Mind Character

At this point, a wide-variety of us have a good grasp of prospects from rounds 1 to round 5, but I'm interested in seeing who people's favorite and/or best non-1st round prospects are. Specifically, it will also help the goal of aggregating the best available players list beyond the 1st round. ---------------------------------------------------------- QB - Jalen Hurts, QB Oklahoma RB - Jonathan Taylor, RB Wisconsin // Zack Moss, RB Utah // J.K. Dobbins, RB Ohio State // Rico Dowdle, RB South Carolina FB - n/a WR - Denzel Mims, WR Baylor // Tyrie Cleveland, WR Florida (Off the Field Concerns though) // Michael Pittman Jr., WR USC Slot-WR - Laviska Shenault, WR Colorado // Jalen Reagor, WR TCU H-Back - Josiah Deguara, TE Cincinnati TE - Cole Kmet, TE Notre Dame // Devin Asiasi, TE UCLA // Chase Claypool, TE-Convert Notre Dame OT - Robert Hunt, OT Lousiana-Lafayette // Jack Driscoll, OT Auburn // Prince Tega Wanogho, OT Auburn // Matt Peart, OT UConn OG - Daishawn Dixon, OG San Diego St. // Netane Muti, OG Fresno State OC - n/a DE - Julian Okwara, DE Notre Dame // Yetur Gross-Matos, DE Penn State DT - Ross Blacklock, DT TCU // Jordan Elliot, DT Missouri NT - n/a LB - Troy Dye, LB Oregon // Zack Baun, LB Wisconsin // Jordyn Brooks, LB Texas Tech CB - Jeff Gladney, CB TCU NCB - Trajan Bandy, NCB Miami // Darnay Holmes, NCB UCLA // Levonta Taylor, NCB Florida State FS - Xavier Mckinney, FS Alabama SS - Antoine Winfield Jr., SS Minnesota KR/PR - Joe Reed, WR Virginia // Lynn Bowden Jr., WR Kentucky

@CBrownsman If there's 7 holes in your roof and it's the rainy season, it's not doom and gloom to say that one's house is in risk of taking on serious water damage. It's not doom in gloom to identify those holes and realize that one must address as many as possible for the house to continue moving forward in good standing. 1.) Olivier Vernon is the highest paid player on the Browns roster. All signs and rationale point to him not being on the roster unless accepting a major restructuring. 2.) We thought a lot of things pre-season that were proven to be based in non-reality and fantasy more so than a diligent and thoughtful analysis of the true nature of things. So, us saying that our front 4 looked great with Myles, Richadson, Ogujobi, and Vernon before the season started gives me no comfort or assurance regarding the quality of the front 4 going forward. 3.) I'm not sure how one can look at a roster with no starting LT or RT. No FS or SS (If you think Burnett returning from an achilles tear are solutions I don't know what to tell you although I loved Redwine coming out of college he's still an unkown), Chad Thomas as our primary starting DE, Mack Wilson who was the worst starting LB in the NFL per PFF and analytical assessments, and an unproven Sione Takitaki at another LB spot, and a person can think that the roster is not at-risk of serious trouble unless fixed. That's not to say that Redwine, Wilson, and Takitaki can't come in and prove to be longterm impact players, but counting on a 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks to be ready to go impact pieces is risky and/or not realistic. And I say that being a guy who loved Takitaki and Rewine coming out of college. 4.) I'm not saying we're going 0-16 or 4-12. I"m saying that unless some critical and key roster building decisions are made, this roster and the goal of sustained winning is in serious trouble. I believe in Andrew Berry's ability to positively effect change, but until it's proven it's better imo discuss the holes and hope for the best.

Dorsey's biggest problem is that he did not thoughtfully build the roster based on positional-value and positional economy taken into account. Trading a Quality Starting RG, Starting SS, Starter Quality Draft Selection, and a 3rd Round Pick for a WR and Injury prone DE was in hindsight a tremendous error as such a trade only makes sense when a team is already playoff contention and looking to get over the hump to Super Bowl contention. That trade made no sense for a team still building out its foundation. Instead, we somehow ended up with a roster where the top 4 highest paid players include 2 Wide Receivers (OBJ and Jarvis), an injury-prone DE soon to be cut (Olivier Vernon), and a solid DT who's more of a quality role player than impact starter at this stage of his career (Sheldon Richardson). That's a terrible solution for sustained competitive winning especially when the OLine was gutted and DLine talents given away for a bag of doritos. Imagine having Kevin Zeitler, Jarvis Landry (i.e., the Landry trade made economic sense), and Jabrill Peppers along with the 17th overall pick last year which we could've used on let's say on a future core-piece like Andre Dillard OT or Jeffery Simmons DT, or some other core future piece of the roster. We could've then used that 3rd round pick to accumulate more future draft capital or take a gamble on another starting quality player. We'd then be heading into this free agency and draft with 3 (Zeitler, Peppers, Dillard) versus 1 (OBJ) core future starter. The biggest sin was trading away a core OLine piece along with the opportunity to get another core piece in the 1st round of the draft for a Wide Receiver. That positional value exchange calculation makes no sense no matter how good the WR. It especially doens't make sense when one considers that we also gave up a starter in Peppers and 3rd round pick. No one can foresee the future, but smart decisions often reward themselves and we'd be in a position to take CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy this year or take advantage of the WR depth in the draft. The OBJ trade seemed great because so many of us illusioned ourselves into believing that we were close to sustained winning when in truth the most important positional groups next to QB (OLine and DLine) were left by the wayside. It's crazy what a difference a year makes.

