A new mock draft season has officially arrived, as the Cleveland Browns net two new players in a recently published two-round 2021 mock draft.
Mock drafting, especially when it comes to the Cleveland Browns. Ridiculous waste of time. Non-sense. It’s a way of life. Sports offers hope, right. The prospect of finding that one missing puzzle piece that forever transforms your franchise.
Well, Browns fans are thinking they’ve found the left tackle of the future in Jedrick Wills, and that may very well be the case. But what about next year?
Pro Football Network chimed in with a two-round mock, thanks to writer Neal Driscoll.
Where the Browns ultimately pick in the 2021 draft has everything to do with Baker Mayfield and the play of the quarterback position.
The Browns heavily upgraded the offensive line, possess to top tier receivers, signed a tight end to the richest deal in league history and carry, arguably, the best running back in the game in the backfield.
It’s kind of a shock to hear talk radio talk radio being luke warm about the idea of making playoffs. Don’t know what they’re waiting for, but after last year’s debacle, this team needs to win. Now.
If the Browns are picking in the mid-teens, it’s safe to to say Mayfield probably won’t be completing passes above 60 percent.
Grades are pass fail on this one, so with the Browns’ first pick, Cleveland takes…
No. 16, Justyn Ross, WR, Clemson
If the Browns are picking 16th in next year’s draft, put on your quarterback evaluating glasses on because it’s time to go to work, again.
As for Ross, he’d be leaving early, but you’ve got to like what you see so far. In fact, the grade here has nothing to do with him. He had 1,000 yards and nine scores as a true freshman on 46 catches. He actually caught 20 more passes in 2019, however, his yardage dropped to 865 yards and eight touchdowns.
Driscoll bases this pick off of the Browns’ wide receiving corps dramatically changing following the 2020 campaign. OBJ and Jarvis Landry figure to be expensive cap numbers, and talk around trade rumors involving Beckham promise to never go away.
Any OBJ rumor is just too easy to report. It’s been refuted several times by several credible sources.
Plus, the fact that the owner, Jimmy Haslam, mentioned Beckham and Landry as part of the young core, suggests the former college teammates won’t be leaving as quickly as everyone thinks.
If they produce, they’ll be here. However, their production is directly tied into how Mayfield performs.
As for the will they/won’t they be here next season: OBJ was OK last year. If he’s just OK, again, maybe the analytics gurus convince Haslam to flip him into a draft pick. Really, there’s just too much that has to play out.
As for the positional need, it’s not a bad place to build. That said, ask me about the aforementioned quarterback problem, not to mention linebacker.
Grade: Thumbs down. I mean, who knows? Playing with Trevor Lawrence for one more year will only send Ross’ stock soaring. Landry’s under contract through the 2022 season, while Beckham’s here until 2023. Again, if the Browns can’t make the playoffs with seven teams eligible, then you’ve got to wonder what’s cooking with Baker.
For what it’s worth, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had Cleveland selecting Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses at 16. Moses was projected to go in the top 10 this past season, but missed the 2019 campaign due to a torn ACL.
No. 48 Chazz Surratt, LB, UNC
Now we’re talking. Despite taking Jacob Phillips in the 2020 draft, the position group is still a huge question mark for the team.
Mack Wilson showed promise, but he also made plenty of mistakes. We think Sione Takitaki can play, but we’re still waiting to find out. Plus, Phillips has his own concerns. Malik Harrison, the Buckeye taken one pick after the LSU product, was actually the higher rated player. Are the Browns allergic to Buckeyes, or perhaps, they’re finally smarter than the rival Ravens.
Surratt thought about entering the 2020 NFL draft, but decided to return to school on Jan. 6.
You don’t read this often: Surratt changed positions before the 2019 season. He went from QUARTERBACK, to linebacker. Then, all he did was have one of the greatest season a linebacker has ever had wearing a UNC uniform.
In 2019, Surratt had 6.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and an interception.
Grade: Thumbs up: Interesting story. Hopefully we get to see him in 2020.