we should be able to start a youth movement on our defensive line.

[ballpeen]

It seems to me that 2009 is a good year for OLB, OT, and OC. 2010 looks to be a good year for DL, RB, and S. Should we just take who we think is the best player available and possibly end up with a 2nd tier RB or S this year and a 2nd tier OC next year, or should we jump on one of the top 3 OCs this year and worry about RB, DL, and Safety next year?

 

I've seen some fan mocks that have us taking guys like DT Jarron Gilbert and CB Vontae Davis in the 2nd. Should we take a chance on these types or look to 2010?

 

Safeties Taylor Mays and Eric "The Fifth Dimension" Berry by themselves are better than the whole crop of 2009. FYI, Berry will be a Junior in 2010.

 

Can we take this into consideration when devising strategy? Is it too risky? We don't know where we will be picking in 2010, but can we look at things in this manner?

 

My own personal Browns mock has Jennings in the 2nd, but I could easily change that to an OT. There are the top 5 OTs that everyone is always discussing, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if 6 or more OTs are gone by the time the 2nd round comes along.

 

-Al

 

 

No doubt in my mind that happens in rating a class. These guys know what positions are deep and which aren't....and they have a good idea what next years draft is going to look like at the various positions.

 

Either way, I don't think you can force a draft. You have to let it unfold and come to you.

 

You can go in to any draft with hopes of who or what positions you want to draft, but if you go in determined to take a position, you're done.

 

When it is your turn, you need to take the best player possible who makes any sense at all. I agree that occasionally you are set at a spot and drafting another player at that spot doesn't make any sense......but....that is pretty rare and rare enough that we don't have any of those spots other than possibly LT and NT.

 

[Oldcrow1945]

The crazy thing is that if Berry and Georgia Tech's Morgan Burnett declare, Taylor Mays could be the 3rd safety taken in next year's draft.

 

Is Berry a future free Safety in the NFL? Just like Burnette, I know he's a really good cover guy.

 

Wherever the Browns draft next year, I would love to see Taylor Mays as a Cleveland Brown. The guy is a freak at SS.

 

If the Browns draft a safety this year with the hopes of him playing right now, I hope they draft a kid that can move to FS because Mays is #1 on my board for the Browns in 2010.

[Oldcrow1945]

Can we take this into consideration when devising strategy? Is it too risky? We don't know where we will be picking in 2010, but can we look at things in this manner?

 

My own personal Browns mock has Jennings in the 2nd, but I could easily change that to an OT. There are the top 5 OTs that everyone is always discussing, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if 6 or more OTs are gone by the time the 2nd round comes along.

 

-Al

 

Just as in chess, I think you have to look ahead at your moves in the next year's draft and Free agency. The last thing you want to do is handcuff yourself when another possibility arrives in the near future.

 

I think this is especially true when you are in the postion of the Cleveland Browns....Knowing you are a few years away.

 

[Guest Aloysius]

Is Berry a future free Safety in the NFL? Just like Burnette, I know he's a really good cover guy.

Berry's the size of a free safety (5'11", 195 lbs.), but he covers like a corner and hits like a strong safety. As Heck said in another thread, he's probably the best safety prospect since Ed Reed.

 

 

Burnett's a similar kind of player; if I'm not mistaken, he even played some cornerback last year. I'm looking forward to watching more of him next year.

[JewDago]

the only problem with deferring to next year for a RB is that we'll have no ground game to speak of this year. i think it makes sense to draft a RB this year, and pretty much every year, because you can never have too much depth at the position, much like o-line, d-line and LB. they're the positions that rotate players the most to keep them fresh because they're the most physical positions on the team, which also presents more opportunities to get injured.

 

plus, the RBBC model has worked really well for the past few years, and there's no reason the league would cycle back to the one-back model. the main downside to drafting a RB in this year's class is that we'll likely receive an inferior player in comparison to whom we could draft at the same spot in next year's draft, but the draft is always a crapshoot no matter what. there's no such thing as a guaranteed pick.

 

a late-round RB, i think, is the answer, and i'm backing ian johnson. he's been nothing but productive during his career by averaging 5.5 ypc and has the heart and character of a champion. i know he played against dubious competition, but so has jennings and, to a lesser extent, wells. johnson, however, is the only one who'll be available in the fifth or sixth, which is when we should look for a RB for 2009 and hope hit on a late pick while using our higher picks to draft superior players at deep positions.

 

we'll suck no matter what in 2009, so building for 2010 and 2011 is really the only sensible thing to do. GMs and coaches have four years to succeed in the NFL unless the team's owner is an idiot or the team's in a media-saturated market. mangini and kokinis know this and will plan accordingly (unless they're stupid).