People don't give Joe Thomas enough credit when the merely boil his comments in the past down to some misplaced or misinformed "blind love." As much as anything, Joe Thomas detailed and analyzed the reality and depths of despair involved when players, coaches, and all involved in the organization come to the bleak realization that the goal and strategy is to lose historically and tank for multiple years after years of randomly assorted incompetence. Thomas was able to separate and discuss with context how such a plan is both smart gamble for longterm sustainable winning and absolutely miserable/unbearable and brings out the worst qualities and the most sadness out of all those involved in the organization and fandom. Joe Thomas tells the story all the time how he was driving home with his wife and just started to weep at the realization of the futility of his work during the 3-year tank strategy. In general, Joe Thomas defended Hue as a coach that was put in the worst situation possible for a guy that never had the qualities to endure the tank storm without coming undone at the seems and losing his F-ing mind (which Hue most certainly did when it was all said and done). Joe has also defended other coaches and preached patients along the way, but honestly Joe Thomas is no different from the evaluators around the NFL who hit and miss on their evaluation of talents except more often then not when one looks beyond the surface "Joe says this person is Good OR Bad" one finds that his takes have in general been an accurate description of the reality of things, proper cautioning for patience, and consistently more correct than not.

The Browns roster is in a lot of trouble. I don't envy Andrew Berry at all. He's walking into a situation where people still expect the Browns to take a major leap toward sustained winning, but the roster has a multitude of gaping holes at many critical/key positions on the roster. There's just no way to fill the majority of all the roster holes with quality/longterm competent starters in one off-season. Roster Needs/Holes: 1.) LT 2.) RT 3.) DE 4.) FS 5.) SS 6.) RG 7.) LB (x1/x2) 8.) NT/DT 9.) WR3 10.) Blocking-TE/TE1/TE2 It's kind of amazing how little John Dorsey actually did to stabilize the OLine longterm. We also jettisoned building block DLine pieces and never brought in a core piece of quality. Andrew Berry has to walk a tight rope when it comes to building the roster for survivability while also finding longterm sustainable components for the team. He has to have a serious stop gap solution that stops the bleeding this year and buys the roster 2 years of time to identify core pieces for sustained competitive winning. The only way to do that this off-season is likely to throw a ton of money on overrated players that need help to sustain their quality play like Jack Conklin, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, etc and/or sign older 1-year stop gap players like Jason Peters at various positions along the roster. This roster is in a tough place and this free agency is far more important and meaningful for the roster being able compete to win over the next 2 years relative to this year's draft where it's likely the team can only identify and select 2 to 3 quality starters at best. Assuming normal GM draft selection hit-rates, let's assume we get 2 starters and 1 quality 2-deep, longterm developmental starter from the draft. That means we need to find at least 4-5 starters in free agency in order to give this team a real chance for playoff contention. Hopefully 2 or 3 out of the 5 can be longer term solutions. It's going to be a wild week next week.

fify... Technically sounds is not what Wirfs is as a Tackle.... far from it .... In a gap scheme, Andrew Thomas is the superior prospect to Becton and not that far off from Wills. In a ZBS scheme given what it requires, Thomas is indeed a tier below Wills and it's not even close. Scheme matters.

" He who does not change his take after thee all-22 tape shall suffer a charlatans fate. " -- Draftnikidus Chapter 5, Verse 8

Seriously asking ... what is it that you focus on with Andrew Thomas that has you (and many others of course) thinking he's a better prospect/Tackle relative to Jedrick Wills? Does it have anything to do with pre-draft process popular sentiment about Thomas being a "game-changing top-2, sure-fire, all pro tackle prospect" or is it instead based on evaluation of his play, or a mixture of both? Andrew Thomas' quality as an NFL prospect is independent of the draftnik pre-season consensus opinion, especially when pre-season/prior-season mock drafts or "consensus" opinion is not often based on real evaluation of a player but instead hype. It was not long ago that the "consensus" top Picks in the Draft were Joe Burrow and Andrew Thomas with consensus opinion suggesting that Chase Young was the 3rd prospect overall and/or the 2nd-best non-QB prospect overall. That opinion was just wrong whether consensus believed it or not. Remember a half-season ago when Grant Delpit was a consensus top-5 pick, or Jerry Jeudy was a guaranteed top-5 pick, or when AJ Epenesa was a top-5 guy. Or when Orlando Brown Jr. was a consensus Top-5 Pick. There are countless others. Andrew Thomas is what he is and it's separate from what people once thought he was. Jedrick Wills smokes Andrew Thomas out of the water in any and every Tackle play trait imo. That many don't see that is what makes this draft stuff some of the most interesting things of all time. You all see green and I see blue.

