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So how did FA set us up for the draft?


Orion

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Browns 2024 unrestricted free agents:
- LB Matthew Adams

- TE Harrison Bryant: Signed with Raiders, 1 year / $4M

- P Corey Bojorquez: Re-signed with Browns, 2 years

- OL Geron Christian  -  This guy was our starter at LT for a substantial part of last season

- QB Jeff Driskel

- OL Michael Dunn: Re-signed with Browns

- DT Jordan Elliott: Signed with 49ers, 2 years / $10M

- QB Joe Flacco: Signed with Colts, 1 year / Up to $8.7M

- CB Mike Ford: Signed with Texans, 2 years / $4.5M

- WR Marquise Goodwin

- WR Jakeem Grant

- S Duron Harmon

- OL Nick Harris: Signed with Raiders, 1 year / $2.51M

- DT Shelby Harris: Re-signed with Browns, 2 years / $9M

- RB Kareem Hunt

- DT Maurice Hurst: Re-signed with Browns, 1 year / $3.2 M

- DL Sam Kamara (Exclusive Rights Free Agent)

- LB Jordan Kunaszyk

- S Rodney McLeod

- OL Ty Nsekhe

- LB Jacob Phillips

- WR James Proche

- DE Za’Darius Smith: Re-signed with Browns, 2 years / $23.5M

- LB Sione Takitaki: Signed with Patriots, 2 years / $6.5M / Up to $10M

- QB P.J. Walker

- LB Anthony Walker Jr.: Signed with Dolphins, 1 year

 

 

Browns 2024 Trades and Signings:
- Acquired Jerry Jeudy from Broncos for fifth round pick (No. 135) and sixth round pick (No. 202) 

- Signed free agent  LB Jordan Hicks, 2 years / $8M

- Signed free agent QB Jameis Winston, 1 year / $8.7M

- Signed free agent RB Nyheim Hines, 1 year / $3.5M

- Signed free agent T Hakeem Adeniji, 1 year

- Signed free agent DT Quinton Jefferson, 1 year

- Signed free agent LB Devin Bush, 1 year

- Signed free agent TE Giovanni Ricci, 1 year

- Signed free agent CB Tony Brown, 1 year

---------------------

So, it looks like we covered, with acquisitions, the positions that we lost.   And we added a WR in Jeudy, like we did last year with Elijah Moore.

I think that we'll be able to go into the draft open to Best Player Available.  I don't think that the signing of Ricci to replace Harrison stops us from drafting a pass catching TE to help Njoku.  Nor do I think Jeudy stops us from drafting a WR.  In addition to TE & WR I'd be looking for Bitonio's eventual replacement at Guard, more speed in the secondary and OT.  I don't know if the signing of the RB Hines means that we don't draft a RB.  I'm unsure about that position.  We're hoping that Chubb will be ok.  But I'm not sure what they think of Ford and Pierre Strong.  

Anyway, I think that FA has set us up such that we don't have a major need at any position and don't have to 'force' something.  Which is a good way to go into a draft...especially when ya don't have a 1st round pick.

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Pretty much agree.  I agree that a O lineman will be high on the list, and where we draft, one could very well be the BPA.

 

RB is a question mark.  Hines is a situational guy.  If we don't draft a back, we will sign one or two as UDFA.  I am not sure about Chubb.  If we draft a guy fairlt high, it might mean Chubb isn't progressing very well.  If we don't, then maybe we feel he is nearing a full go.  If so, a RB room with Chubb, Ford, Strong and Hines.

 

I also think that Berry likes the WR room.  I am not sure we will do much more in that area.  To bring guys in means we have to cut players already on the team.  I am not sure Berry wants to cut any....Bell might be the cut guy is we draft a WR.

 

Back to the Oline..I wouldn't be surprised if we draft 2 Oline players.  O line is very deep this year.  It's questionable we keep Wills after this year.  Something on the O line i would like to see in camp is putting Jones at LT and Wills at RT.  Wills played RT his whole career before playing here.  He was a stud, so call me naive, but making a switch seems like an obvious try.