[Oldcrow1945]

the only problem with deferring to next year for a RB is that we'll have no ground game to speak of this year. i think it makes sense to draft a RB this year, and pretty much every year, because you can never have too much depth at the position, much like o-line, d-line and LB. they're the positions that rotate players the most to keep them fresh because they're the most physical positions on the team, which also presents more opportunities to get injured.

 

plus, the RBBC model has worked really well for the past few years, and there's no reason the league would cycle back to the one-back model. the main downside to drafting a RB in this year's class is that we'll likely receive an inferior player in comparison to whom we could draft at the same spot in next year's draft, but the draft is always a crapshoot no matter what. there's no such thing as a guaranteed pick.

 

a late-round RB, i think, is the answer, and i'm backing ian johnson. he's been nothing but productive during his career by averaging 5.5 ypc and has the heart and character of a champion. i know he played against dubious competition, but so has jennings and, to a lesser extent, wells. johnson, however, is the only one who'll be available in the fifth or sixth, which is when we should look for a RB for 2009 and hope hit on a late pick while using our higher picks to draft superior players at deep positions.

 

I like this idea a lot. I would like to see the Browns draft a kid late fro depth purposes.

 

Ian Johnson is a great choice but I wonder if he'll slip into the 5th round.

 

Later could be a guy like the Johnson kid out of Colorado State. The kid has so much heart.

 

Another kid that fascinates me is a Pittsburgh tranfer. Brandon Mason. Played at Stony Brook this year. 6'2" and 225 lbs.

[Guest Aloysius]

Ian Johnson's got great character, but I'm not sure he's all that good a prospect. After a tremendous Combine, scouts were said to be re-examining their conclusion that he'd only be a Jason Wright type at the next level. Personally, I'm not convinced he'll be much more than that.

 

Gartrell Johnson is interesting. I also like Aaron Brown out of TCU, who's basically Leon Washington with a receiver's build. If we can get him as a UDFA, he could become an interesting weapon for us.

 

Bernard Scott is a really good-looking back, but his character issues make him a poor fit for us.

 

[ballpeen]

If we were drafting lower...I would take Moreno or Wells.....probably Moreno...

 

In the second this year, we have 2-3 super centers, and all of them won't be chosen by our pick.

 

It all adds up....the value is there, and the need is there....

 

I think between Lewis, Wright, and Harrison, we will be good enough with good enough blocking.....and it's all about blocking anyway.....even with the best back, if your blocking lacks, you are going to suffer.

 

To me, we have at least 2 holes on the O-line....and 3-4 about to happen....I am not sure Steiny is going to hold up for a long career, Fraly will go down fast, Tucker is a big question mark, and Schaffer isn't a quality RT ....he's a good guy to have, but super RT he isn't.....he's probably better at LT.

 

Nothing can ruin a season faster than a bad O-line, and thus, I would pick O-linemen early, nearly every year.

 

The Steelers do, and they don't do that badly.

 

O-line scores points, and O-line dictates field position.

 

If I had any one unit on the team absolute stud, it would be O-line....and it is the only 5 man unit on the field.....you have to pay it some attention on a regular basis.

 

 

To be honest, I wouldn't be upset if we used our first two picks on O-line this year.....take Andre Smith at 5 and one of the centers in the 2nd.

[Oldcrow1945]

To me, we have at least 2 holes on the O-line....and 3-4 about to happen....I am not sure Steiny is going to hold up for a long career, Fraly will go down fast, Tucker is a big question mark, and Schaffer isn't a quality RT ....he's a good guy to have, but super RT he isn't.....he's probably better at LT.

 

Nothing can ruin a season faster than a bad O-line, and thus, I would pick O-linemen early, nearly every year.

 

The Steelers do, and they don't do that badly.

 

O-line scores points, and O-line dictates field position.

 

If I had any one unit on the team absolute stud, it would be O-line....and it is the only 5 man unit on the field.....you have to pay it some attention on a regular basis.

 

 

To be honest, I wouldn't be upset if we used our first two picks on O-line this year.....take Andre Smith at 5 and one of the centers in the 2nd.

 

 

And the Steelers do something that most teams are unable to do. They draft their O-line low in the draft and they still end up being decent O-lineman. I can't remember them drafting a O-lineman really high....Maybe Faneca?

 

Rothlisberger does get sacked a ton though!

 

Their line consist of an undrafted free agent, a 6th rounder, two 4th rounders, a 3rd rounder