Browns: 4 Day-three linebackers to target in 2021 NFL Draft

1. Dylan Moses, Alabama

Few in the later rounds will have as a recognizable name as Dylan Moses, who was a fixture at the position playing for Alabama, mostly on national television.

Moses enters the 2021 draft with his stock trending the wrong way, though. It doesn’t help that the value of his position has diminished, but additionally, he just didn’t seem himself last season, even with Alabama cruising to another national title.

It turns out Moses needed knee surgery (meniscus) after the season. He recognized the problem during the season, but it’s been reported that the injury was diagnosed as a bone bruise.

If Moses falls to day three, he’d certainly be a candidate worth taking, much like the Browns have done over the past couple of seasons.

In 2019, John Dorsey selected Sione Takitaki in the third round, while picking Mack Wilson in the fifth. Andrew Berry shared the same philosophy as Dorsey and didn’t rush to take a linebacker, selecting Jacob Phillips out of LSU in the third round.

Wilson saw a lot of playing time as a rookie, but Takitaki was brought along slowly, just as Phillips was in 2020. Takitaki looks to be a stellar against the run, while the defense looks faster when Phillips are on the field. Both players are expected to contribute more in 2021.

Moses built a championship pedigree playing in Tuscaloosa and his NFL Draft profile lists him as someone who can be a run-and-chase backer in a 4-3 scheme. He’s exactly the type of player you’re want to develop on your depth chart throughout the course of a season.