My Final Pre-Free Agency Mock Off-Season: Principal Cuts / Let Walks ( $ 38.37 Million in Salary Cap Savings) 1.) Olivier Vernon, DE (15 Mil Cap Savings) 2.) Joe Schobert, LB (Expired Contract; No Resign Could be 14mil+ Savings/Yr) 3.) Christian Kirksey, LB (10 Mil Cap Savings; 2 Mil Dead Cap Hit; 8 Mil Net) 4.) Morgan Burnett, SS (4.8 Mil Cap Savings; 1.3 Mil Dead Cap Hit; 3.5 Mil Net) 5.) Chris Hubbard, RT (7.2 Mil Cap Savings; 2.4 Mil Dead Cap Hit; 4.8 Mil Net) 6.) Damarious Randall, FS (Expired Contract) 7.) Eric Murray, NS/SS (Expired Contract) 8.) Rashard Higgins, WR (Expired Contract) 9.) Stephen Carlson, TE (ERA, 585K Cap Savings) 10.) Dontrell Hilliard, RB (Expired Contract) 11.) Justin McCary, RG (Expired Contract) 12.) Drew Stanton (Expired Contract) 13.) Garrett Gilbert, QB (785K Cap Savings; 37K Dead Cap Hit) Principal Free Agent Signings (Numbers Based on Spotrac Market Value) 1.) Jack Conklin, RT - 4 years; 70 Mil; 40 Mil GTD; Contract Out after Year 3 (I'm not a fan but a lot of reports suggests we're going to sign him) 2.) Anthony Harris, FS/SS - 3 years; 38 Mil; 19 Mil GTD; Contract Out after Year 2 3.) Halapoulivaati Vaitai, LT - 3 years; 40 Mil; 28 Mil GTD; Conract Out after Year 2 4.) Clayton Geathers, SS/NS - 4 years; 30 Mil; 14 Mil GTD; Contract Out after Year 2 5.) Case Keenum, QB - 2 years; 8 Mil; 3 Mil GTD 6) Vernon Butler, NT/DT - 3 years; 30 Mil; 15 Mil GTD; Contract Out after Year 2 7.) PJ Walker, QB - 3 years; 10 Mil; 3 Mil GTD 8.) Ronald Blair, DE - 2 years; 18 Mil; 9 Mil GTD; Contract Out after Year 1 9.) Carl Nassib - 2 years; 18 Mil; 9 Mil GTD; Contract Out after Year 1 10.) Kareem Hunt, RB - 3rd Round Tender 11.) KhaDarel Hodge, WR - ERFA Small Contract 12.) Ricky Seals-Jones, TE - Original Round Tender Aggressive Multiple Trade-Down; Build Roster & Accumulate Future Capital; 2nd Round Value Mock Browns Trades Summary: 1.) Trade 1: Trade Down from 10th to 13th receive a 2nd and 5th this year and a future 3nd round pick. 2.) Trade 2: Trade Down from 13th to 18th receive a 2nd this year and a future 2nd round pick. 3.) Trade 3: Trade Down from 18th to 30th receive a 2nd this year and a future 2nd and 4th round pick Picks Gained this year: 2nd; 2nd; 2nd; 5th... Picks Gained in future drafts: 2nd; 2nd; 3rd; 4th. Foreshadowed Moves Next Off-Season: Trading OBJ and Jarvis Landry for draft selections The Build the team mock 1). Kenneth Murray, LB Oklahoma 2.) Denzel Mims, WR Baylor 2.) Cole Kmet, TE Notre Dame 2.) Antoine Winfield Jr., SS Minnesota 2.) Laviska Shenault, Jr., WR Colorado 3.) Robert Hunt, OG/OT Louisiana-Lafayette 3.) Willie Gay Jr., LB Miss. St. 4.) Jack Driscoll, RT Auburn // Prince Tega-Wanogho, LT Auburn 5.) Daishawn Dixon, OG San Diego St. 6.) Zack Moss, RB Utah // Rico Dowdle, RB South Carolina 7.) Reggie Robinson II, CB/FS Tulsa 7.) Joe Reed, WR/KR/PR Virginia Prospective 53-60 Roster: Offense (25): Quarterbacks (3): QB: Baker Mayfield // Case Keenum // PJ Walker Practice Squad: N/A ------------ Running Backs (3): RB: Nick Chubb // Kareem Hunt // Zack Moss Practice Squad: N/A ------------ Fullback (1): FB: Johnny Stanton Practice Squad: N/A ------------ Wide Receivers (?): WR1: Odell Beckham Jr. // Taywon Taylor WR2: Denzel Mims // KhaDarel Hodge Slot-WR: Jarvis Landry // Laviska Shenault // Joe Reed Practice Squad: N/A ----------- Tight Ends (?): TE: Cole Kmet // David Njoku // Ricky Seals-Jones // UDFA/Vet-Blocking TE Practice Squad: N/A ------------ Offensive Linemen (?): LT: Halapoulivaati Vaitai // (Robert Hunt) LG: Joel Bitonio // Daishawn Dixon C: JC Tretter // Willie Wright RG: Robert Hunt // Drew Forbes // Wyatt Teller RT: Jack Conklin // Jack Driscoll // Kendall Lamm Practice Squad: Malcolm Pridgeon ------------------------- Defense (25): Defensive linemen (?): DE: Myles Garrett // // Chad Thomas NT: Vernon Butler // Daniel Ekuale DT: Larry Ogunjobi // Sheldon Richardson DE: Carl Nassib // Ronald Blair Practice Squad: N/A ------------ Linebackers (?): SLB: Sione Takitaki // Tae Davis MLB: Kenneth Murray // Jermaine Grace WLB: Willie Gay Jr. // Mack Wilson // Willie Harvey Practice Squad: N/A ------------ Corner Backs (5): CB: Denzel Ward // Reggie Robinson II // Donnie Lewis Jr. CB: Greedy Wiilliams // Tavierre Thomas NCB/NS: Terrance Mitchell // (Antoine Winfied Jr.) Practice Squad: N/A ------------ Safeties (5): FS: Anthony Harris // Sheldrick Redwine SS: Clayton Geathers // Antoine Winfield Jr. Practice Squad: N/A ------------ Specialists (3): Kicker (1): Austin Seibert Punter (1): Jamie Gillan Long snapper (1): Charley Hughlett --------------------------------------------------------------

