Could Georgia defensive end Travon Walker trump the Browns' need at wide receiver with the 13th overall pick of the draft?
Browns head to NFL Combine focused on receivers and pass rushers
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Andrew Berry’s list of things to do in his third transaction season as Browns GM is long. Most of the tougher decisions focus on veteran players.
* What to do at quarterback … Baker Mayfield – stay, go, or be challenged with a legit competitor?
* How much to offer in a new contract for Jadeveon Clowney?
* Jarvis Landry and JC Tretter – pay cut or be cut?
* How extensive an overhaul is made to the receiving and tight ends rooms?
* Which free agent safety is the wiser bet to reinvest in – Ronnie Harrison or M.J. Stewart?
* How many defensive linemen can be had on cheap, prove-it deals this year?
* And for the 11th straight year of the post-Phil Dawson era, who is the kicker?
In his previous two seasons, Berry used free agency adroitly to narrow his draft-day decisions to a simple few.
In 2020, Berry left offensive tackle as the obvious priority with the first pick. In 2021, it was cornerback.
This year? It’s coming down to a choice of wide receiver and defensive end. He can protect himself by spending the Browns’ first two picks – No. 13 and No. 45 – on each position. But in which order?
So as the Browns embark on a week of evaluating the draft’s best players at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, we examine the top end of both position groups, which, as fortune has it, are among the deepest in this year’s draft.
Wide receiver
“It’s an interesting year at wide receiver,” wrote Dane Brugler of The Athletic. “There are six who should go in the first round. The order will be interesting. It just depends on the type of receiver you want.”
There is consensus on the top six receivers, but no agreement on the order they may fall off the draft board.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. rated them this way. (Heights and weights will be clarified and made official at the Combine).
1. Drake London, 6-5 and 210 pounds, USC.
2. Jameson Williams, 6-2, 189, Alabama.
3. Garrett Wilson, 6-0, 192, Ohio State.
4. Jahan Dotson, 5-11, 184, Penn State.
5. Chris Olave, 6-1, 188, Ohio State.
6. Treylon Burks, 6-3, 225, Arkansas.
Matt Miller of ESPN said, “Wilson might be most pro-ready … he’s dynamic after the catch despite non-burner speed.”
Several draftniks believe Williams would be the first receiver off the board if not for suffering a torn ACL in the College Football Playoff championship game against Georgia. Miller said Williams “can be a top five” receiver in the NFL, but his rehab time needed after the knee injury will cause him to slide in the draft.
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network likened London to an NBA power forward body type.
“Watching the Chargers and seeing what Mike Williams does, I think Drake London can do that stuff,” Jeremiah said. “He can play inside. He can play outside. He's got outstanding hands. He's got outstanding feel and instincts. A lot of contested catches, which you talk to some people around the league and they celebrate it, and you talk to other people around the league and they say, ‘Oh, it's because he can't separate.’ I don't know. I know the guy is big, and when the ball goes up in the air, he comes down with it. He's a really intriguing player, and everything that I've been told about him from a character, competitiveness, makeup stuff, it's just completely off the charts.”
Jeremiah added, “It's a great wide receiver draft. I feel like we could copy and paste the comments on wide receivers and use it for the next 20 years, because the college game is giving us a ton of these guys every year.”
Jim Nagy, executive director of the Senior Bowl, was unenthusiastic about taking a receiver as high as the Browns’ No. 13 pick, however.
“I don’t know if it’s quite as strong as the last two years,” Nagy said of the overall receiver class on Road to the Draft on 850 ESPN Cleveland and archived at TheLandOnDemand.com.
“I see those guys more as like back half of the first round to middle of the second round,” Nagy continued. “I really do. They’re talented. Jameson Williams might be the most talented, but now the injury kind of impacts that. He’s just really unique from a size-speed perspective. A lot of those big guys have speed down the field once they get rolling, but he’s pretty immediate right off the line. You really feel that when you see him play live … and when you talk to opposing defensive coaches, he’s got a first gear and he’s got a second and third gear. From a height-weight-speed perspective, he’s probably the most talented one.
“You can’t help but watch Garrett Wilson. His explosive qualities jump off the tape. And Treylon Burks is unique with his strength and what he can do after the catch. They’re very different. None of those guys are even close to the same as each other. I think you’ll see those guys coming off the board middle to late first round.”
Really?
“I think teams are going to wait on that position,” Nagy said. “I don’t think that’s a position you take guys real high. Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith, those guys, came in and had great rookie years. But I just think you can find good receivers in Day 2, really good ones. I just think up high in the draft, those are premium positions. I don’t think you win Super Bowls with receivers. You just have to find building block pieces at tackle, corner, pass rush. I just think there’s more premium positions than receiver.”
Defensive end
“This is one of the deepest pass-rushing groups I can remember,” Brugler wrote. “There are a lot of quality pass rushers who could come in and impact the roster. Maybe they start off in nickel or sub-package players and grow into starters, so pass rusher is at the top.”
Kiper’s top 10 edge rushers spill into the second round.
1. Aidan Hutchinson, 6-6, 265, Michigan.
2. Kayvon Thibodeaux, 6-5, 258, Oregon.
3. Travon Walker, 6-5, 275, Georgia.
4. George Karlaftis, 6-4, 275, Purdue.
5. Cameron Thomas, 6-5, 270, San Diego State.
6. Jermaine Johnson, 6-5, 260, Florida State.
7. Myjai Sanders, 6-5, 255, Cincinnati.
8. Sam Williams, 6-4, 265, Ole Miss.
Hutchinson and Thibodeaux will be long gone by No. 13. Walker might be the first pass rusher the Browns have to weigh vs. a receiver with their first pick.
“From what I was told from what he was doing at Georgia, he's going to be 6-5, anywhere from 265 to 275 pounds,” Jeremiah said. “He's probably going to have close to 35-inch arms, which is ridiculously long, and he's going to run in the low 4.6s. So, literally … he's a special, special athlete.
“This is somebody, when you're talking to GMs and personnel directors on an almost daily basis, this guy's name comes up almost every day. This guy has got a lot of love around the league, and he's going to go a lot higher than people anticipate.”
Nagy said, “It’s going to be interesting to see where this pass rush group comes off board. I think teams do value pass rush over the receiver position. You can see 7, 8, 9 pass rushers come off in the first [round].”
Jeremiah agreed with Nagy that the Browns might prioritize pass rusher over receiver with their top pick.
“I just put such a premium on edge rush, and as much as I love, love these receivers you can get, I feel pretty comfortable with being able to get other guys outside of Round 1 if you have to, if you're the Browns,” he said.
“A lot of it's contingent on what happens with Clowney. He played pretty well last year, so [if] he's gone to free agency, getting another edge rusher up there I think would be important.”
