Browns Draft: Evaluating the Sporting News 2021 NFL mock draft

Sporting News has a new NFL mock draft and we’re breaking down the picks made for the Browns.

The folks at Sporting News have a new seven-round 2021 NFL mock draft, and today we’re going to break down each player from each round and tell you if we think they’re a good fit for the Browns. Vinnie Iyer wrote this wonderful piece, so read his entire breakdown; he gives reasons for each player picked between rounds one and three, and then just goes through the four other rounds pick-by-pick.

Each pick that has something written about them will have Iyer’s comments in block quotes, to show you what he thought of the Browns pick.

How we’re doing this is simple. We’re going to give each player a grade based on four points.

1. Positional need (does the Browns need that position.
2. Positional fit (does the player have the attributes to play in the Browns’ scheme)
3. Was the player taken too high or too low?
4. Does the player possess something that helps him stand out?’

Each will be one point. If they have all four, the pick is an “A”, three is a “B”, two is a “C”, one is a “D” and none is an “F”. Pretty straightforward.

"The Browns need some pass-rush and coverage versatility to support their front and the rest of their linebackers and Ojulari would be great for Joe Woods. – Iyer"

Not the sexiest pick, but Azeez Ojulari does meet several criteria. The Browns need help at linebacker. They need someone who can cover and blitz; when Joe Woods calls for those rare blitzes. So he does fit the first two criteria; he’s a positional need and he does fit the defensive scheme.

Here’s where he misses something, Zaven Collins is still on the board (not picked until #34) and Collins is seen by many as being the better prospect. So why go with Ojulari over Collins? Granted, subjective list, sure, but Collins makes more sense here so it feels like Ojulari went too early.

As for Ojulari, he may be a good tackler, but he’s fairly average speed-wise. The Browns should not be picking guys who run a relatively high 4.6-40 yard dash when the biggest issue they faced at the position was a lack of sideline-to-sideline speed.

Grade: C