{"id":12314,"date":"2025-01-31T12:39:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T12:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=12314"},"modified":"2025-01-31T12:39:17","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T12:39:17","slug":"cleveland-browns-draft-mailbag-talking-draft-needs-senior-bowl-targets-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=12314","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Browns Draft Mailbag: Talking Draft Needs, Senior Bowl Targets, and More!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Browns are hard at work building their draft board during the all-star circuit. What are some of the team’s biggest needs? Who at the Senior Bowl could be targeted? These questions and more are in this week’s draft mailbag.<\/h2>\n

\"Browns<\/p>\n

The NFL Draft cycle kicked into high gear over the past week, with the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl practices taking place.\u00a0Cleveland Browns<\/b>\u00a0special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, the head coach of the American Team, is getting a great look at some of the best prospects in this year’s class. The Senior Bowl is always one of my favorite events of the cycle, and I love to see the small school prospects get their chance to prove they can hang with the big-name guys. The NFL Draft is now less than 90 days away, so let’s get into another edition of the Browns draft mailbag.<\/p>\n

Aside from OL and QB what is the consensus major need? -Jake Lyons<\/h2>\n

The Browns need more playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, especially in the running back room. They will likely add a veteran running back in free agency, but\u00a0Jerome Ford<\/b>\u00a0is the only good option under contract, and luckily for the Browns, this is the year to need a running back. This class is an absolutely loaded running back class, and it would make sense for the Browns to add a couple in the draft to fill out the room and make the quarterback, whoever that is, job easier with a strong run game like Cleveland had at the beginning of the\u00a0Kevin Stefanski<\/b>\u00a0era.<\/p>\n

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Thoughts on Georgia guard Tate Ratledge? -Squirt511<\/h2>\n

\"Browns<\/p>\n

Tate Ratledge<\/b> is an older prospect\u2014he will turn 24 in April\u2014so he likely won’t be Brown’s target until later in the draft. Overall, he is a solid guard prospect and a powerful player who uses great leverage and quick feet to take control of reps. He plays a physical, in-your-face brand of football that has an old-school feel and would help improve any team’s run game immediately.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Which Senior\/Shrine Bowl player do you most want to see as a Cleveland Brown? -Anthony Russo<\/h2>\n

I continue to want\u00a0Oregon<\/b>\u00a0left tackle\u00a0Josh Conerly Jr.<\/b>\u00a0in Cleveland; yes, I know he got destroyed by Mike Green on that one viral play. He struggles with power rushers right into his chest, but he is a natural athlete with excellent movement skills at the position, and he has shown that this week. He can add size and power to improve as a run blocker and be able to deal with power rushers, and he will do that in the NFL; keep in mind he is still only 21 years old.<\/p>\n

One guy who might not be an option because of his age but would be a great fit is\u00a0North Dakota State<\/b>\u00a0offensive lineman\u00a0Grey Zabel<\/b>. He has played at both guard spots and center and looked very good, showing he can hold up against better competition. Smart and technically sound, Zabel is a good athlete with plenty of pop and power and has the talent to be an excellent interior offensive lineman.<\/p>\n

Late Round Gem? -Jake Lyons<\/h2>\n

Upton Stout<\/b>, a cornerback from\u00a0Western Kentucky<\/b>, has been on my radar for several months. He is a bit undersized at 5-foot-8 and 178 pounds, but he doesn’t play like a smaller player. Stout is a good athlete who is aggressive and excels in the run game. He was moved inside to nickel this year, and his play improved. He has good instincts and crashes downfield in a hurry, especially against the run.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Best available at #2 or trade back? -Pete Barker<\/h2>\n

If the Browns were to receive a great offer to move back and stay in the top 10, it could make a lot of sense, but only if that trade includes a future first-round pick. Outside of that, I think it makes the most sense to take a guy like\u00a0Abdul Carter<\/b>, who is a special prospect, or Mason Graham, who is a blue-chip talent.<\/p>\n

Should we take Will Howard is he’s available in round 3? -Rich Dessecker<\/h2>\n

The range for\u00a0WIll Howard<\/b>\u00a0starts at pick 93 for me, but taking him there would be fine with me. I discussed\u00a0Howard<\/b>\u00a0more in a recent mailbag.<\/p>\n

Howard has the typical size for an NFL quarterback at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. He is a good athlete who uses his legs to extend plays and has the football IQ to pick up yards on the ground if there isn’t an open receiver or the defense gives him a big rushing lane. Howard is tough as nails and has no problem running with power or standing in the pocket and taking a hit to ensure he delivers the ball.<\/p>\n

He has an average arm overall, but he can throw the ball well outside the numbers and has enough arm strength to challenge a defense vertically, though his deep ball accuracy can be a bit inconsistent. Howard is a leader whose teammates rally around, and when he is playing well, he has this swagger and confidence that reminds me of\u00a0Baker Mayfield<\/b>. He’s an accurate quarterback who doesn’t elevate the offense but gives his playmakers a chance to make a play. He does a good job of putting the ball in a place where they can create yards after the catch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tim Bielik, Lance Reisland and Dan Labbe dig into the top two quarterbacks the Browns are considering in the NFL Draft on the Orange and Brown Talk podcast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\nCleveland Browns Draft Mailbag: Talking Draft Needs, Senior Bowl Targets, and More! - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=12314\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cleveland Browns Draft Mailbag: Talking Draft Needs, Senior Bowl Targets, and More! 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