~ The Cleveland BROWNS Depth Chart - (5-27-2023). Subject to revisions.
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before we lose this for the 16th time
We're placing this here..
Don't look now.. but a NFL.com writer has a thought..https://www.nfl.com/news/five-nfl-offseason-storylines-that-are-overblown-three-that-deserve-more-attenti
2) The Browns are a sneaky contender
Last offseason, the Browns were one of the most talked about teams after trading for Deshaun Watson and signing him to a fully guaranteed contract.
This year, the Browns seem to have slipped into the background. That's the effect of one highly disappointing season. Watson struggled during his six starts after returning from suspension, and Cleveland quickly descended back to also-ran status.
Yet, if there's a last-to-first-place possibility (not named the Jets) I'm fascinated by, it's the Browns. I couldn't quite wedge them into my list of the 10 most complete rosters, but I'm already prepared to regret that decision.
If Watson can play anywhere close to the way he did during his Texans career, when he went to three straight Pro Bowls, the Browns will win. There's no need to make excuses for his 2022 play, but strictly from a football perspective, I expect a vastly improved performance.
The roster is in good shape, with their offseason moves precisely geared at targeting weaker spots and avoiding short-term fixes. That's a sounder approach, and they still managed to do well in the draft despite lacking first- and second-round picks.
Either way -- if Watson thrives or struggles -- the Browns are a story in 2023. If they struggle, even in a tough division, it could result in major ramifications. But this seems like a sleeper team. In a way, they remind me a bit of the Vikings heading into last season, when Minnesota won 13 games. A similar one-year flourish in Cleveland won't stun me.
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Having my #2 back return kicks isn't an idea I'm thrilled about. PR maybe, easier job protecting yourself. And while the KR game isn't what it was compared to even 10 years ago, it's still shots you're taking while playing a position that has a short shelf life. While you're still going to be counted on for meaningful minutes behind Chubb.
Jacob Phillips has special teams value, that's it. I've never seen a linebacker more out of place for his run keys and zone drop landmarks at the professional level. He's out there basically just seeing what's in front of him, but not processing or understanding it. He'd be the first LB I'd cut.
JoK putting on weight isn't a bad thing, but it depends on how much. His frame isn't going to be a natural 230lbs. Which is right about the size of Roquan Smith, who was blessed to go from a Chicago team with the IDL to keep him free, and now plays in Baltimore where he enjoys that same luxury. Yes, a bigger key to the health of the 2nd level is by having a quality line in front of them. After all, LB's are just RB's but without the ball. They too tend to have a short(er) shelf life.
Going back to Young JOK himself though, it isn't so much his physical size he needs to improve, but his off-ball consistency. Nobody is going to deny he's great at "see ball, get ball". But when he's the weakside fill man, or in the passing game, he's found himself out of place quite a bit for a guy with his athletic abilities. That lead, most famously, to some frustration I pointed out with Johnny J3. There are good reasons you didn't see him on the field in our nickel and dime situations at times last season. Some as early as week 1 where you'd think you'd want an athlete of his caliber out there. What you see him do is, in a sense, no different than seeing these young iso ballers in the NBA who don't know how to plays as a team yet. Sure, you can run some highlights yourself, but the off-ball work that a coach like Pop would preach for half court offensive efficiency just escapes them. Run fits and finding/choking throwing lanes are about selflessness and understanding, then playing, your role as a LB.
To speak to @gumby73's question about D.T. being an upgrade over Jobi or Richardson...? Well, yes. And given my belief that Ika takes over the shade as a rookie, sooner rather than later, I think you see Dalvin really excel this season as an interior rusher getting more looks at 3tech. It was a role I was hoping Perrion would take over this season, but he needs to work on getting his head straight. But the key to unlocking the pass rush isn't having another pro-bowler *across* from Myles, it's about having a interior push next to him. Dealing with a 3/4 tech and a primo edge rusher on the same side is an absolute bitch for every OL and coach. My prime example has been to point at Leonard Floyd, who was a solid pass rusher before he got to the Rams. But when paired with Aaron Donald, he started netting double digit sacks while he was in L.A.
Good news for you - bad news for me. The bad news for me is I made an assumption and provided wrong info off the following statement: "JOK hit the offseason weight room so he can take on tight ends better this year." This is in the Browns roster section in Lindy's Pro Football Preview 2023 where they give the height and weights and a quick comment about each guy. JOK's height and weight remained the same 6'2" 221lbs it was last year so nobody has to worry if he put on too much weight. Sorry for the misinformation on my part.
