MAC_32
Footballguy
I'm not concerned about our OL this year.
That's what I'm concerned about.
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
2025 Cleveland Browns - WTF - “Quirky” Draft Completed (16 Viewers)
- Thread starter amnesiac
- Start date
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
"That's what I'm concerned about.'
Yeah, I was also concerned and understood that concern...
I posted the hit rates of highly selected OTs a month later.
Some stuff to chew on:
---------------------------------
NFL Offensive Line Success: Why building through the NFL draft is the key ...OL rookie success vs. draft position
...it’s not enough to just draft offensive line year to year, it’s crucial to invest premium picks there because the success rate in the later rounds is considerably lower than at other positions, especially early in their careers.
If we break it down by position, we see there is a higher success rate in drafting OTs vs interior OL in their rookie year: ...one thing is clear – top offensive line talent is difficult to acquire in comparison to other positions because teams simply aren’t letting those guys walk out the door as often, so they better be able to draft them well.
Where was the average NFL offensive starter drafted, by position?
Where a player was drafted matters...
- QB is the big outlier, but OT is another one with an unusual concentration of 1st round picks starting.
----------------------------------------
As I noted, we wanted OT Josh Simmons and got sniped one-spot before our pick in the 2nd round. We went LBer to pair with the DT in the 1st round.
I'll do a different post on the draft but in terms of O-Line. We're in much better shape this year and weren't going to press it in the draft since they went early and I can live with that.
MAC_32
Footballguy
This is where AB's restrained approach gets him in trouble. We're 4 picks out with Conerly and Simmons on the board then he gambles on one of them falling with no fall back plan rather than packaging a day 3 pick to move up and get one of them. This is how he got his hand jammed in the cookie jar with Nico Collins then he panic picked Anthony Schwartz and the butterfly effect from that move set the team back years.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
First off, that is a pretty damn good gamble IMHO. Four teams and two OTs. I'm taking that gamble every day and twice on Sundays especially since we did have a fallback plan.
Dwand, Cornelious, and Teven Jenkins. ALL starting caliber OTs to go with Jack Conklin and Teven was taken in the
I don't see a bleak dystopian landscape at OT.
Check that, Teven was taken in 22 not 23. Still young and a quality lineman.
Last edited:
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Per the draft:
1st round
DT Mason Graham
AND a 2026 1st round AND a high 2025 2nd round pick
I think I've gushed enough over WR/CB Travis Hunter so let's look at what we got.
Graham - We've drafted 4 DTs over the previous 3 drafts including last year's top pick Mike Hall and none have them have really stood out, but I like Hall as a wide-9 DE pass rusher. With The Graham as his D-Line coach calls him. We appear to have a Bonafide long term quality starter.
2nd round
2A - LB Carson Schwesinger
We've drafted 3 LBers over the past three drafts and the only one who has stood out was JOK and he may never play again.
Sidenote that I discovered about the Cleveland Browns this draft, WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE with the title of General Manager in the front office. Andrew Berry's official team title is:
He ACTS as GM but his title is VP of football operations. Hmnnn. Other teams have people in THAT position, but they don't combine the VP of football Ops with GM as AB does.
OK, stay with me.
Next guy we have is Paul DePodesta Chief Strategy Officer
Getting to the point. Depodesta maps out the long-term team strategy of where we put money. He has the ear of Jimmy. We've thrown a lot of money at the DT and LB positions forever. Now we've got two long term solutions under rookie contracts. That is a 'solid' long-term team strategy IMHO. I might take a guess that the GM duties are with Berry with heavy input from Depo if the long-term numbers add up. I speculate on things that make sense and taking a DT and a LB with top picks seems to fix a long-term issue.
2B pick
RB Quinshon Judkins
Last year we only had Chubb and Ford. I was hoping Nick would return but...
3 A
TE Harold Fannin Jr.
He can be utilized in many ways but maybe not such a 'great' blocking TE.
I'm going to go out of order and skip the 3B pick for a second and go to:
4th round
RB Dylan Sampson
Look at those three selections. This looks like a Stefanski special because we will go back to 12 personnel and the run-heavy attack that Stefanski built his rep with. Everything about those three picks scream Stefanski IMHO.