Indeed. As soon as they see a viable path to replace him, he's gone. Teams know before Free Agency officially starts whether or not they're likely to get a particular player or not. That then effects their draft strategy. How Free Agency goes will likely effect Vernon. There's no reason to cut him if we strike out on all of the big$ free agents.

If we sign Conklin, we really need to realize exactly what we're getting and that is a starting tackle that needs help and blows assignments a ton while also providing quality play. I'd only want Trent Williams for a conditional 3rd Rounder + a reasonable contract that allows outs if he's not healthy. So, for me a great incomplete Free Agency would look something like: FS - Anthony Harris SS - Clayton Geathers OG - Joe Thuney, Option 1 // Graham Glasgow, Option 2 OT - Halapoulivaati Vaitai TE - Austin Hooper Then, draft Jedrick Wills and Robert Hunt.

I think there are some positional groups in the draft that are more at risk of teams reaching on players in that group. Safeties is one group where a 1st or 2nd round pick on Austin Davis, FS Cal -OR- Grant Delpit, S LSU, as well as a host of 4 to 5 others is likely to be akin to flushing draft pick down the drain as those guys are the types that GMs will always be looking to upgrade. Outside of Antoine Winfied Jr., I don't really believe in guys in that positional group. So, signing two safeties in free agencies (1, Free Safety and 1, Strong Safety) helps us avoid bypassing BPA. As the guys mentioned, Signing 1 if not 2 Tackles frees us up not to force a Tackle selection in the 1st if it doesn't make sense. Defensive End and the Defensive Tackle Position group in the draft is a minefield of JAGs and fool's gold. So, acquiring or signing a person that plays those positions is important as well. As a ranking: 1.) OT, 2.) FS, 3.) SS, 4.) DE, 5.) DT .... Honorable mention: LB.

Though I'm tempted to gamble on Mekhi Becton's upside, if it's not Jedrick Wills, the Browns should absolutely trade down multiple times creating an insane amount of assets for the present and future drafts as we have more roster holes than anyone realizes and it's going to take Andrew Berry type and draft capital to stabilize the roster. Andrew Thomas is not a scheme-fit. Tristan Wirfs is a Guard and has Mentality concerns. That leaves just Jedrick Wills and Me hi Becton. Wills' imo is the only sure thing and is going to be an All-Pro. Becton can be and if Berry makes that pick it makes some sense taking that gamble, but ultimately I'd rather trade down and target the pairing of Robert Hunt, OG/OT Louisiana Lafayette and Austin Jackson, LT USC, along with other non-OT prospects. Coming out of the combine there's also talk that the Browns love love Kenneth Murray, LB Oklahoma. Assuming that's the case it makes for some interesting late-round 1 scenarios if we trade down and then trade back into the 1st with some 2nd rounders in order to have multiple 1st round picks. As it stands, I'm all in on only these scenarios: 1.) Draft Jedrick WIlls Jr., OT Alabama either via Trade Up or at 10. 2.) Trade Down Numerous Times Creating Tons of Present and Future Draft Capital (Target the Pairing of Robert Hunt, OG/OT Louisiana-Lafayette with either Austin Jackson, LT USC, Jack Driscoll, OT Auburn, or Prince Tega-Wanogho, OT Auburn. (In this scenario, it's going to be vital to have either traded a 3rd rounder for Trent Williams and/or signed Jack Conklin via free agency even though I don't really believe in Conklin he is a starting Tackle. 3.) A Distant 3rd Option -- Draft Mekhi Bect, OT Louisville at 10 4.) Draft CeeDee Lamb at 10 and prepare to move Landry and Beckham. 5.) Draft Derrick Brown at 10.

