Browns: Boom or Bust of Carl Nassib
The Browns spent their first third round pick on Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib, will the one year wonder boom or bust in the NFL?
When the Cleveland Browns went on the clock with the second overall pick in the third round the thought was possibly adding Connor Cook to become the future franchise quarterback. Somehow Cook made it through the second round without hearing his name called and now the Browns would have a chance to bring the Cleveland native home, right? Before commissioner Goodell even made it to the podium the pick got leaked all over twitter that Carl Nassib was the choice out of Penn State. Nassib lead the country in sacks in 2015, with 15.5, but the overall fit did not seem ideal. Will this former All American boom or bust for the Cleveland Browns.
Why Nassib will Boom for the Browns:
Nassib is a towering defensive end prospect who has long arms and big hands with great initial burst. Nassib is a great story in that he was a former walk on and told by Coach Bill O’Brien that he would never play in the NFL because he was not athletic enough. Nassib used determination and his relentless work ethic to prove him wrong and it landed him in the third round of the draft. When Nassib is on the field he has a motor that will not quit. Nassib is the definition of a whistle to whistle player. Nassib’s motor, size, determination, and work ethic make him a defensive coordinator’s dream. Defensive coordinator may have to be a little creative to get Nassib on the field in 2016, due to his overall fit in the system, but creativity is definitely one of Ray Horton’s strengths.
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Why Nassib will Bust for the Browns:
Though Nassib had a fantastic 2015 season where he set the Penn State sack record, that is pretty much his whole career from a production standpoint. A true one year wonder, that was enough to propel Nassib from maybe receiving a tryout somewhere to third round pick. Nassib will have a lot to learn in the NFL and is a project player to say the least. He needs to add some muscle to his legs so he does not end up on his back against the big maulers he will face every week in the NFL. Nassib is not much of a run stuffer and will likely only be used on passing downs. Though his effort and work ethic are his biggest strength, Nassib’s weakness is overall athleticism. Nassib appears to be more of a 4-3 defensive end and is probably too big and too slow to come off the edge in a 3-4. Cleveland will mostly run a 3-4 this season so Nassib does not seem like a great fit in this scheme. Nassib will find it difficult to get on the field in 2016 which is not a good sign given how thin the Browns are on the defensive line.
Will Nassib Boom or Bust:
At this point Nassib seems to be a likely bust candidate. When you take into account the poor scheme fit, lack of overall athletic ability, and only one season of production it greatly outweighs Nassib’s motor, determination and work ethic. Nassib is a project piece so we will not know what Cleveland has in him until maybe year three, but remember it took Nassib until his fifth year to put up his monster season at Penn State and his contract is only four years long. Unfortunately we project Nassib as a bust, but hopefully he proves everyone wrong and can somehow find some JJ Watt in himself.
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