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The 53: Player, Roster, & Acquisitions Talk

Mind Character

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Mind Character

Mind Character

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The 53 -- ***UPDATED 8/6/18 -- Post-Corey Coleman Trade****

As the season and the 53-man cut rapidly approaches, our roster and some difficult decisions ahead are starting to come into focus.

When it comes to thinking about the best way to build our roster heading into the season, the following questions regarding position group player composition are at the forefront of my mind:

1.) Can we really afford NOT to keep all 6 LBs?:

      For 43 defenses, the high usage of nickel defensive packages has caused such teams to keep 5 LBs at Max at the final cut with many teams opting to take their chances with 4 on the 53 while storing a few others on the practice squad. In our case, all 6 of our LBs are too talented to cut as James Burgess' productivity in Jamie Collins absence showed that he could easily be a starting LB in the league with the addition of Kendricks that makes 5 LBs we have to keep (Kirksey, Shobert, Collins, Kendricks, Burgess).

     That leaves just Genard Avery our 5th Rnd Pick. He's too talented to cut and have him make it to the practice squad. His upside and pass rush versatility means that we will likely not cut him. If we do get rid of a LB, it may very well be Burgess but only through trade. In my opinion, we have to keep all 6 players as they're too talented to cut. With Collins and/or Kirksey carrying big cap numbers, it makes sense to keep the other LBs as well in the event that we need to move on from either of them at the end of the year.

2.) Can we really afford NOT to Keep 5 DEs?:

       Much like the decision with the LB position group, talent/potential impact reasons necessitate that we likely keep 5 DEs as Chris Smith has been a daily standout since being signed in the classrooms, weight room, and on the field at both inside and outside positions. I've been told that Carl Nassib has also taken another step and has finally achieved a functional level of strength and lower body explosion that can help him become an effective role or spot starter for years to come.

         Chad Thomas has longterm starter upside and will likely make the team based on his draft selection position being in the 3rd. All in all, the group's players Myles Garrett, Emmanuel Ogbah, Chris Smith, Chad Thomas, & Carl Nassib have to make the team. The LBs & DEs kept on the team will cause a lot of strain in the decision making of who to and who not to keep in other position groups.

3.) It's a Necessity to Sign another Spot Starter Quality CB, right?

        It's been a real misperception in my opinion that we have this great depth and quality in the CB room. Without Denzel Ward's projected impact, we have a handful of CB who have never been consistent starter quality  CBs (Terrance Mitchell, EJ Gaines, BBC) especially on the boundary. That's a serious problem. IMO we have to sign an Adam Jones or Beshaud Breeland type of CB that can moonlight as a quality starter if required to do so. Overall, after this singing I believe we keep 5 CBs in total with Simeon Thomas no being a good enough player to survive the 53 cut at the start of the season.

      Denzel Rice has been making a lot of noise in Training Camp and may be a candidate to make the squad; however, as I don't believe we can keep 6 CBs, it's either Denzel Rice or an Adam Jones/Beshaud Breeland type. In that case, we move forward with the veteran with quality starter experience.

4.) 10 OL Again? Probably....Right?:

           Every year I project that we keep 10 OL and every year someone thinks it's blasphemy and unnecessary. The truth is the vast majority of teams keep 9+ OL with over 65% of the league keeping 10. This is done especially when there is uncertainty of talent/impact within the position group. Desmond Harrison is too much of a LT unicorn prospect for him not to make the 53... With that in mind, imo our 2 worst OLineman in terms of potential impact and quality play ability are Austin Reiter and Greg Robinson. If we choose to cut one, it will likely be Greg Robinson, but to me Reiter is vastly overrated and should be upgraded upon if possible in the waiver market or otherwise.

5.) Do we Sign a Vet WR and Who's the Impact WR if JG is Unavailable?

         I don't think there is a WR out there available at the moment that can moonlight as a starter WR1/WR2 other than Jeremy Maclin.. Unfortunately, John Dorsey mushroom clouded that relationship. Soooo..... where does that leave us? It leaves us needed two rookies (Ratley; Callaway); a WR with 95 yds max and 1 TD max as season totals to their name (Jeff Janis); and a camp all star but limited athleticism and longterm impact player (Rashard Higgins). Our WR group without Corey Coleman has the makings of a disaster. Derrick Willies has longterm upside...if we have to cut one of Higgins or Janis, Higgins probably wins that roster race even though Janis might be the better option for pursuing wins right away.