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2 hours ago, ballpeen said:

I also think that Berry likes the WR room.  I am not sure we will do much more in that area.  To bring guys in means we have to cut players already on the team.  I am not sure Berry wants to cut any....Bell might be the cut guy is we draft a WR.

Your point makes sense, with Cooper, Jeudy, Moore and possibly Tillman entrenched in the first four spots.

I haven't really seen anything in Bell that makes me think he's a guarantee to make the roster for a third time.

But one thing to consider regarding if we draft a WR or not is that while the room seems pretty set, Cooper, Jeudy and Moore are all free agents after this season. The WR room looks crowded now, but at this time next year it could be somewhat barren. I'm kind of surprised the Browns haven't extended Cooper, at the same time lessening his salary cap number. 

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10 minutes ago, Bob806 said:

I think they'll go LB at pick 54. Just a hunch.

I like the idea, but this front office doesn't seem to like spending much money or draft capital on linebackers, with the exception of JOK in the second round.

Anyone you like at #54, Bob?

I'm all-in on Junior Colson, TCUN.

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40 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

I like the idea, but this front office doesn't seem to like spending much money or draft capital on linebackers, with the exception of JOK in the second round.

Anyone you like at #54, Bob?

I'm all-in on Junior Colson, TCUN.

I haven't been looking as close as that as many on here. 

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8 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

I'm all-in on Junior Colson, TCUN

Walter Football has him at 110th on their Big Board.

I'm going to guess that we pick  Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas  at 54.  A pass catcher to team with Njoku.  Of course our new TE's coach will have to teach him the blocking thing.

 

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20 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

Your point makes sense, with Cooper, Jeudy, Moore and possibly Tillman entrenched in the first four spots.

I haven't really seen anything in Bell that makes me think he's a guarantee to make the roster for a third time.

But one thing to consider regarding if we draft a WR or not is that while the room seems pretty set, Cooper, Jeudy and Moore are all free agents after this season. The WR room looks crowded now, but at this time next year it could be somewhat barren. I'm kind of surprised the Browns haven't extended Cooper, at the same time lessening his salary cap number. 

I understand the point.  We will probably draft someone, but nothing says we can't or won't extend any of the mentioned players.  Also, if those players move on, we will have that money to move on to the next batch of rental receivers.

 

Something tells me we will have some receivers on the team next year.  That comment isn't meant to be a dig at you, rather just a matter of fact.

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31 minutes ago, ballpeen said:

I understand the point.  We will probably draft someone, but nothing says we can't or won't extend any of the mentioned players.  Also, if those players move on, we will have that money to move on to the next batch of rental receivers.

 

Something tells me we will have some receivers on the team next year.  That comment isn't meant to be a dig at you, rather just a matter of fact.

We now have five picks, after the Jeudy trade, so there's a pretty good chance they might not draft a WR now.

And of Cooper, Jeudy and Moore, I have a hard time believing that at least one won't be brought back, maybe two. 

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On 3/16/2024 at 8:09 PM, Orion said:

Browns 2024 unrestricted free agents:
- LB Matthew Adams

- TE Harrison Bryant: Signed with Raiders, 1 year / $4M

- P Corey Bojorquez: Re-signed with Browns, 2 years

- OL Geron Christian  -  This guy was our starter at LT for a substantial part of last season

- QB Jeff Driskel

- OL Michael Dunn: Re-signed with Browns

- DT Jordan Elliott: Signed with 49ers, 2 years / $10M

- QB Joe Flacco: Signed with Colts, 1 year / Up to $8.7M

- CB Mike Ford: Signed with Texans, 2 years / $4.5M

- WR Marquise Goodwin

- WR Jakeem Grant

- S Duron Harmon

- OL Nick Harris: Signed with Raiders, 1 year / $2.51M

- DT Shelby Harris: Re-signed with Browns, 2 years / $9M

- RB Kareem Hunt

- DT Maurice Hurst: Re-signed with Browns, 1 year / $3.2 M

- DL Sam Kamara (Exclusive Rights Free Agent)

- LB Jordan Kunaszyk

- S Rodney McLeod

- OL Ty Nsekhe

- LB Jacob Phillips

- WR James Proche

- DE Za’Darius Smith: Re-signed with Browns, 2 years / $23.5M

- LB Sione Takitaki: Signed with Patriots, 2 years / $6.5M / Up to $10M

- QB P.J. Walker

- LB Anthony Walker Jr.: Signed with Dolphins, 1 year

 

