The perfect (slight hyperbole) day 2 Browns mock draft does exist
The NFL draft had a chaotic first night. It fits the chaotic offseason that has been seen all over the NFL this year including a number of trades, a couple of veteran receivers on the move and only one quarterback taken in the first round.
The AFC North had a few pieces of those significant moves. Pittsburgh selected the only quarterback, Baltimore seemingly upset their franchise quarterback and Cincinnati seemed to select a replacement for one of their best, young defenders after franchise tagging him.
The Cleveland Browns get to be involved as night two rolls around. After trading their first-round pick, which exchanged hands again on Thursday, Andrew Berry and company currently have a selection in the second round and two in the third round.
While mock drafts can be mocked (pun intended) quite often, they are a fun way to think about scenarios, learn about players and get hopes up of how things can go for a team or players. This day two mock draft is as close to perfect from top to bottom as possible. While it may not have the exact players you want, the three selections add together to put Cleveland in a great situation:
Pick #44
WR George Pickens, Georgia
Pickens is an interesting prospect with size and speed, along with toughness in the run game, but an injury, concerns about separation and character-related rumors have him falling down the board. If Pickens in the pick, Amari Cooper would see more time in the slot than he has recently.
Cooper, Pickens, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz could create a dynamic group at receiver but use a veteran addition as well.
Pick #78
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
DT DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M
Leal is a prospect with a lot of upside but hasn’t strung it together on the field. If he had, he’d have been drafted early in the first round. Instead, Joe Woods and Chris Kiffin get a chance to develop an interior defensive lineman that can also play outside at times.
Leal would join Taven Bryan as players who have length and could cause problems in the passing game from the interior. While an edge rusher may be a bigger need, the expected return of Jadeveon Clowney would minimize that.
Pick #99
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DE Alex Wright, UAB
A player many on Browns Twitter love, Wright adds a unique prospect on the outside. At 6’7″ and 270 pounds, Wright fits the mold of defensive ends that Cleveland seems to like. The smaller school prospect had six sacks last season.
Like Leal, Wright is more of a project as a prospect than a finished product but the Browns need to swing for the fences a little bit given their limited resources. Myles Garrett, Clowney and Wright could extend their arms and take up much of the playing field’s width.
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