On Tackles or OLineman drafted he's never missed. Also, nicely intimates when guys aren't holding up their end in terms of commitment (Desmond Harrison and Greg Robinson).

Guards and Center are indeed the most important positions in a wide-variety of ZBS schemes as they have to cover the most ground and make the most critical blocking decisions. Nick Harris is a good player, but without a 5th round pick this year our 4th rounder needs to be used on gamble for a starter. With J.C. under a new contract, I don't see Nick Harris starting any time soon. Also, I think the quality of starting-caliber WRs, RBs, NCBs, LBs, and potentially Safety would be more impactful for the Browns instead of drafting a Center. Maybe if we picked up an additional 4th or something, but ultimately I don't see Harris as a game changing Center like that imho and I honestly like a guy currently on our roster named Willie Wright who's tape last year out of Tulsa looked like a future potential pro-bowl Center. He was one of my favorite sleepers in the draft and we got him as a UDFA. I'd rather keep developing him rather than spend a 4th on Harris. But then again what do I know. Harris will probably go on to be a first year all pro for some team.

Kolton Miller was also 6'9" with 34"+ arms. He was a much much larger and longer human even when just looking at his body composition. Miller had far more natural/raw ability than Cleveland. I was a big fan of his at times in 2018 before his turf toe derailed his movement skills in 2019, but the real issue with his game is that Ezra's athleticism is not football functional. Two of the same sized athletes can be timed in with the same 40 yard time and raw athleticism numbers but the two could be completely different in their natural body and bio-mechanical coordination, as well as their natural feel for how/when to move their body to make blocks. Ezra just isn't a natural moving, innate, instinctive feel for the game Tackle. Despite his athleticism his feet pacing is slow and sloppy. It's not functional for football skill. Now, what he is good at is running down the line and hitting targets in space. He's also is a highly competitive blocker and battles through injury. Ultimately, he doesn't have that it factor or instinct to just get guys blocked as he often plays like a slow footed, slow athlete allowing defenders just to run around him or through him. You can squint and see a future impact player worthy of a 3rd round pick, but I don't believe in his feel for the game to the point that I'd likely only put a 5th round grade on him (he'll go much higher than that though).

I specifically heard the following: 1.) His ownership of issues with the offense collapses after repeated prodding and criticism of his game. That is, when asked about Utah State's and his offensive struggles last year his default responses is the calculated one where he takes ownership but when repeatedly pressed and criticized a harshly he then started pointing fingers and assigning blame to his teammates revealing that he neither has the self-control to restrain his true thoughts in an interview setting where teams are trying to expose character flaws nor does he have the desire to accept ownership as the primary leader. 2.) Relatedly, Love apparently demonstrated a lack of desired self-awareness in general. Now, tons of 20 year olds are in the same boat, but for teams looking to turn over the reigns of their billion dollar organization/business to a young leader Love's responses caused concerns. I was told however that after one of the really bad interviews that a few scouts pulled Love aside and coached him up on how to respond better in other interviews with the goal that he give a better performance to teams so that Love won't plummet his draft stock.

Reports from scouts coming out of the combine is that Jordan Love's interviews were unanimously cheeks. Info on Herbert's interviews aren't leaking out. Stuff always leaks out though so it's only a matter of time. Hopefully, the cheeks reports are leaking out as disinformation but it seems unlikely due to his many and consistent the reports on Love are.

You're right in that It's definitely not a "make or break year" in the truest sense of the phrase as in if he Baker doesn't show up this year we immediately get rid of him or decide to move on. Nothing like that is happening and it shouldn't happen. You let Baker play out his Rookie contract and his picked up 5th year option year before moving on. However, it is a year where after 45 starts or so the trend trajectory of his career will be more solidified and clear. I'd disagree that we'd have to wait until the following year (Baker's 2nd year in the Stefanski offense) to be able to judge and evaluate whether or not Baker is on the right trajectory of an high quality franchise QB. We all know there's going to be low moments and mistakes this upcoming year. That's to be expected, but by season's end I'm of the opinion that a lot of our lingering questions will be answered with some remaining to be answered throughout the duration of Baker's career.

