S'all Good Man! 2023 Mock Off-Season

[BetterCallSaul]

*Welp this season is over and done with. We don't have many picks or much money to improve the roster. Here's the best I could do, trying to mainly fix the atrocious run defense and apathetic me-first attitudes that we have on the team. It's not perfect by any means, but without many resources and without being able to realistically flip this entire roster on its head, here we go!

 

 

Staff Moves:

1. Fire Joe Woods & Mike Priefer
2. Hire Jim Leonhard as DC; Hire a competent person as STC.
3. Transition into a more physical and gap-sound defense; prioritize toughness and energy over athleticism and flash.

 

Roster Cuts:

1. John Johnson III FS

(He has been Andrew Sendejo horrendous. He needs to go now. In addition to being terrible, it saves us a lot of money.)

 

Roster Re-Signings:

1. Jacoby Brissett QB
2. Ethan Pocic C
3. Jadeveon Clowney DE
4. Sione Takitaki SLB

(Gotta save money. These dudes all play hard and will fit the culture shift that needs to happen. Re-signing our own guys is cheaper, by in large, than jumping into free agency.)

 

Free Agent Signings:

1. TJ Edwards MLB
(Elite run stuffing MLB that reads and reacts well. Not a great athlete, but the thumper we have lacked. Tough.)

2. Matt Ioannidis DT
(Powerful dude that can play 3T or NT. Has surprising athleticism and disrupts in both the run and pass game. Tough.)

3. Greg Gaines NT
(Run stopper. Excellent anchor against the run and is fantastic in pursuit. Plays hard and is very tough.)

4. Parris Campbell WR
(An oft-injured speedster added onto the roster. Could be Watson's Will Fuller replacement.)

 

 

2023 NFL Draft:

2nd: Brian Branch FS Alabama
(Has every skill you look for. Smart and tough. Elite zone defender and tackler. Good, but not great athlete drops him.)

3rd: Demarvion Overshown WLB Texas
(Elite athlete for the position. Struggles to get off blocks, but is awesome as a blitz and chase LB. JOK moves to STAR.)

4th: Will Mallory TE Miami Fl.
(Polished TE with great hands and catch radius. Light in the pants as a blocker, but a fantastic receiving option.)

4th: Ochaun Mathis DE TCU
(Supremely underrated pass rusher. Has a wide variety of moves. Has length to hold up on the edge. Great burst.)

5th: Tony Grimes CB North Carolina
(Played a ton of high quality football. Tough and experienced in man and zone. Average athlete, but fierce competitor.)

5th: Owen Pappoe MLB Auburn
(Has the speed and instincts to play multiple LB spots. Great ST/Depth piece. Struggles at times due to his size.)

6th: Keytaon Thompson FB Virginia
(Versatile RB/FB/TE/WR piece. Hard-nosed player that will thrive as an H-back here. A tweener, but not in a bad way.)

7th: Walker Rouse OT Stanford
(Athletic OT that can play in a zone blocking scheme. Has had ups and downs, but the physical tools exist.)

 

 

 

Projected 2023 Depth Chart:
 

QB: Deshaun Watson/Jacoby Brissett/Kellen Mond
RB: Nick Chubb/Jerome Ford/Demetric Felton
FB: Keytaon Thompson
WR: Amari Cooper/Donovan Peoples-Jones/Parris Campbell/David Bell/Anthony Schwartz/Mike Woods
TE: David Njoku/Will Mallory/Harrison Bryant
LT: Jedrick Wills/Walker Rouse
LG: Joel Bitonio/Drew Forbes
OC: Nick Harris/Brock Hoffman
RG: Wyatt Teller/Ethan Pocic
RT: James Hudson/Dawson Deaton

LE: Jadeveon Clowney/Alex Wright/Isaac Rochell
DT: Matt Ioannidis/Greg Gaines/Tommy Togiai/Perrion Winfrey
RE: Myles Garrett/Ochaun Mathis/Isaiah Thomas
WLB: Demarvion Overshown/Tony Fields
MLB: TJ Edwards/Jacob Phillips/Owen Pappoe
SLB: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah/Sione Takitaki
CB: Denzel Ward/MJ Emerson/Greg Newsome/Tony Grimes/AJ Green/TJ Graham
FS: Brian Branch/D'Anthony Bell
SS: Grant Delpit/Bubba Bolden

