(Polls) Rank Your Post-Draft Roster Building Priorities

[Mind Character]

If you were John Dorsey, what would your Post-Draft Roster Building Priorities be??

We have one of the most complete rosters in the NFL, but in a sport where injuries and play regression are real eventualities the work of roster building is never done. While everyone wants to celebrate as if we have the hands down best roster ever, there are still various areas in which adding talent to the position group will go a long way toward helping us win throughout the year.

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Priority Rank:

1.) DT3/DT4 -- There is no real quality impact value in terms of pass rush disruption or run stuffing at NT with Trevon Coley and Carl Davis nor at 3-Tech w/ Devaroe Lawrence and Brian Price (I know everyone loves him for some reason but he's mostly JAG). We definitely will kick Myles and Chad Thomas inside at times; however, we need more permanent impact depth for injury replacement as well as for more importantly creating a unit that can rotate, stay fresh, and impact the game through interior pocket push/disruption.

2.) CB -- This may seem ridiculous or counterintuitive b/c of our apparent depth, but No other position in pro football league wide is more decimated because of injury each year and sees a team's defensive fortunes plummet due to the unavailability of certain players.  Last year with Ward and Mitchell going down was a perfect example of how a team can never have enough CBs, especially if one's starting CBs have durability concerns. Nothing can torpedo a defensive success like not having impact CBs as CB3 and CB4. Denzel Ward is one concussion away from serious career concerns. A third-concussion in two years early in the season would mean a 4th fatal toward his longterm football longevity. Based on game defensive scheme snap-counts, it's best to consider that there are actually 3 starting CBs as opposed to 2, and as long as TJ Carrie is likely to be one of those starting 3 b/c of our starters' injury concerns our CB corps can be a detriment toward the winning goals of this team. Carrie played solid and terrible last year. l believe in Denzel Ward, Terrance Mitchell, and Greedy Williams. I don't believe in TJ Carrie, Phillip Gaines, Donnie Lewis coming off a foot fracture. I understand that Damarious Randall can play CB, but another valuable addition or additions to this group that would push TJ Carrie to the 5th CBs would go a long way toward helping us sustain winning in a playoff hunt and afc title run.

3.) RB2/RB3 -- We have Duke (for now) and Nick Chubb. I know a lot on this site love Hilliard for some reason, but any type of missed time b/c of injury (temporary or otherwise) could change the dynamic of the offense.

4.) LT2/RT2 -- Until Greg Robinson, Desmond Harrison, and Chris Hubbard prove to be longterm quality starters, adding quality talent to the tackle position group will be a necessity. I'm a believer in Desmond Harrison as he doesn't get enough credit for how well he played in spots as a rookie in over his head while not yet having the functional strength and focus required to have consistent success at the position.

5.) WR3 with Speed -- Everyone believes in Antonio Callaway. Everyone believes he'll make the necessary improvements. I certainly hope so and am optimistic, but we have to be honest inn the assessment that he was more terrible than not last year with drops, wrong routes, poor effort on routes, and shrinking in big moments. He did flash big time ability in spots of course. Without him taking the next step, we'd be depending on Higgins, Strong, Ratley, and Willies to provide the necessary duo dynamic speed WR to work off Odell so that Jarvis and Njoku can work underneath. The type of coverage that can be played on Odell when there is a viable speed/catch threat on the field versus when there is not completely changes the potential high powered nature of our offense.

6.) TE3 -- Seth Devalves not it, but with Orson Charles moonlighting as TE3/HB1 this is further down the list.

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On 4/28/2019 at 3:43 AM, Mind Character said:

Post-Draft Roster -- Updated (5/2/19):

https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/players-roster/

Offense (?):

Quarterbacks (?):

QB: Baker Mayfield // Drew Stanton // Garrett Gilbert

UDFAs/Workout: David Blough, QB Purdue

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Running Backs (?):

RB: Nick Chubb // Duke Johnson // Kareem Hunt // Dontrell Hilliard

Others on Roster (Likely Non-Factors): Devante Mays

UDFAs/Workout: Darrin Hall Jr., RB Pittsburgh; Trayone Gray, Miami RB; James Madison, RB Idaho State

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Fullback (?):

FB: N/A; // (Orson Charles)

UDFAs/Workout: N/A

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Wide Receivers (?):

WR1: Odell Beckham Jr. // Rashard Higgins // Derrick Willies

WR2: Antonio Callaway // Jaelen Strong // Damion Ratley

Slot-WR: Jarvis Landry // Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi // (Duke Johnson)