6.) Close Calls - What Will Be the Final Players Considered at the 53: The Close Call Cuts imo will come down to whether or whether not to keep the 10th OLineman (Greg Robinson or Austin Reiter), the 5th Defensive End (Carl Nassib), and the 6th CB (Denzel Rice or Michael Jordan)/

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My Projected Browns 53-man roster breaks down as follows:

**** As talent falls off other rosters, I expect the bottom of our roster to look much different and the defensive and offensive number of players kept to more equalize. Until then, this is an exercise to give a picture of what our roster could look like based on the best talent that I see on the roster at this time.****

--

Offense (26)

Quarterbacks (3):

QB: Tyrod Taylor // Baker Mayfield // Drew Stanton

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Running Backs (3):

RB: Carlos Hyde // Nick Chubb // Duke Johnson // Practice Squad: Matthew Dayes

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Fullback (1):

FB: Danny Vitale;

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Wide Receivers (6):

WR1: Josh Gordon // Jeff Janis // Practice Squad: Derrick Willies

WR2: Antonio Callaway // Damion Ratley // Rashard Higgins

Slot-WR: Jarvis Landry // (Duke Johnson)

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Tight Ends (3):

TE: David Njoku // Daniel Fells // Seth DeValve

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Offensive Linemen (10):

LT: Joel Bitonio // Shon Coleman // Desmond Harrison

LG: Austin Corbett // (Joel Bitonio)

C: J.C. Tretter // Austin Reiter

RG: Kevin Zeitler // Spencer Drango

RT: Chris Hubbard // Greg Robinson

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Defense (24)

Defensive linemen (9):

DE: Myles Garrett // Chris Smith

NT: Trevon Coley // Jamie Meder // Practice Squad: Zaycoven Henderson

DT: Larry Ogunjobi // Caleb Brantley

DE: Emmanuel Ogbah // Carl Nassib // Chad Thomas

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Linebackers (6):

SLB: Christian Kirksey // Genard Avery

MLB: Joe Schobert // Mychal Kendricks

WLB: Jamie Collins Sr. // James Burgess 

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Corner Backs (5):

CB: Denzel Ward // Vet Signing (Beshaud Breeland or Adam Jones) // Practice Squad: Denzel Rice (If Eligible Still)

CB: Terrance Mitchell // E.J. Gaines // Practice Squad: Simeon Thomas

NCB: T.J. Carrie

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Free Safeties (2):

FS: Damarious Randall // Briean Boddy-Calhoun // Practice Squad: Elijah Campbell

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Strong Safeties (2):

SS: Jabrill Peppers // Derrick Kindred

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Specialists (3)

Kicker (1): Zane Gonzalez; 

Punter (1):Britton Colquitt;

Long snapper (1):Charley Hughlett

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Kiwibrown

Kiwibrown

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As far as long snappers go we have a great deal with Huglett, he about 10th best paid LS. 

saving about 170k per season vs the top paid guys. 

@Mind Character

I like keeping 6 LBs

Id sooner keep Matt Dayes over the 10th olineman. I think Dayes has excellent ST value and could be a contributor on offense if Duke shifts to WR or goes down. 

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Mind Character

Mind Character

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12 minutes ago, Kiwibrown said:

As far as long snappers go we have a great deal with Huglett, he about 10th best paid LS. 

saving about 170k per season vs the top paid guys. 

@Mind Character

I like keeping 6 LBs

Id sooner keep Matt Dayes over the 10th olineman. I think Dayes has excellent ST value and could be a contributor on offense if Duke shifts to WR or goes down. 

I agree with Dayes over the 10th OL...  I just think they'll likely believe that it is more likely that they can stash Dayes on the practice squad than stash their 10th OLineman on the practice squad.

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Mind Character

Mind Character

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7 hours ago, OttoGrahamsGhost said:

Is Gonzalez a sure thing? I’ve been impressed by Martin. 

Good point... I didn't really consider that one, but you're absolutely right that there have been rumblings that he's made some good kicks in competition with Gonzalez.

Will be interesting to see how that comp. shakes out..

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Fatgerman

Fatgerman

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I think Shon Coleman's confidence ends up so shot from Man-o-Saurus Rex, Myles Garrett eating his lunch every single day and taking his milk money too, that Shon ends up struggling at both tackle spots and is eventually traded, or a late cut. I think Myles broke Shon Coleman.

Next on his list of men to break: Alejandro Villanueva. Left tackles in this league better eat big breakfasts; don't matter if they buy lunch or brown-bag it, Myles will eat.

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Mind Character

Mind Character

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Our Priority position needs at this point imo are:

1.) LT

2.) WR

3.) CB

4.) Interior DT

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It will be easier to address the WR and CB positions via FA  or the waiver wire....

I doubt that a quality LT or DT comes available that is better than what we have...

Jonathan Hankins is a name that has come up before that I am still surprised that we haven't taken a look at...

 

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1 hour ago, Reginaldm9 said:

Can anyone explain why Boddy-Calhoun is getting more work at backup safety than corner? We're really thin there and he's a solid player. 

BBC is a highly intelligent player and we don't have a backup FS that we can rely on yet (Derron Smith or UFA Elijah Campbell)... so BC is serving that role.. which also allows us to have an emergency CB at the safety position which is a position that often sees the two deep receive few snaps throughout the season outside of special teams...

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