K: Cade York
P: Corey Bojoquez
KR: Parris Campbell/Jerome Ford
PR: Parris Campbell/Jerome Ford

 

 

 

[dawgdish]

Unfortunately with the holes in this roster and the lack of draft capital we have, we probably can't shore up everything we need to. I like your focus on shoring up the middle of the D, but that seems to be something Berry isn't interested in, so I don't know how realistic that is. Obviously love firing Woods and Priefer. If this his how things went, WR corps is a Chicago Sunroof level liability, though.

[BetterCallSaul]

2 hours ago, dawgdish said:

WR corps is a Chicago Sunroof level liability, though.

This guy Better Call Saul's.

[MSURacerDT55]

4 hours ago, BetterCallSaul said:

3. Transition into a more physical and gap-sound defense; prioritize toughness and energy over athleticism and flash.

Who is going to bring the attitude it takes to successfully make this switch, who is going to call guys out when they aren’t playing up the the physical, gap-sound standard?

[Kiwibrown]

I'd love a fair wr

[BetterCallSaul]

3 minutes ago, MSURacerDT55 said:

Who is going to bring the attitude it takes to successfully make this switch, who is going to call guys out when they aren’t playing up the the physical, gap-sound standard?

Hopefully the new DC.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

4 minutes ago, MSURacerDT55 said:

Who is going to bring the attitude it takes to successfully make this switch, who is going to call guys out when they aren’t playing up the the physical, gap-sound standard?

I don’t think it takes a whole team of those guys per se (although that would be nice). I think a new coach can sharpen an edge.  I think a couple toughasses sprinkled in via FA and the draft helps a lot too.

We may not turn into the 2000 Ravens, but they could be serviceable.

[mtmmike]

Interesting like the approach about getting 2 dt.

[candyman93]

What is JJIII cap hit though?

[MWil23]

14 hours ago, candyman93 said:

What is JJIII cap hit though?

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/john-johnson-21833/

POTENTIAL OUT: 2023, 2 YR, $24,000,000; $12,600,000 DEAD CAP

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

15 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/john-johnson-21833/

POTENTIAL OUT: 2023, 2 YR, $24,000,000; $12,600,000 DEAD CAP

overthecap.com is better for this stuff as it gives pre and post June 1 numbers 

https://overthecap.com/player/john-johnson/5677

Post June 1 it’s a 3.75 million dead cap with 9.75 savings 

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

That said, I have no interest in cutting guys for cap reasons.  This is a win now team and JJIII has proven he can play at a high level.  Find a true FS and let JJIII play FS.  Use Delpit as a box player.

[MWil23]

Just now, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

overthecap.com is better for this stuff as it gives pre and post June 1 numbers 

https://overthecap.com/player/john-johnson/5677

Post June 1 it’s a 3.75 million dead cap with 9.75 savings 

Part of me says cutting him is a great move, and the other part of me says we go from one mediocre safety to 0 that are any good at all. To go with glaring holes at MLB, SLB, #2 DE, 2 DT spots on the defense. Yeah, scheme will help some of that, but that's a LOT of holes on a unit.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

3 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Part of me says cutting him is a great move, and the other part of me says we go from one mediocre safety to 0 that are any good at all. To go with glaring holes at MLB, SLB, #2 DE, 2 DT spots on the defense. Yeah, scheme will help some of that, but that's a LOT of holes on a unit.

I’d like to add talent and change the scheme before I start shedding players who’ve shown they can play.  2023 is a win now season and we can’t be creating more holes than we already have.

[MWil23]

12 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

I’d like to add talent and change the scheme before I start shedding players who’ve shown they can play.  2023 is a win now season and we can’t be creating more holes than we already have.

I think I'd prioritize, in no particular order:

DT

MLB

FS

After that, I'd look at addressing other "holes" that are a bit more of a luxury. The FS position has cost us literal games this year (Jets, Falcons). The DT and MLB position have caused us (along with the joke scheme) to be the worst rush defense in modern NFL history.