Cleveland Browns: The best drafted player at every position since 1999
By Chad Porto
It’s the season for the 2020 NFL Draft and with that, a chance to take a look at the best position players the Cleveland Browns have taken since 1999
Ah it’s that time of the year. The Cleveland Browns are back for another NFL Draft and that means more draft columns! For the sake of this column, we’re going to just simply positions. Despite so many people trying to say that “edge” rushers are somehow different than a defensive end, they’re all still defensive linemen. The same thing with tackles, guards, and centers on offense; all will be counted as one position. Receivers are all one position, as are any type of offensive running back. All linebackers are one category and all defensive backs are one category.
Essentially if you can play any spot in that unit, you’re being lumped together. Too many times people say “UM, EXCUSE ME, SO AND SO IS A ‘FREE’ SAFETY, NOT A ‘STRONG SAFETY'”. They’re all the same skill sets, calm down, George. They just have different responsibilities. John Lynch went to the Pro Bowl as both a strong and a free safety. Troy Vincent moved from corner to safety. As did Aeneas Williams. Calm down.
More locally Joe Shobert went from outside to inside linebacker pretty seamlessly. So that’s why we’re not going to do each and every specific position. You could argue that a player like Jack Conklin could play left tackle just as well as right because nowadays both defensive end positions are the same type of player. There’s no good argument against an offensive tackle changing spots.
So we’re not going to come up with one, we’re just going to dive into it.