There are derps and then there are derp derps the likes that can't tell up from down, fantasy from reality, propaganda from truth, and quite simply wouldn't know facts if they came and bit them in the arse. ------------------------------ Joe Thomas is not a scout and has been transparent that he's has not watched the depth of film of the Tackle prospects on the level of a scout. He has however stated that he has seen some film on each of the top tackle prospects in preparation for his combine coverage so that he could have some baseline knowledge about the top guys. He also intently watched and analyzed the top Tackle prospects and big OLine names during their combine workouts. During and post combine, he conveyed some of his thoughts to NFL and Browns related media. Below, Joe Thomas in His Own Words during an appearance on a show called Cleveland Browns Daily: " I see Tristan Wirfs especially early on in his career as a guy that might start out as a Guard because just the way he moves he doesn't have as much hip mobility as I think he would need to come in and start right away as an Offensive Tackle and so when I watch him I think that he's probably going to end up starting right away as a Guard so for the Cleveland Browns they've got at least 1 really good Guard already so I think with that 1st pick they're going to be thinking offensive tackle and that's why I would put Tristan Wirfs back and say Andrew Thomas is more ready to start now as a prototypical offensive tackle. Number 3 as an offensive tackle I'd put Jedrick Wills...." --- Joe Thomas ---- ----- Joe Thomas also gave a ranking based on his combine observations of movement dynamics, footwork, and the sampling of film he's watched of the Top Big Name Tackles which was the following: 1.) Mekhi Becton: 2.) Andrew Thomas 3.) Jedrick Wills Jr. The next grouping he had as Guard Primary Tackle Maybe with an emphasis on the Maybe with a strained doubt intonation. 4.) Tristan Wirfs (** after giving his first reasoning on Wirfs as a Guard he called Wirfs a Guard 3 other times in the conversation.) 5.) Josh Jones. (Called Jones a Guard But Maybe Tackle) ------- Joe Thomas has been asked to give his opinion and do background reference work on Jack Conklin. He was asked to do background reference work on Kevin Stefanski by reaching out to past and present Vikings players. A lot of NFL people after the combine think Conklin to the Browns is going to happen. It's an odd choice in my mind based on how much help the Titans had to give Conklin and some of his deficiencies, but it does make sense regarding the high stakes of the season to get a sure-fire starting Tackle veteran that has some play quality in there to protect Baker and let the offense develop.

1.) I truly believe Andrew Thomas is the worst Zone-Blocking Scheme Fit of the group. That's the central motivator behind my dislike for Thomas. If we were a gap-scheme, my opinions about him would be much different. He's a Left Tackle, but just not in a movement or ZBS scheme imo. 2.) I'm averse to any red flags regarding players' commitment, reliability, and/or dependability. I trust the people that told me he missed workouts and strength and conditioning sessions and argued with coaches instead of taking ownership of the mistake to teammates and coaches when he came back. In the end, that's not a fatal or terrible "off the field red flag" but it's enough to wonder what else is out there or his maturity level. Maybe the Browns and/or other Teams with the resources to do so can figure out what Thomas is really about or if he can grow.

We'll know what he is and what he isn't by game 45-48. Is he a sustainable good top half of the league QB or can he be more, a top-6 QB in the league? We'll know this year what the longterm trajectory/trend is looking like. I don't think anyone knows yet.

