Carnell Tate met with all the Browns' heavy hitters at the NFL Combine. (TheLandOnDemand)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The NFL Combine is the first major checkpoint of the mock draft season.
The Combine surely affects changes in the mock draft process, but it’s like a first preseason game. It merely opens discussion; it doesn’t close it.
I came away from a week at the Combine in Indianapolis with the following takeaways:
* It’s very possible the first four picks after No. 1 will be defensive players.
* More than ever, intense training specifically geared for the Combine drills is resulting in phenomenal testing results, which could inflate the evaluation of some prospects.
* There will be receivers available on the second day of the draft (second and third rounds) who are legitimate instant starters. Same can be said about offensive linemen.
* There is no quarterback after Fernando Mendoza worthy of taking in the first round.
* The Browns will have countless options at No. 6 and No. 24 – including possible trades involving either pick – that can’t be clarified until after the first two weeks of free agency.
Technically, this is only our penultimate mock draft before free agency. Mock draft 3.0 will come out early next Monday. At 12 p.m. on that day, March 9, the floodgates will open to free agents agreeing to terms with NFL teams.
And then mock drafts become more realistic.
Mock draft 2.0
1. Las Vegas: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Comment: Cheered wildly inside Lucas Oil Stadium, he was a Combine winner without even working out.
2. N. Y. Jets: DE David Bailey, Texas Tech
Comment: A good Combine moved him into this spot.
3. Arizona: OLB Arvell Reese, Ohio State
Comment: Cards choose defense instead of reaching for offensive tackle.
4. Tennessee: OLB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
Comment: Robert Saleh would use him everywhere.
5. N. Y. Giants: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
Comment: Rare is the safety good enough to be taken this high. Downs is rare.
6. Cleveland: WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
Comment: Long past time to take a stud wideout. If not now, then when?
7. Washington: RB Jeremiah Love, Notre Dame
Comment: New OC David Blaugh gives QB Jayden Daniels some Love.
8. New Orleans: WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
Comment: There’s some concern about Chris Olave’s concussion history.
9. Kansas City: OT Spencer Fano, Utah
Comment: Chiefs solidify bookend tackle to LT Josh Simmons.
10. Cincinnati: DE Rueben Bain, Miami
Comment: Cornerback a serious consideration, too.
11. Miami: OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami
12. Dallas: CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
13. L.A. Rams (via Atlanta): CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
14: Baltimore: OG Vega Ioane, Penn State
Comment: Tough call over best WR on board.
15: Tampa Bay: TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
16: N.Y. Jets (via) Indianapolis: DT Peter Woods, Clemson
17. Detroit: DE Keldric Faulk, Auburn
18. Minnesota: S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
19. Carolina: LB CJ Allen, Georgia
20. Dallas (via Green Bay): DE Akheem Mesidor, Miami
21. Pittsburgh: WR Denzel Boston, Washington
Comment: Steelers’ eye for receivers has blurred recently.
22. L.A. Chargers: CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson
23. Philadelphia: OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia
24. Cleveland (via Jacksonville): OT Blake Miller, Clemson
Comment: Pure right tackle from Strongsville broke Clemson record for career snaps.
25. Chicago: DT Caleb Banks, Florida
26. Buffalo: WR Makai Lemon, USC
27. San Francisco: CB Colton Hood, Tennessee
28. Houston: OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
29. L.A. Rams: OT Caleb Lomu, Utah
30. Denver: S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo
31. New England: DE Zion Young, Missouri
32. Seattle: DE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M