The Beast, Dane Brugler’s expansive guide to the NFL Draft, is here.
Wednesday was Beast Day, the annual release of The Athletic’s monstrous NFL Draft guide compiled by the incomparable Dane Brugler.
The draft begins two weeks from Thursday, but two weeks from Friday for the Cleveland Browns. If you haven’t noticed a lot of buzz surrounding the Browns’ draft, well, that’s because there hasn’t been much. For the most part, they have their team for 2024. They don’t have a first-round pick or one in the fourth, but those mark the end of the compensation given to the Houston Texans in the 2022 Deshaun Watson trade.
The Browns have five picks, starting at No. 54 in the second round. They’re slated to pick again at No. 85 in the third, though they’ve traded out of the second round and begun their draft in the third round in each of the last two years.
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Browns NFL Draft 2024 guide: Picks, predictions and key needs
For now, we’ll take some of my previous guesses on potential draft fits for the Browns and add a little context from The Beast. We’re still guessing that Cleveland will be interested in adding young legs to its defensive line and wide receiver groups. The whole thing — priorities, needs, trade options — is pretty open, so these are still just guesses.
Catching up
In The Beast, Brugler had eight wide receivers with a first- or second-round grade, then four with a combination second/third-round grade: Ricky Pearsall of Florida, Xavier Worthy of Texas, Malachi Corley of Western Kentucky and Troy Franklin of Oregon.
Franklin as the No. 12 receiver in this class kind of stunned me. I’m no scout, but I watched all of Oregon’s biggest games last fall, and Franklin was a true No. 1 wideout at that level. He’s just a shade under 6-foot-2, just turned 21 and ran a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.
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Why isn’t Franklin higher on the list? He has to get bigger and stronger — he weighed just 176 pounds at the combine and 183 at Oregon’s pro day — and he had some drop issues in college. Brugler wrote that Franklin will struggle versus man press coverage early in his NFL career, and that “overall, his polish and catch consistency must improve, but he can be a big-play weapon.”
If he’s still available at No. 54, I think the Browns have to bet on his upside.
Corley is a player I’ve long viewed as a potential fit for Cleveland, and NFL Network reported that he visited the team’s headquarters earlier this month. The attraction with Corley is that he’s built like a running back (5-foot-10, 207 pounds), and his production after the catch in college drew comparisons to San Francisco 49ers star Deebo Samuel. On a Browns offense that’s changing again but already appears to have its top four wide receivers for 2024, he could carve out his own long-term role. Is that in the slot, returning kicks or even lining up in the backfield? Maybe all of the above?
Malachi Corley had 79 receptions for 984 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final season at Western Kentucky. (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
Brugler wrote that Corley is an “eager blocker” and “fearless runner” who mostly played in the slot and doesn’t have much special teams experience. Because he’s a smaller player who didn’t play at college football’s highest level, might he still be available in the third round?
“Overall, Corley needs to be more controlled in his breaks and tempo to consistently separate as a route runner,” Brugler wrote. “But he is dynamic with the ball in his hands. He has the speed, physicality and contact balance ideal for a slot role that uses motions, jet sweeps and quick screens. His NFL comparison is somewhere between Deebo Samuel and Amari Rodgers — which is a wide spectrum.”
Ten wide receivers are in Brugler’s top 50 prospects regardless of position, and five more rank between 54 and 90. The Browns aren’t the only team expected to be in the wide receiver business, so it will be interesting to see if there’s a run at the position early in the second round ahead of Cleveland’s range. In total, Brugler gave 35 wide receivers draftable grades and ranked 15 as potential second- or third-round selections.
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Browns 7-round mock draft: Defensive line and receiver help on the way
Just a number
Under general manager Andrew Berry, the Browns used their earliest picks on early entries to the draft and young players who had strong athletic testing numbers. Berry’s only two first-round picks, offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and cornerback Greg Newsome II, were still 20 years old when they were selected.
The Browns also trended young with many of their subsequent selections until last year, when they started their draft with a five-year college player in wide receiver Cedric Tillman and a four-year college player in defensive tackle Siaki Ika. They might be going older again, because they have to.
Worthy (the No. 10 wideout) and Franklin mark the end of the 21 or under crowd on Brugler’s wide receiver list. Utah’s Devaughn Vele, No. 40 on the list, is 26. With many players granted an extra year of college eligibility thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the introduction of name, image and likeness money enticing guys to stay in college or transfer to power programs, the elite players are entering the NFL young. But many of the others are choosing to stay.
Berry has frequently spoken of the draft — not just this year’s — as a vehicle for the future, not necessarily for tackling immediate needs. Of course, the Browns will seek out prospects they believe can make the team and help if called upon.
Michael Hall Jr., a Cleveland native, is Brugler’s No. 5 defensive tackle and carries a second/third-round projection. Hall turns 21 in June, and his skill set seems to fit Jim Schwartz’s attack-style defense. Hall has generated a bunch of pre-draft buzz, and Brugler wrote that Hall has “quick-twitch movements and natural energy … ingredients of a disruptive gap penetrator. If he stays healthy, he will be an immediate rotation player and eventual (starter).” Hall had a formal pre-draft visit with the Browns in early April.
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Browns big board: Defensive line help among biggest priorities
Because the top of Cleveland’s defensive tackle rotation goes something like Dalvin Tomlinson (30), Shelby Harris (33 in August) and Quinton Jefferson (31), adding youth to the group figures to be a draft priority. In various mock draft exercises and analysis pieces over the last couple of months, I’ve linked the Browns to Hall and Maason Smith of LSU. Smith, who’s 21 and an early entry, is Brugler’s No. 6 defensive tackle and also has a second/third-round projection.
“Smith is a traits-based prospect with his size, movement skills and pop at contact, but his inexperience is evident on tape with his inconsistent technique, block recognition and rush plan,” Brugler wrote. “NFL teams covet 6-5, 300-pound athletes on the defensive line, and those types are in short supply in this draft class, which will only boost Smith’s draft projection.”
Local ties
With Nick Harris having left via free agency, perhaps the Browns will be looking to add competition for veteran Michael Dunn and 2023 late-round pick Luke Wypler on the interior of their offensive line. They’d have some potential options with Northeast Ohio roots in Charles Turner III of LSU and Nick Samac of Michigan State.
Turner started his high school career at Canton’s McKinley but transferred to IMG Academy for his final two seasons. He played three different line positions at LSU before starting two years at center, and he has a seventh-round/priority free-agent grade from Brugler. Samac, a Mentor native, was a team captain at Michigan State and a two-year starting center; he has a priority free-agent grade.
Hall is the highest-ranked player with direct Northeast Ohio ties in this year’s draft class. Marshall running back Rasheen Ali of Shaker Heights got a fifth-round projection from Brugler and is the No. 13 back in this class. Ali was having an impressive Senior Bowl week before suffering a bicep injury that sidelined him through the rest of the pre-draft process, but Brugler believes Ali will still be selected. He tied for the FBS lead with 23 rushing touchdowns in 2021. Brugler wrote that Ali “has a breakaway gear … although durability is the key to his NFL future.”
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NFL Draft roundtable: What stands out in The Beast? Which QBs will drive trade market?
(Top photo of Troy Franklin: Lydia Ely / Getty Images)
2024-04-11 09:59:49
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