 

Browns 2024 Trades and Signings:
- Acquired Jerry Jeudy from Broncos for fifth round pick (No. 135) and sixth round pick (No. 202) 

- Signed free agent  LB Jordan Hicks, 2 years / $8M

- Signed free agent QB Jameis Winston, 1 year / $8.7M

- Signed free agent RB Nyheim Hines, 1 year / $3.5M

- Signed free agent T Hakeem Adeniji, 1 year

- Signed free agent DT Quinton Jefferson, 1 year

- Signed free agent LB Devin Bush, 1 year

- Signed free agent TE Giovanni Ricci, 1 year

- Signed free agent CB Tony Brown, 1 year

---------------------

So, it looks like we covered, with acquisitions, the positions that we lost.   And we added a WR in Jeudy, like we did last year with Elijah Moore.

I think that we'll be able to go into the draft open to Best Player Available.  I don't think that the signing of Ricci to replace Harrison stops us from drafting a pass catching TE to help Njoku.  Nor do I think Jeudy stops us from drafting a WR.  In addition to TE & WR I'd be looking for Bitonio's eventual replacement at Guard, more speed in the secondary and OT.  I don't know if the signing of the RB Hines means that we don't draft a RB.  I'm unsure about that position.  We're hoping that Chubb will be ok.  But I'm not sure what they think of Ford and Pierre Strong.  

Anyway, I think that FA has set us up such that we don't have a major need at any position and don't have to 'force' something.  Which is a good way to go into a draft...especially when ya don't have a 1st round pick.

Nice job with that!  Speaking of Joel Bitonio - he played Tackle in college at Vegas; but LG in Cleveland next to Joe Thomas. This draft has a lot of offensive linemen that have backgrounds playing both Guard and Center or Guard and Tackle.   Not only that, but some even have experience playing on both the right and left (in 1  world where the left and right are still work together as a cohesive team.  When they don't you cut their ass!)  Anyway, there's a kid from way yonder at Kansas State that caught my eye in their 2022 Big 12 Championship victory over TCU.  It was OL Cooper Beebe who as played all of the following positions during his tenure at K-State: LG, LT, RG, RT in his 6-4 335lb frame.  He's got 40 starts that were punctuated by a Consensus 1st Team All American Honor in 2023 as well as earning the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award.  That type of flexibility reminds me of Bitonio coming out of college as a LT and making NFL Pro Bowls as a LG.  We have 1 aging OG, 1 very expensive FA OG and 1 very suspect LT so a guy like Cooper Beebe could be a very nice pick for us.  Another guy that's very intriguing as an OG or OT is Dominick Puni from Kansas at 6-5 320lbs.  2 different guys from colleges in Kansas?  What can I say?  There was a sale on glue...  There's another guy @gumby73 likes if we want to wait until round 3 or 4 for in UConn's Christian Haynes at 6-2 313lbs.  Only flaws in his game despite being a 2 star recruit are height and length.  I take that to mean a lot of passion went into his game to put him on the NFL Draft map.  This reminds me of the Ali Marpet story who made himself into a 2nd round draft pick at #61 overall (Tampa Bay) out of Division 3 school Hobart in Upstate NY.  Tour found this needle in the haystack and wrote up some good pre-draft intrigue info about him.  If memory serves me right he had a nice career for Tampa at OG.  Anyway, the draft has a way of rewarding the teams that do the best research.  I hope that's us!

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3 hours ago, Flugel said:

Speaking of Joel Bitonio

Walter Football's Big Board:  (we pick 54 & 85)

63.  Cooper Beebe, G, Kansas State.
 
90.  Dominic Puni, OT, Kansas.
 
82.  Christian Haynes, G, Connecticut.
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5 hours ago, Orion said:

Walter Football's Big Board:  (we pick 54 & 85)

63.  Cooper Beebe, G, Kansas State.
 
90.  Dominic Puni, OT, Kansas.
 
82.  Christian Haynes, G, Connecticut.

Thanks Orion.  In Athlon Sports Draft Guide Mock Draft  they have Beebe being drafted at #48 overall. I'll check later where they have him ranked though.  Walter Football is better than Athlon Sports though.

