Rival Report: Analysis of the Cleveland Browns’ 2017 Draft
Steel City Underground will run a series of articles in 2017 under the ‘rival report’ headline aimed at analysis of the National Football League’s AFC North teams who are rivals to the Pittsburgh Steelers: the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. These will include team news, player and coaching staff quotes, transactions and critical information from rival camps.
The Cleveland Browns garnered a ton of attention during and after the 2017 NFL Draft in Philadelphia last weekend. Part of that was due to the flurry of activity as Cleveland wheeled-and-dealed their picks in seven rounds of action; they drew comparisons to the movie Draft Day starring Kevin Costner at one point. With an abysmal 2016 season, why wouldn’t the Browns want to shake things up?
Their draft class this year earned high praise among several top sports analysts and across various media outlets. In other words, for the first time in years, Cleveland broke away from former molds and zeroed in on several prospects that have little downside, for the most part, looking like they mean business in revamping what has been a disappointing team over several seasons. They did shoot wide on a few opportunities, yet kept their overall draft on the positive side.
Quarterback need versus want in Cleveland
When aren’t the Browns in the hunt for a quarterback? That is a bit of a rhetorical question. Cleveland shocked the rest of the league when they opened the first day of the new league year by exchanging a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft with the Houston Texans for Brock Osweiler and a 2018 second-round pick. After Houston spent a ton steering Osweiler away from Denver in 2016, they opted to unload his $16 million guaranteed salary (for 2017) on the Browns.
But Cleveland insisted Osweiler isn’t enough – they dumped Josh McCown and Robert Griffin III, leaving Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan on the roster – when head coach Hue Jackson stated the following at league meetings in Phoenix:
Until we have the guy that we feel comfortable with, that will be the face of our franchise, and play quarterback the way we want them to play, we’re going to keep searching…there’s the draft that’s coming up. There are trade opportunities, hopefully. We’ll exhaust every opportunity.
Apparently, that means their pocketbook as well.
In the second round, Cleveland pulled the trigger on Notre Dame slinger DeShone Kizer with the 52nd pick. Kizer had a much better 2015 season than 2016, but the Browns can once again have a quarterback competition in training camp this year. At least it gives the fans something to look forward to. And it finally puts an end to the speculation that Jimmy Garoppolo would leave the New England Patriots for the midwest.
A better edge on defense
Cleveland had serious struggles pressuring opposing quarterbacks and was focused on addressing that need. Early reports had the Browns zeroing in on defensive end Myles Garrett of Texas A&M, a real game-changer. With the number one pick overall, Cleveland didn’t waste time sticking to their plan and grabbed what many draft analysts felt was the top available prospect in the 2017 draft class.
With Garrett, the Browns can pair Jamie Collins and rebuild their identity on the defense side of the ball. As an edge rusher, Garrett should give Collins more ability to free-flow as a moving part along the line instead of asking him to rush the pass play after play.
Still questionable in the defensive backfield
After staying on track with their first pick, things went off the rails a bit for the Browns. In 2016, Cleveland gave up a franchise-worst 36 passing touchdowns. Left cornerback Joe Haden was partly to blame after struggling in back-to-back seasons. Injuries added to the insult. So, cornerback was a must-have target on the Browns’ list according to most insiders.
Instead, Cleveland selected Jabrill Peppers (S, Michigan) with the number 25 pick after trading away the number 12 pick and a free shot at Deshaun Watson. The Browns dropped 13 spots and grabbed Peppers who is a fantastic athlete and who can be an immediate contributor. How he fits into their plan is unclear at this point. Most likely a slot CB/safety hybrid, Peppers has a nice upside but the pick came out of left field and looked reactionary rather than planned.
Cleveland didn’t address the cornerback position until they selected Howard Wilson (Houston) in the fourth round with pick number 126 overall. Wilson had a mixed review in his draft profile on NFL.com. His weaknesses were listed as follows:
Has very limited experience relative to the rest of the cornerbacks in this draft. Missed most of 2015 with an ACL tear that teams will look into at the combine. Will require additional time to hone his pattern recognition and instincts down the field. Has a very thin frame with skinny legs. Lacks desired muscular definition and needs a full year of work in an NFL weight program to pack on necessary muscle. Plays a little too upright at times. Scouts believe he could struggle early inside a complicated defensive scheme.
If the Browns were looking to give Haden help, they didn’t do it with the draft.
Draft plus-minus with grade
The Browns also drafted the following players:
- David Njoku (TE, Miami – Round 1, No. 29)
- Larry Ogunjobi (DT, North Carolina Charlotte – Round 3, No. 65)
- Roderick Johnson (OT, Florida State – Round 5, No. 160)
- Caleb Brantley (DT, Florida – Round 6, No. 185)
- Zane Gonzalez (K, Arizona State – Round 7, No. 224)
- Matt Dayes (RB, North Carolina State – Round 7, No. 252)
With ten picks, one would think that the Browns would have had plenty of spots to address their biggest needs. In this case, it wasn’t that Cleveland couldn’t do just that – they decided not to. The selection of Gonzalez at kicker was questioned heavily. Njoku is a nice addition at tight end, especially after Cleveland released Gary Barnidge.
Overall, I give the Browns a “plus” with a high “B” grade for selecting players that have the potential to make them competitive in 2017. Beyond the grade, however, I feel Hue Jackson and company need to quickly figure out how to best adjust their roster with the new personnel heading into camp.
Only time will tell as to how much the Browns count on these rookies to make an impact – and whether the players can meet those expectations. An advanced timetable could be a crap shoot.
The Browns certainly made the 2017 NFL Draft entertaining with six picks coming by way of trades and another via compensatory draft.