1.) Rank Your top Tackle Prospects and Why? 2.) Who has the highest floor? Who's the safest prospect? 3.) Who has the highest ceiling? 4.) Is there a clear best Tackle and Why? 5.) (FYI -- Even Joe Thomas Says Wirfs is a Guard) --------------------- Joe Thomas On Wirfs and the Tackles Joe Thomas is not a scout and has been transparent that he's has not watched the depth of film of the Tackle prospects on the level of a scout. He has however stated that he has seen some film on each of the top tackle prospects in preparation for his combine coverage so that he could have some baseline knowledge about the top guys. He also intently watched and analyzed the top Tackle prospects and big OLine names during their combine workouts. During and post combine, he conveyed some of his thoughts to NFL and Browns related media. Below, Joe Thomas in His Own Words during an appearance on a show called Cleveland Browns Daily: " I see Tristan Wirfs especially early on in his career as a guy that might start out as a Guard because just the way he moves he doesn't have as much hip mobility as I think he would need to come in and start right away as an Offensive Tackle and so when I watch him I think that he's probably going to end up starting right away as a Guard so for the Cleveland Browns they've got at least 1 really good Guard already so I think with that 1st pick they're going to be thinking offensive tackle and that's why I would put Tristan Wirfs back and say Andrew Thomas is more ready to start now as a prototypical offensive tackle. Number 3 as an offensive tackle I'd put Jedrick Wills...." --- Joe Thomas ---- ----- Joe Thomas also gave a ranking based on his combine observations of movement dynamics, footwork, and the sampling of film he's watched of the Top Big Name Tackles which was the following: 1.) Mekhi Becton: 2.) Andrew Thomas 3.) Jedrick Wills Jr. The next grouping he had as Guard Primary Tackle Maybe with an emphasis on the Maybe with a strained doubt intonation. 4.) Tristan Wirfs (** after giving his first reasoning on Wirfs as a Guard he called Wirfs a Guard 3 other times in the conversation.) 5.) Josh Jones. (Called Jones a Guard But Maybe Tackle) -------------------------------------- My Rankings & General Evaluative Summary: **All prospects have positive and negative qualities, but analyzing the positives and negatives of the Tackle class in my opinion reveals a clear OT1 that is head and shoulders above the rest.** 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. The Good: Plays with uncanny natural knee bend, a natural extremely low center of gravity, and fantastic balance. Natural intuitive feel for leverage play and has elite body control. He plays with length, as well as with the highest level of functional strength and functional athleticism out of the group. He's a people mover who displaces even high level competition and has the blocking mentality and demeanor of a high level prospect looking to dominate the defender and make his presence known from the 1st to 4th Quarter. He has highlight blocks where he takes out 2 and sometimes 3 defenders to devastating effects. Sweet feet, powerful hands, and works hard and efficiently when on the move toward second level blocks. His anchor and redirect is out of this world. Finishes. Hand placement and technique is consistently elite. Has a high level of conditioning and sustained ability endurance. The Bad: Doesn't sustain blocks like you'd like to see in situations where he clearly has the decisive advantage. Gets overextended over his knees when working to prevent inside counter moves causing him to lose balance and lunge fall forward at times. His technique and assignment diligence regresses in blowout wins in the 4th Quarter when you'd like to see him finish and maintain focus. Has occasional mental lapses and struggles with punch and anchor timing when going up against wide-9 aligned Defensive Ends. In general, his worst tape is against wide-9 defenders and needs a complete overhaul of footwork and decision-making when going against such defensive schemes. Recognition skills when presented with exotic fronts or blitzes gives him trouble when rushers come from wide alignments and his true priority assignment is inside. --- 2.) Mekhi Becton The Good: Becton is indeed a super freak. He is the ultimate people mover who gets up in and under guys and makes them look silly. He mauls guys and is a devastating blocker on the move. Plays with consistent effort through 3 Quarters and uses his length to his advantage. Dominant blocking mentality. Is a loose and fluid athlete despite issues in foot biomechanical coordination.There's no better Tackle in the draft when Becton is locked in, prepared, and knowledgeable of his responsibilities, blocking angles, and blocking keys. Anchor and redirect is special. Has a natural feel for angles. Finishes through the whistle even when exhausted due to likely conditioning issues. When he properly identifies 2nd level responsibilities it's some of the most fun and memorable tape you'll ever see as he just ragdolls defenders on the move. His one arm push followed by his linear acceleration to the second level is remarkable. The Bad: Jekyll and Hyde 2019 versus 2018 film begs the question who's the real Mekhi? Hand placement is all over the place. Lacks endurance and fitness as his hands are on his hips and his technique and effort regress in the 4th Quarter. Oddly enough though, when he went against top competition (only 5 times his whole career really) he never displayed the dominance he shows when he knows his opponent is over-matched. Lacks the decision-making and targeting awareness on second level blocks. He lacks functional quick change of direction, technical feet, and hip flexibility to thrive in certain elements of a zone blocking scheme. His teammates often get frustrated with him when he blows assignments and they showed their frustration with him on the field multiple times. That likely happens only when they know he's been corrected to do something but he's not holding up his end of the bargain. High cut and has a high center of gravity. Has weight concerns and consistency issues, but his traits are off the charts and he has the raw ability to be a special player. --- 3.) Andrew Thomas The Good: Thomas' best quality is his play mentality/demeanor and his natural instincts and intuitive decisions to just get guys blocked even when it looks ugly. When on the field, he gives maximal effort and fights to the bitter end. He has the 2nd highest floor of the group and is sure to be a quality player in a particular scheme (also has the lowest ceiling of the top Tackles). Has a feel for the game regarding inside counters, as well as how to stay back in his stance and patiently, decisively punch with purpose. Sustains and finishes better than anyone in the OT class. Uses his length to his advantage. Has an advanced feel and instinctual awareness of angles to minimize the negative impact of his lateral movement/agility deficiencies. A fantastic gap scheme prospect with tremendous movement scheme deficiencies. The Bad: Lacks the functional athleticism to be elite in a movement based system, but beyond that his biggest weakness is his poor contact balance which sees him on the ground a ton. Did