Others on Roster (Likely Non-Factors): Blake Jackson, Ishmael Hyman

UDFAs/Workout: Dorian Baker, WR Kentucky; Chris Osei-Kusi, WR Queens; DJ Montgomery, WR Austin Peay

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Tight Ends (?):

TE: David Njoku // Demetrius Harris // Seth DeValve // Orson Charles

Others on Roster (Likely Non-Factors): Pharaoh Brown

UDFAs/Workout: Stephen Carlson, Princeton TE; Ravian Pierce, TE Syracuse; Marvin Saunders, TE Kansas; Odell Miller, TE Central Michigan

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Offensive Linemen (?):

LT: Greg Robinson // Desmond Harrison

LG: Joel Bitonio // Drew Forbes // (Trevon Tate)

C:  JC Tretter // Trevon Tate // (Eric Kush)

RG: Austin Corbett // Eric Kush // Bryan Witzmann

RT: Chris Hubbard // Kendall Lamm

Others on Roster (Likely Non-Factors): Kyle Kalis, Brad Seaton

UDFAs/Workout: Brian Fineanganofo, OT Idaho State 

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Defense (?):

Defensive linemen (?):

DE: Myles Garrett // Chad Thomas // Chris Smith

NT: Larry Ogunjobi // Trevon Coley // Carl Davis

DT: Sheldon Richardson // Devaroe Lawrence // Brian Price

DE: Olivier Vernon // (Genard Avery) // Anthony Zettel

Others on Roster (Likely Non-Factors): Daniel Ekuale, Lenny Jones

UDFAs/Workout: Jarrell Owens, DE Oklahoma State; Wyatt Ray, DE Boston College; Dougladson Subtyl, DE Arizona State; Gary Moore, DT Minnesota

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Linebackers (?):

SLB: Sione Takitaki // Genard Avery

MLB: Joe Schobert // Mack Wilson

WLB: Christian Kirksey // Adarius Taylor // Ray-Ray Armstrong

Others on Roster (Likely Non-Factors): Xavier Woodson-Luster, D'Juan Hines

UDFAs/Workout: Dedrick Young, LB Nebraska; Willie Harvey, LB Iowa State; JT Hassell, LB Florida Tech; Stefan Banks, LB Savannah State; Brian Bell, LB Akron

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Corner Backs (?):

CB: Denzel Ward // Tavierre Thomas // Donnie Lewis Jr.

CB: Greedy Wiilliams // Terrance Mitchell

NCB: T.J. Carrie // Phillip Gaines

Big-Nickel: (Sheldrick Redwine) // (Eric Murray)

Others on Roster (Likely Non-Factors): Robert Jackson, Ashton Lampkin, Tigie Sankoh, Lenzy Pipkins, Juston Burris

UDFAs/Workout: Jermaine Ponder, CB Saint Francis; Jonte Pooler, CB Charleston; Josh Allen, CB Miami Ohio

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Free Safeties (?):

FS: Damarious Randall // (Sheldrick Redwine) // Eric Murray

Others on Roster (Likely Non-Factors): Jermaine Whitehead

UDFAs/Workout: Bo Brooks, S Missouri S&T

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Strong Safeties (?):

SS: Morgan Burnett // Sheldrick Redwine // (Eric Murray)

UDFAs/Workout: Amani Dennis, S Carthage; Aaron Wade, S Utah State; Jontrell Rocquemore, S Utah State

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Specialists (?):

Kicker (?): Austin Seibert // Greg Joseph

Punter (?):Britton Colquitt

Long snapper (?):Charley Hughlett

UDFAs/Workout: Jamie Gillan, P Arkansas Pine-Bluff; Spenser Thompson-Meyers, K St Norbert; Nick Reindhart, LS Arizona

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Edited May 2, 2019 by Mind Character

[Kiwibrown]

1. Tackle, it seems like a position you can either play or you cant, and there is not a surplus of them around for hire

2. We wont have a star linebacker and we are probably moving on from two next season, we will be lead by taki, mack and avery

3. Oc. We will move on from tretter, so we will need a new one. 

4. Fs. I think randall walks after a probowl season. This kind of falls under the corner position, you just need heaps of good and not terrible dbs

[NateDawg]

I'm not sure we have long-term starters on our roster at either tackle spot. 

Beyond that, Bitonio is a rock at guard, but Corbett is a total unknown, and Tretter is in line to be an FA in 2020.  Behind those guys, if our 5th round rookie doesn't develop into a long-term starter, we may not have 2020 starters at a few OL spots. 