3B
QB Dillon Gabriel
5th round
QB Shedeur Sanders
Conspiracy theory time. Everyone knew we were going to take a QB. We had Pickett and Flacco. Both cheap but with Watson's contract we needed a rookie contract. The coaches flew out to Eugene the day BEFORE they went to Boulder and saw both of these guys and the coaching staff loved Gabe. I think Stefanski and AB didn't want Haslam and Depo to foist Shedeur on them so they leg-whipped them with the Gabriel pick.
Hass was like un uh, my team take Shedeur and that is why we got the sad faces and lukewarm coaching debriefing of the pick. I hated the Gabriel pick and love the Shedeur selection.
I'm not the only one who has speculated that was how it went down. I heard it on draft day from a media person who shall go unnamed, but others agreed with them.
I honestly think if Shedeur was a 1st or high 2nd round pick that it would be a mistake. But we got a bargain. I think if he gets a legit shot to start that he will be the starter late in the season and we can see if he can overcome some 'issues' in his game and we can utilize the extra 2026 1st round pick to shore up the WR corps because we lack a #2 WR and it sure would be nice to have Travis and Shedeur but I'll take what we got.
1st round
DT Mason Graham
AND a 2026 1st round AND a high 2025 2nd round pick
I think I've gushed enough over WR/CB Travis Hunter so let's look at what we got.
Graham - We've drafted 4 DTs over the previous 3 drafts including last year's top pick Mike Hall and none have them have really stood out, but I like Hall as a wide-9 DE pass rusher. With The Graham as his D-Line coach calls him. We appear to have a Bonafide long term quality starter.
2nd round
2A - LB Carson Schwesinger
We've drafted 3 LBers over the past three drafts and the only one who has stood out was JOK and he may never play again.
Sidenote that I discovered about the Cleveland Browns this draft, WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE with the title of General Manager in the front office. Andrew Berry's official team title is:
| Executive vice president of football operations |
[th]
Cleveland Browns
[/th][th width="132.925px"]
Position:
[/th]OK, stay with me.
Next guy we have is Paul DePodesta Chief Strategy Officer
Getting to the point. Depodesta maps out the long-term team strategy of where we put money. He has the ear of Jimmy. We've thrown a lot of money at the DT and LB positions forever. Now we've got two long term solutions under rookie contracts. That is a 'solid' long-term team strategy IMHO. I might take a guess that the GM duties are with Berry with heavy input from Depo if the long-term numbers add up. I speculate on things that make sense and taking a DT and a LB with top picks seems to fix a long-term issue.
2B pick
RB Quinshon Judkins
Last year we only had Chubb and Ford. I was hoping Nick would return but...
3 A
TE Harold Fannin Jr.
He can be utilized in many ways but maybe not such a 'great' blocking TE.
I'm going to go out of order and skip the 3B pick for a second and go to:
4th round
RB Dylan Sampson
Look at those three selections. This looks like a Stefanski special because we will go back to 12 personnel and the run-heavy attack that Stefanski built his rep with. Everything about those three picks scream Stefanski IMHO.
3B
QB Dillon Gabriel
5th round
QB Shedeur Sanders
Conspiracy theory time. Everyone knew we were going to take a QB. We had Pickett and Flacco. Both cheap but with Watson's contract we needed a rookie contract. The coaches flew out to Eugene the day BEFORE they went to Boulder and saw both of these guys and the coaching staff loved Gabe. I think Stefanski and AB didn't want Haslam and Depo to foist Shedeur on them so they leg-whipped them with the Gabriel pick.
Hass was like un uh, my team take Shedeur and that is why we got the sad faces and lukewarm coaching debriefing of the pick. I hated the Gabriel pick and love the Shedeur selection.
I'm not the only one who has speculated that was how it went down. I heard it on draft day from a media person who shall go unnamed, but others agreed with them.
I honestly think if Shedeur was a 1st or high 2nd round pick that it would be a mistake. But we got a bargain. I think if he gets a legit shot to start that he will be the starter late in the season and we can see if he can overcome some 'issues' in his game and we can utilize the extra 2026 1st round pick to shore up the WR corps because we lack a #2 WR and it sure would be nice to have Travis and Shedeur but I'll take what we got.
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Let's start with the positives...
-You got the Jags 1st round pick next year and there are at least 3-4 QBs in there already that likely will go 1st round, at the least you can trade it for another 1st and then some next year
-You got even more than that 1st including a 2nd this year which you all used.