I mention how often he's on the ground or caught off balance? It's a lot. Solomon Kindley cleaned up a lot of his inside counter misses. He also struggles with help blocks as he often doesn't correctly identify stunts or uneven line stacks where his responsibilities change. Crosses his feet and/or heel clicks too often. Has deficient change of direction quickness and initial set movement balance. Waist bends too often. Struggles to hit targets and work to targets at the second level or on the move. He lacks elite traits but makes up for it with his natural feel for the game and willingness to leave it all on the field and battle. Too often lets Defensive Ends get underneath his bad and bend direct angles to the QB. Can he improve his balance and technique and overcome off the field red flags (i.e., arguments with strength coaches, missing workouts). Is he going to be reliable as a pro? --- 4.) Tristan Wirfs The Good: He is out of this world, truly otherworldly on a level never before seen in the draft when he is uncovered on the move working to the second level, running down-field on blocks, or pulling. It's a thing of unparalleled beauty. Has explosive quickness and natural feel for playing with force when working uncovered. Has an intuitive feel for hitting targets in open space. Has a naturally strong anchor with a low center of gravity. Uncanny balance and recovery skills. When he decides that he wants to be the most dominant OLineman in the country there are few players that can match the level of his play when he's dialed in with an aggressive and nasty blocking mentality. Doesn't get too high and doesn't get too low with his mentality. Makes it look easy and doesn't strain in movement. His down the field highlight real of best plays looks like things out an OLine Coaches dreams. The Bad: He hands down has the worst technique (i.e., sloppy feet, oversetting, opens the gate to the sideline, etc) and blocking attitude/mentality/disposition out of the group. Despite his unbelievable testing strength he doesn't play with pop or power in his hands and never mauls anyone preferring wrestle or bear hug guys in the direction of his block. He plays like a short-armed guard letting guys get into him and sometimes under him despite 34" arms. Because he's strong his bear hugs are effective, but he's more finesse than a people mover. So much raw ability, but the worry is does he have the mentality to truly be dominant. He's been criticized as "too nice" and having "all the tools but not the mindset" since his wrestling days in high school. Is he going be able lock into the right mindset to become a pro-bowl caliber Tackle talent in the NFL? He certainly has the highest ceiling but he also has the lowest floor as ankle. Joe Thomas recently called Wirfs a Guard because of his hip immobility. I've seen the same thing for a long time now (as have many others) regarding his hip flexibility and critical technique and feel for the Tackle game deficiencies. All of his issues and technique and play trait weaknesses are virtually wiped out if he moves to Guard paving the way for an All-Pro Career. ------------ Best Consistent Blocking Disposition/Attitude, Blocking Demeanor, and Willingness to Finish 1.) Andrew Thomas 2.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 3.) Mekhi Becton 4.) Tristan Wirfs Best Consistent Technique Via Play at Tackle 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Andrew Thomas 3.) Mekhi Becton 4.) Tristan Wirfs Best Unharnessed Power/Strength 1.) Tristan Wirfs 2.) Mekhi Becton 3.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 4.) Andrew Thomas Best Functional People Moving Play Strength (Not Testing Strength) Via Play at Tackle 1.) Mekhi Becton 2.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 3.) Andrew Thomas 4.) Tristan Wirfs Best Functional Feet Via Play at Tackle 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Mekhi Becton 3.) Tristan Wirfs 4.) Andrew Thomas Best Raw Unrefined Athleticism 1.) Tristan Wirfs 2.) Mekhi Becton 3.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 4.) Andrew Thomas Best Functional Movement and Agility Skills 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Tristan Wirfs 3.) Mekhi Becton 4.) Andrew Thomas Best Out in Space 1.) Tristan Wirfs (and no one else is close) 2.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 3.) Mekhi Becton 4.) Andrew Thomas Best and Most Consistent Down-the-Field Wow Plays 1.) Tristan Wirfs (and no one else is close) 2.) Mekhi Becton 3.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 4.) Andrew Thomas Best Hands and Punch 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Mekhi Becton 3.) Andrew Thomas 4.) Tristan Wirfs Best Play with Length 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Mekhi Becton 3.) Andrew Thomas 4.) Tristan Wirfs Best Processing, Awareness, and Decision-Making 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Tristan Wirfs 3.) Andrew Thomas 4.) Mekhi Becton Lowest-Low Plays 1.) Tristan Wirfs 2.) Andrew Thomas 3.) Mekhi Becton 4.) Jedrick Wills Jr. Highest-High Plays 1.) Mekhi Becton 2.) Tristan Wirfs 3.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 4.) Andrew Thomas Who's the Safest Prospect at Tackle? 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Andrew Thomas 3.) Mekhi Becton 4.) Tristan Wirfs Who has the Highest Floor at Tackle? 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Andrew Thomas 3.) Mekhi Becton 4.) Tristan Wirfs Who has the Highest Ceiling at Tackle? 1.) Mekhi Becton 2.) Jedrick Wills 3.) Tristan Wirfs** (Highest Ceiling at Guard) 4.) Andrew Thomas Best Balance and Contact Balance 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Mekhi Becton 3.) Tristan Wirfs 4.) Andrew Thomas Best ZBS-Fit 1.) Jedrick Wills Jr. 2.) Tristan Wirfs 3.) Mekhi Becton 4.) Andrew Thomas Most Red Flags 1.) Andrew Thomas (No Crimes just workout/practice commitment issues, but shows up like he loves it on game day). 2.) Mekhi Becton (Weight Issues; Conditioning Issues) 3.) Tristan Wirfs (DUI; Looks for escape when the pressures on) 4.) Jedrick Wills Jr.

Shiiiiiitttttttttt..... ... a 3rd rounder to go from 10 to number 2 for Chase Young? I'd trade both 3rds to do so, but it likely would take a future 1st or 2, 2nds to make such a move that would push Washington down so many spots. Let's say Washington wants a 2nd round pick this year, a 3rd round pick this year, and a 2nd round pick next year do you make the trade?

Trent Williams hasn't proven that he can pass a physical or that he can receive sustained contact to his head throughout the course of the season and/or stay healthy. Trent Williams and his agents desire a new contract that compensates him in the top 3 of all tackles in football (which his on-field play necessitates). So, we'd be giving up a 2nd round pick, top 3 Tackle money, and David Njoku for a health risk player that likely plays 2 to 3 more seasons at best at declining productivity levels. David Njoku is underappreciated because people don't acknowledge or never realized just how raw he was coming out of college. He's also underappreciated because of his drops and miscues. But the reality of Njoku and his ultra-productivity in only year 2 of his raw player development can't be overlooked (See Below).