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5 minutes ago, Flugel said:

Thanks Orion.  In Athlon Sports NFL Draft Magazine  they have Beebe being drafted at #48 overall. He's ranked #37 in their Top 100 Prospects. That said, Walter Football is a lot more widely used than the Athlon Sports.  I'm old school so I like having the names/positions all organized for me in the mag where I know where I can find them.

 

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1 hour ago, Flugel said:

In Athlon Sports Draft Guide Mock Draft  they have Beebe being drafted at #48 overall. ....  Walter Football is better than Athlon Sports though.

I don't know who's better than who at ranking the players.  I've just always gone to Walter at this time of year.  It's like being a migratory bird.  :)   But odds might be pretty good that one of those 3 guys that you and gumby like will be available when we pick.  

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On 3/19/2024 at 5:00 PM, Flugel said:

Thanks Orion.  In Athlon Sports Draft Guide Mock Draft  they have Beebe being drafted at #48 overall. I'll check later where they have him ranked though.  Walter Football is better than Athlon Sports though.

Are you sure about that Tom?  🤣 

https://walterfootball.com/draft2024ILB.php

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7 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Are you sure about that Tom?  🤣 

https://walterfootball.com/draft2024ILB.php

This Wild-cat (Zombo's edit to wilddawg still lives :D) stuck out to me during the Combine. Looked built like a old school ILB.. falls thru cracks in many iLB rankings..

The only site that has Wallace ranked inside it's top 100 is ESPN #87.. 

https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/trevin-wallace-scouting-report-exploring-kentucky-lb-s-strengths-weaknesses

NC State Payton Wilson may not fit AB's age (24) draft profile? But, Wilson looks to be the best sure tackler that can cover from this weak class  

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7 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Are you sure about that Tom?  🤣 

https://walterfootball.com/draft2024ILB.php

I noticed you wanted me to see ILB and here's the first thing that came up. If anything, it agrees with Tia's assessment.  You can be fast but not instinctive (ie: Bark Mingo). On the other hand, you can run disappointing 40s like Ray Lewis but have instincts that put you in the HOF. Do you think 2 FF and 83 tackles in a 12-13 game season advertises the next Ray Lewis?  As for the 8 sacks, the 4 I saw on highlights endorsing him came on the blindside in formations where the OG and OT had DL lined up over their inside shoulders meaning?  There was nobody available to block the blitzer on the edge so a quick 6-3 230lb guy is going to get the freebies.  That's 1 way to reflect the point below that he's not a natural in coverage; and usually LBers that can't get to their hook zones on time struggle with the 1st step instinct. Diagnosing run or pass in the NFL is pretty important in this era.  I think if you go back and read what I wrote about him I said in fairness, it was a very quick film review (cliffs notes caliber).  He was kind of a beast with the violent run-up explosive collisions; but there were 3 different occasions where ballcarriers bounced off or were jolted back from his hits that didn't include a simultaneous wrap with the hits.  In those cases, he had to re-engage, wrap and wrestle those guys to the group without the momentum of speed into the re-do tackle effort.  You of all people know you're got Derrick Henry to stand there and wait for Cooper's re-do attempt.  As I said in my observations you didn't respond to - instinct LBers tend to be really good tacklers because they get repeatedly get themselves into ideal position under control for the form tackle with head-up accompanying a simultaneous hit and wrap.  Someone that doesn't have an ideal 1st step instinct but has Cooper's quicks/speed can fly up and make the physics induced/hard hits like Cooper.  But, that has an out of control side to it where he doesn't square up and execute solid form tackles. 

If you watch his game against the Miami Hurricanes, where he had a Casper-the-friendly-ghost-like 3 solo tackles and 3 assists. That day he faced the type of game plans he'll see at the NFL level that will challenge his ability to get to his hook zones or flats (depending where he is in formation).  They didn't stop anything that day. I think you will agree there's some things for him to shore up.  The NFL will give him more of that than the gimme sacks from blitzes where nobody is assigned to block him.

