3 Way Mock Draft

Now that the NFL Combine is over, it is time to let my mock draft obsessions show.  I change my mind daily on which direction I think the Browns should go with the 4th pick.  QB? Sammy? or Clowney?

So I decided to do 3 different drafts, so I could see the full spectrum of possibilities and end results.

You decide which one you would prefer.

4 DE JADEVEON CLOWNEY SOUTH CAROLINA

26 CB JUSTIN GILBERT OKLAHOMA STATE

35 WR KELVIN BENJAMIN FLORIDA STATE

71 ILB CHRIS BORLAND WISCONSIN

83 QB ZACH METTENBERGER LSU

102 RB CARLOS HYDE OHIO STATE

123 DE GEORGE UKO USC

133 G WESLEY JOHNSON VANDERBILT

164 CB CHRIS DAVIS AUBURN

195 FB J.C. COPELAND LSU

  4 QB JOHNNY MANZIEL TEXAS A&M

26 S HA’SEAN CLINTON-DIX ALABAMA

35 WR KELVIN BENJAMIN FLORIDA STATE

71 ILB CHRIS BORLAND WISCONSIN

83 G CYRIL RICHARDSON BAYLOR

102 DT ANTHONY JOHNSON LSU

123 CB KEITH MCGILL UTAH

133 QB A.J. MCCARRON ALABAMA

164 RB STORM JOHNSON UCF

195 FB J.C. COPELAND LSU


  4 WR SAMMY WATKINS CLEMSON

26 DE KONY EALY MISSOURI

35 TE JACE AMARO TEXAS TECH

71 CB E.J. GAINES MISSOURI

83 ILB SHAYNE SKOV STANFORD

102 RB LACHE SEASTRUNK BAYLOR

123 S DION BAILEY USC

133 QB A.J. MCCARRON ALABAMA

164 CB CHRIS DAVIS AUBURN

195 FB J.C. COPELAND LSU


Discuss it w/Ben on Twitter: @brownsfan_dizz

or on our board:

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2014 Mid-Combine NFL Mock Draft

By Tommy Dee

Why the hell not...

1. Texans - Blake Bortles, QB UCF - Surprise! They need a franchise QB & take the biggest available.
2. Rams - Greg Robinson, OT Auburn
3. Jaguars - Teddy Bridgewater, QB Louisville - Exactly what this poor franchise needs.
4. Browns - Jadeveon Clowney, DE South Carolina - Need a QB & could use a playmaking WR. But they go BPA. A worthy gamble.

5. Raiders - Sammy Watkins, WR Clemson
6. Falcons - Jake Matthews, OT Texas A&M
7. Buccaneers - Anthony Barr, OLB UCLA

8. Vikings - Johnny Manziel, QB Texas A&M - A slide? Maybe. Maybe it was all hype. Perfect fit here.
9. Bills - Khalil Mack, OLB Buffalo
10.Lions - Justin Gilbert, CB Oklahoma St
11.Titans - CJ Mosley, OLB Alabama
12.Giants - Taylor Lewan, OT Michigan
13.Rams - Mike Evans, WR Texas A&M
14.Bears - Timmy Jernigan, DT Florida St.
15.Steelers - Darqueze Denard, CB Michigan St.
16.Cowboys - Ha Ha Clinton Dix, CB Alabama
17.Ravens - Marquis Lee, WR USC
18.Jets - Eric Ebron, TE North Carolina
19.Dolphins - Zack Martin OT Notre Dame
20.Cardinals - Marcus Moses, OT Virginia
21.Packers - Calvin Pryor, FS Louisville
22.Eagles - Bradley Roby, CB Ohio State
23.Chiefs - Brandin Cooks, WR Oregon State
24.Bengals - Kony Ealy, DE Missouri
25.Chargers - Jason Verrett, CB TCU

26.Browns - Kelvin Benjamin, WR Florida State - They need another playmaker? Well they get it here.
27.Saints - Stephon Tuitt, DE Nore Dame
28.Panthers - Odell Beckham, WR LSU
29.Patriots - Jace Amaro, TE Texas Tech
30.49ers - Louis Nix, DT Notre Dame
31.Broncos - Ra'shede Hageman, DT Minnesota
32.Seahawks - David Yankey, OG Stanford

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Other Browns picks:

35. A.J. McCarron, QB Alabama - This should send some to the 480 Bridge. Until he wins.

71. Gabe Jackson, OG Mississippi State
83. Chris Borland, LB Wisconsin - Say he is too small. Then watch him play. You'll see.

102. Lache Seastrunk, RB Baylor
123. Pierre Desir, CB Lindenwood
133. Caraun Reid, DT Princeton
164. Tyler Larson, C Utah
195. Ron Powell, OLB Florida

Discuss it w/ Tommy Dee on Twitter: @Tommy__Dee

or on our board:

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Joe Banner, meet the Door

Back on January 13^th I mentioned that Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi needed to be shown the door and that Ray Farmer should be promoted in order to right this sinking ship. 

