This Cleveland Browns Mock Draft starts at receiver and gets interesting

So let’s admit something people may not want to hear; the Cleveland Browns defense was luckier more than it was good, at least when it came to the linebackers. The corners and ends bailed out this defense far too often. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is a great addition in pass coverage, but I don’t see him being the generational guy so many hyped him up to be.

Potential Pro Bowler? Sure, you could see that happening a few times, but some in Cleveland started talking about him being an elite linebacker like others in Cleveland’s past. I’m not there, not yet, maybe not ever. That said, Owusu-Koramoah is the best linebacker the Browns have and it’s not close.

That’s part of the problem, isn’t it? Anthony Walker, Sione Takitaki, Malcolm Smith, and the rest of the lot all have something about them that makes them replaceable. Walker was good in 2021, but he will likely be a cap casualty as the team tries to figure out what to do with their needs in the offseason. Smith may be retained but he’s a backup at best. Takitaki is a third-linebacker in a three-linebacker set up, but the team needs an impact linebacker who can get after the quarterback.

Enter Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal (PFF #35). Chenal may not seem like the most obvious pick for the Browns, but he’s a sure-fire tackle machine, who can also pass rush. The Browns may lose Walker, and may also lose Jadeveon Clowney. In one fell swoop, you get a player who could (in theory) replace both players. He could lineup in the middle of the field for the first few plays in a series, and then move to end and rush the edge.

He’s not as tall as Clowney but he’s as big and nearly as fast and with the way Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods likes to have his players move around the field filling in at different spots and positions, Chenal could be exactly what he needs.

Especially if Woods blitzes more in 2022 like he did at various points in 2021.