I think I concluded his hustle and passion jumped off the screen; but good coaching and proper film prep at the next level are definitely needed to shore up the things I spoke about.  Bad habits can be resolved but how quickly may depend on how long he got away with them.  Film doesn't always give us just the convenient truth - even for home town heroes.  😁

 

1. Texas A&M image Edgerrin Cooper*, ILB, Texas A&M
Height: 6-3. Weight: 230.
40 Time: 4.51.
Projected Round (2024): 1-2.

3/16/24: Cooper impressed team sources in 2023, showing explosive speed and athleticism. They noted that while Cooper is not as natural in coverage, he is a beast in the ground game. In 2023, he totaled 83 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles, zero interceptions and a pass batted.

Cooper has excellent size for the NFL, including ideal height and length. He accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine, but then declined to practice at the last minute. Cooper did not interview well with teams at the East-West Shrine, displaying a poor attitude and giving teams questions about whether they would want to add him to their locker room. Sources said Cooper was so-so in the combine interview.

 
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1 hour ago, gumby73 said:

This Wild-cat (Zombo's edit to wilddawg still lives :D) stuck out to me during the Combine. Looked built like a old school ILB.. falls thru cracks in many iLB rankings..

The only site that has Wallace ranked inside it's top 100 is ESPN #87.. 

https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/trevin-wallace-scouting-report-exploring-kentucky-lb-s-strengths-weaknesses

NC State Payton Wilson may not fit AB's age (24) draft profile? But, Wilson looks to be the best sure tackler that can cover from this weak class  

Payton Wilson was 1 of the 5 guys I listed I would like us to strongly consider for our round 2 spot.  He's very good in coverage because he has the instincts to be where he's needed. He also lifted a lot of eye brows at the combines...  My only worry with him is he has had some serious injuries in the past; but I don't think they're recent enough to have too much concern with.  My guess is he'd be a 1st round prospect if it wasn't for that.

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1 hour ago, Flugel said:

Am I sure?  I don't even know if we're agreeing or disagreeing; so the question is - what do you think Mr MeAggies?   

I was pulling both your and tia's legs because you think so highly of Walter and who does he rate as the best ILB? The guy the Bucs (or one of the Texas pro teams) will take off the board. And with decent coaching he will be just fine as a pro IMO.

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14 minutes ago, TexasAg1969 said:

I was pulling both your and tia's legs because you think so highly of Walter and who does he rate as the best ILB? The guy the Bucs (or one of the Texas pro teams) will take off the board. And with decent coaching he will be just fine as a pro IMO.

Tell you what I got swarmed by pop up ads in that.  What I like about it in comparison to the draft mags - is they update stuff on prospects throughout the weeks/months leading up to the draft.  My draft mag was on the shelf in the stores within a week of the Combines which means it was printed and shipped before/during the Combines.  That said, the mag still has all the prospects, football skills ratings/rankings by position and overall, mock draft and more...

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Didn't realize we signed Devin Bush. Shame he hasn't worked out in the NFL given how great he was in college. I imagine the knee injuries didn't help. 

 

Also, I like the add of Tyler Huntley. I thought he was always solid. Could be a good battle between him and PJ for 3rd string 

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1 hour ago, Flugel said:

ell you what I got swarmed by pop up ads

Yeah, Walter Football is really bad for that.   Download Duck Duck Go (browser) and go there using that.  Duck Duck scrubs all of that crap out for ya.

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2 hours ago, Flugel said:

Tell you what I got swarmed by pop up ads in that.  What I like about it in comparison to the draft mags - is they update stuff on prospects throughout the weeks/months leading up to the draft.  My draft mag was on the shelf in the stores within a week of the Combines which means it was printed and shipped before/during the Combines.  That said, the mag still has all the prospects, football skills ratings/rankings by position and overall, mock draft and more...

Well if we actually had a 1st rounder or high up there 2nd rounder I might be interested in buying a draft mag. But down where we start I'm going to assume we go for big uglies on one side of the ball or the other for our 1st two picks. LB is a maybe depending upon how they see Bush & Hicks fitting in. Right now they list as starters in the depth chart according to ourlads.

https://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/CLE

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