Well, almost exactly a month later Jimmy Haslam has decided he’s seen enough.  Apparently Joe Banner and Jimmy Haslam weren't seeing eye to eye during the coaching search so Jimmy did some digging and came to the conclusion that Joe's personality and poor attitude were keeping coaches away. 

Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi are out, Alec Scheiner and Ray Farmer are in.  Alec will continue his role as President and maintain the business side of the operation and Ray will take over as GM and take control of the draft and the 53 man roster.  Farmer, Scheiner and Pettine will all report directly to Jimmy.  Newly hired assistant GM Bill Kuharich, former Chiefs VP of Player Personnel will report to Ray Farmer. 

This is great news for Cleveland fans for a number of reasons but mostly because we now have a “football” guy in charge of football things (the 53 man roster) and a "business" guy in charge of business things.  No more colluding and micromanaging from a Napoleon wanna be.

Farmer may be young and a first time GM but one thing I can guarantee you is that he isn’t and won’t be looked at in the same way that Joe Banner was.  Ray is well respected in this league and will help to resurrect the image of this organization.

So, what is in store for the near future, specifically the draft and free agency? 

First of all I think the odds of TJ Ward and Alex Mack both being resigned (or tagged) just increased greatly. The top priority on Farmers list of things to do should be to get Joe Haden and TJ Ward locked up for the long term, which I think will happen before the combine starts.  The second thing on his list should be to figure out the QB situation and in case you are wondering what type of QB Farmer likes, Mariotta was his top QB until he decided to return to Oregon.  

So we’ve got a rookie Head Coach and a rookie GM now in Cleveland but I’ve got to believe this team is in much better shape now than it has been in quite some time and I feel good about our future.  The cancer also known as Joe Banner is gone.  No more scaring away talent, no more blame game and no more power hungry BS.  The future looks good and the only thing left to do is to win. 

Phase 2: QB

Phase 1 of the important offseason decisions is complete.  The head coach and coordinators have been hired, now it’s time to move onto the next most important decision, QB.  What does the future hold concerning the QB position in Cleveland?  Do the Browns ride the Hoyer train, draft a guy, or pluck someone from another team’s roster? 

So what are the options?

1.  Draft – There are 3 guys in the upcoming draft that I expect to be franchise QB’s in the NFL for years to come.  Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles.  All three bring completely different things to the table.

• Johnny.   My #1 has all the tools and athletic ability you look for in a QB.  He’s smart, he has the arm strength and accuracy, he can make things happen and his mechanics are manageable but he doesn’t have the size which I’m able to look past although there are many that cannot.
• Teddy.   I like the guy.  He makes solid decisions and he has the size and mechanics that you want in an NFL QB.   I worry about his accuracy on the intermediate routes and his arm strength though.  It also appears that his hand size could be an issue but at the end of the day Teddy should be a good one.
• Bortles.  He is a wild card at 4 for me and I’m not sure I could pull the trigger on him.  I like him, I like everything about his game but I think he’ll need to sit for a couple years before he’ll be ready to be thrown in the driver’s seat. The question is if the Browns have that kind of time?

2.  KING HOYER.  Could it be time to jump on the Hoyer train and ride that bad boy across the country? Hoyer and Kirk Cousins play a similar game so it could be possible that Kyle Shanahan told the Browns FO that Hoyer is the guy for the job and he can make it work.  Even though Kirk Cousins never really made it work in Washington except for when he played against the Browns.

This isn’t the ideal situation but it’s not out of the question either.  The Browns could bring a guy in from the draft to challenge for the starting job, someone like AJ McCarron or Jimmy Garoppolo after the 2^nd round.

There are also some low tier free agents that will be available like Matt Cassell, Chad Henne, and Mike Vick that could all come in and back up the King.

3.  Trade/free agent – With Shanahan coming here and Kirk Cousins wanting out of Washington, I don’t think it’s that farfetched of an idea for him to land in Cleveland.  Is it an ideal situation?  Not if you ask me but I guess it could be worse.  Brandon Weeden could still be here.

The problem I see here is you have another stupid QB competition with two unproven QB’s that appear to be the same player, it could cause problems.   I think if the Browns are going to trade for someone or sign a free agent they should expand their mind a little bit and think outside of the box.  Go after Matt Schaub or Ryan Mallet.  Schaub has been a top 10 QB in this league for 6 out of his 7 years in the league as a starter, I don’t think his career is quite over yet and there is a chance that Houston lets him go.

As far as Mallet goes, I’m sick of hearing his name and talking about him but the option is there so we can just leave it at that.

At the end of the day the most important thing that needs to happen is Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell need to be released from the team and unless someone throws a great offer at us for Hoyer, he deserves to stick around.  It’s time to move on to phase 2 and get this QB situation right at all costs and the best way to do that would be to draft Johnny Football or Teddy Bridgewater at 4, back him up with Brian Hoyer and draft a kid in or after the fifth round.