-I like Mason Graham and what he can do with a guy like Garrett as an anchor on one side of him, they should pair well together.
Some of the things I didn't like...
-Carson Schwesinger might be a Top 3-5 LB in this class but he wasn't worth the No 33 overall IMHO
-Graham is a strong DT prospect but he's also not a WOW type and that might be why you all traded down
-If Travis Hunter explodes with the Jags, that trade is not going to look very good for the Browns...I don't quite share the same optimism that others do with Hunter
I couldn't take him No 2 overall, no way. The Jags couldn't keep Jalen Ramsey happy, they took him 5th overall so what's changed since then?
-I'm not the biggest Judkins fan, he shared the workload at OSU, maybe that's normal and I know many are excited about him but it was a pretty deep class, not sure he is that much better than a lot of other names that went after his name was called. I know he has a clear path to start there in Cleveland but I'm not that excited about him just yet.
-I like Fannin, what happens to Njoku in 2025? Fannin rated as perhaps the top TE for just about every metric out there from things I saw
He's an interesting prospect, not sure he will be known for run blocking abilities but at the same time it's not proven that he can't do it.
Makes big plays in the passing game, you wouldn't want to leave this guy alone or allow him a catch in open space, he's a difference maker IMHO.
Do you all even know much about Fannin?
www.youtube.com
117/1,555/10TDs and I promise it wasn't all against total scrubs
11/137/TD vs Penn State
8/145/TD vs Texas A&M
That's Big 10 and SEC, he can't help that BG plays in the MAC
I am all over this guy, even with Cleveland molting at QB for the enxt 2-3 years, feel confident this guy will get folks attention
-You got the Jags 1st round pick next year and there are at least 3-4 QBs in there already that likely will go 1st round, at the least you can trade it for another 1st and then some next year
-You got even more than that 1st including a 2nd this year which you all used.
-I like Mason Graham and what he can do with a guy like Garrett as an anchor on one side of him, they should pair well together.
Some of the things I didn't like...
-Carson Schwesinger might be a Top 3-5 LB in this class but he wasn't worth the No 33 overall IMHO
-Graham is a strong DT prospect but he's also not a WOW type and that might be why you all traded down
-If Travis Hunter explodes with the Jags, that trade is not going to look very good for the Browns...I don't quite share the same optimism that others do with Hunter
I couldn't take him No 2 overall, no way. The Jags couldn't keep Jalen Ramsey happy, they took him 5th overall so what's changed since then?
-I'm not the biggest Judkins fan, he shared the workload at OSU, maybe that's normal and I know many are excited about him but it was a pretty deep class, not sure he is that much better than a lot of other names that went after his name was called. I know he has a clear path to start there in Cleveland but I'm not that excited about him just yet.
-I like Fannin, what happens to Njoku in 2025? Fannin rated as perhaps the top TE for just about every metric out there from things I saw
He's an interesting prospect, not sure he will be known for run blocking abilities but at the same time it's not proven that he can't do it.
Makes big plays in the passing game, you wouldn't want to leave this guy alone or allow him a catch in open space, he's a difference maker IMHO.
Do you all even know much about Fannin?
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com
11/137/TD vs Penn State
8/145/TD vs Texas A&M
That's Big 10 and SEC, he can't help that BG plays in the MAC
I am all over this guy, even with Cleveland molting at QB for the enxt 2-3 years, feel confident this guy will get folks attention
MAC_32
Footballguy
The future 1 was acquired to secure a QB next year, Dwand is the only OT under contract beyond this year, and the likelihood of finding a quality OT outside of rd 1 is very low relative to other positions.
That's not a fall back plan.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
True dat however you can't force talent to be available.
I know you feel AB was being hesitant, but I feel two OTs available in four picks was not a high-risk gamble or something to be critical of. No one has Nostradamus on their staff advising them, but everyone has 20-20 hindsight.
No one under contract? We lack FA dollars yet managed two 'starting caliber' FAs and can extend Conklin and/or either one of the FAs.
I go with my gut and believe Shedeur will start later this year. He has things to work on.
If he works, earns the opportunity, continues to work and shows enough improvement then we have the extra 1st round pick in our pocket.
It isn't in a Browns fan DNA to actually think we 'could' have stumbled into 'our guy' so I'll wait.
Similar threads