I'm not saying I wouldn't continue to add talent to CB, but I don't see it nearly as high in importance as some other spots right now.  Looking around the NFL, there aren't many teams that can go 4-strong like we have right now in Ward/Greedy (if he pans out like Dorsey et al. project)/Mitchell/Carrie.  I don't know any teams in the league that have 5 good corners. 

To me, LB is a higher importance than CB, along with safety.  Takitaki and Mack Wilson look good on paper with their respective values, but they're still unknowns.  Let's say that Kirksey and Schobert are both gone after this season.  Who is comfortable with the starting LB's being Avery, Takitaki, Wilson?  I'm not saying that couldn't end up being a good group.  But, at the very least, highly inexperienced and an unknown.  If you can get 1 good starter and a contributor out of 2 picks in round 3/5 at LB, that's a big success by NFL draft standards.  Now, if they have a contract with Schobert in the works, totally different, it's not as much of an unknown.  Drafting 2 LB's to me means that they have looked into the crystal ball (cat crystal ball gif) and seen it as a 2020 position of need. 

Again at safety, if Randall is here for the long-haul, not as much of a concern.  But, that's very much up in the air.  If he were to leave, you're looking at Redwine/Burnett as guys on the roster who would be in line to start without plugging new faces in.  We know what Burnett is.  He's a short-term plug.  We don't really know what Redwine is, though we can be hopeful. 

Lot more credibility at the CB position than some other spots IMO. 

DT could potentially be a thin area in the next couple years.  We have Larry and Sheldon for at least two years. 

[Wulfgard]

I think OT is the biggest need. We have 3 options that are questionable at best. Robinson has high level talent and played fairly well for us last year but has a much longer history as a disappointment and needs to show long-term that last year was who he really is. Hubbard is a rotational OT at best in my opinion and Harrison is long term project that is probably at least 1 season away from being quality starter if we're lucky.

2nd I choose OG. Until Corbett shows he's a capable starter on the field I'm not confident in him holding the position down.

3rd would be LB. We drafted 2 but neither screams plug and play starter and both of our returning locks for starter could be gone in the next year or 2. Joe because we won't be able to give him a huge contact with everyone else we need to sign and Christian because his production hasn't been great the past couple of years.

I'd add a 4th spot for sold backup QB. If baker went down for a long period of time I could see our win total drop from 10-12 to 5-7 and some of our bigger personalities not being happy.

[MWil23]

Assuming that:

1. Greedy ends up becoming our "long term" CB#2 opposite Ward

2. Either Mack or Takitaki ends up panning out, let alone both

Then I would say:

*Kirksey will get cut FOR SURE either this year or next

*We will have to decide whether or not to pay BOTH Schobert AND Randall, not to mention resign Robinson if he looks legit again this year, and Tretter as a UFA

*Richardson, Hubbard, and Vernon are on the "they need to perform or else they're cut" 2020 train

...meaning, IMO

*OL is by far our biggest future priority. Corbett is a question mark, as is our OT situation, as well as our C situation with Tretter, not to mention our lack of depth

*DE/DT is by far our 2nd biggest priority. The good news is, with Avery, TakiTaki, and Mack, we have 3 nice hybrid situation rushers and potential nickel coverage LBs, but we could use another full time EDGE guy. DT with Richardson is a question mark, and I'd like to see us get a STUD in the center long term, not to mention much needed depth.

*S is a definite question mark. Are we resigning Randall? Burnett is a nice stopgap starter, but he's not a long term guy. Maybe Redwine pans out and maybe he doesn't.

With the draft capital/free agents we have brought in, I don't think WR, CB, QB, RB, and LB aren't priorities at all, unless some future superstud is staring you in the face when we draft, he's BPA, and you just can't possibly pass up on him (Especially LB and MAYBE a WR). I'd still love a 2nd TE/legit hand in the dirt "do it all" guy, as I still view Njoku as a glorified slot/outside guy who creates some mismatches in the Red Zone. He's still very young, but this year is pretty crucial for him, especially since we can't pay everyone with Myles, Baker, Ward, and company getting PAID in 2021/2022.

[MSURacerDT55]

- I actually would actually love to bring in Shelton on the cheap to be an upgrade over Coley

- Tight end is a concern of mine, I would have loved to bring in one of those talented guys in this draft or even given a guy Dax Raymond a shot. I just think anything short of a similar season like Ebron had with the Colts and he's out but we still need someone on the other side that needs to be a legit threat but is really good as an inline blocker.

- We have no other BASE end behind Garrett and Vernon, I don't like any of the guys we have on the depth chart behind those two, if one goes down, we are cooked IMO

[pnies20]

C, T, LB