WalterFootball’s first 2023 NFL Mock draft for the Cleveland Browns
By Chad Porto
"Round 3, Pick 35 (No. 99) Browns: Ali Gaye-DE-LSU Here’s another player to be added to Cleveland’s defensive line, which needs all the depth it can get after struggling to get to the quarterback in 2022. Ali Gaye has huge upside, but hadn’t lived up to it at LSU."
The Cleveland Browns need some more help on the defensive line. They need at least one more tackle and end to fill out the roster, as most of the interior guys are probably getting cut this off-season. Ali Gaye isn’t the guy I’d go with, not with Andre Carter still on the board at this time of the draft.
PFFs’ take on him is pretty clear; the more he plays, the more exposed he is. His overall scores went from 73.7 in 2020, to 66.1 in 2021, to 63.0 in 2022. He’s never had more than 2.5 sacks in a season, and his game scores are inconsistent. Sometimes playing well against the Top 25 and sometimes got dominated by lower-tier schools.
The Draft Network seems to think the only reason he has a high value is due to his size and even suggests that he’s not strong enough to play the position at the pros.
Would I Draft Him?: No, maybe in the fifth or sixth round if he’s still there, but his inconsistency and lack of production against lower-tier schools make me think he’s not the guy draft experts think he is. This is a case of getting drafted due to your measurables, not play.