One thing we should ALL know is it's very common for Professional Football players starting in a front 7 to hit the weight room in the off season. My first thought was why is this even worthy of mention? Then came the thought they probably wanted him to add about 5lbs to his frame or something; or there's ZERO need to point that out. It was the type of sports writer stuff you've warned us about and rightfully so.
Good news for you - bad news for me. The bad news for me is I made an assumption and provided wrong info off the following statement: "JOK hit the offseason weight room so he can take on tight ends better this year." This is in the Browns roster section in Lindy's Pro Football Preview 2023 where they give the height and weights and a quick comment about each guy. JOK's height and weight remained the same 6'2" 221lbs it was last year so nobody has to worry if he put on too much weight. Sorry for the misinformation on my part.
One thing we should ALL know is it's very common for Professional Football players starting in a front 7 to hit the weight room in the off season. My first thought was why is this even worthy of mention? Then came the thought they probably wanted him to add about 5lbs to his frame or something; or there's ZERO need to point that out. It was the type of sports writer stuff you've warned us about and rightfully so.
Yes, he is a bit light in the pants. So I have little doubt that young JOK is trying to reform is body type a bit. No reason to apologize bubs.
Articles are more clickbait than ever during the off-season. Which is a shame, because there's a good lot of quality content they could dive into and still get eyes on screens.
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Good news for you - bad news for me. The bad news for me is I made an assumption and provided wrong info off the following statement: "JOK hit the offseason weight room so he can take on tight ends better this year." This is in the Browns roster section in Lindy's Pro Football Preview 2023 where they give the height and weights and a quick comment about each guy. JOK's height and weight remained the same 6'2" 221lbs it was last year so nobody has to worry if he put on too much weight. Sorry for the misinformation on my part.
One thing we should ALL know is it's very common for Professional Football players starting in a front 7 to hit the weight room in the off season. My first thought was why is this even worthy of mention? Then came the thought they probably wanted him to add about 5lbs to his frame or something; or there's ZERO need to point that out. It was the type of sports writer stuff you've warned us about and rightfully so.
Yes, he is a bit light in the pants. So I have little doubt that young JOK is trying to reform is body type a bit. No reason to apologize bubs.
Articles are more clickbait than ever during the off-season. Which is a shame, because there's a good lot of quality content they could dive into and still get eyes on screens.
Yes, he is a bit light in the pants. So I have little doubt that young JOK is trying to reform is body type a bit.
This Ute is starting to grow on me.. is 6'4 222 lbs. bigger than what JOK came in at? We put 250K in his hands to sign. He's got room to grow
@flugel you might like this Ute
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Yes, he is a bit light in the pants. So I have little doubt that young JOK is trying to reform is body type a bit.
This Ute is starting to grow on me.. is 6'4 222 lbs. bigger than what JOK came in at? We put 250K in his hands to sign. He's got room to grow
@flugel you might like this Ute
This Ute is starting to grow on me.. is 6'4 222 lbs. bigger than what JOK came in at? We put 250K in his hands to sign. He's got room to grow
@flugel you might like this Ute
Very impressive. You're right Gumbs - this Ute is a Beaute. He hustles and closes fast on people. He's probably also one of those wiry types that is way stronger than he looks. He looks like a young Jevon Kearse, who was a stand-up LBer at Florida once upon a time. He got me excited like Henley did. Great stuff - thanks for sharing!
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To paraphrase Vinny Gambini, let's hope this yute can contribute
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To paraphrase Vinny Gambini, let's hope this yute can contribute
To paraphrase Vinny Gambini, let's hope this yute can contribute
Two yutes?
I'm sorry.... two yoooooouuuuuuuuuuuthes.
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They only have one guy from Utah who's got a shot to make the 53. The other from Utah on the 90 is a PS OL
And unless they're from Utah, the word "contribute" is less funny
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They only have one guy from Utah who's got a shot to make the 53. The other from Utah on the 90 is a PS OL
And unless they're from Utah, the word "contribute" is less funny
They only have one guy from Utah who's got a shot to make the 53. The other from Utah on the 90 is a PS OL
And unless they're from Utah, the word "contribute" is less funny
I'm still laughing at the Gambini reference which was great! Yeah, not just Utah but any kid that goes the Undrafted Free Agent route has a very quick/small window to make an impression. Lucky for him, the Browns have a longer training camp than most teams due to the Hall of Fame Game they are scheduled to play in. This may mean nothing at all - but Gumby mentioned the Browns gave him a competitive signing bonus for an undrafted guy. I mentioned he reminded me of Jevon Kearse playing LBer in a 2 point stance at Florida after staring off as a redshirt 6'4" 215lb Safety in 1995 before moving to OLB in 96. Later on Florida occasionally lined up up in a 3 point stance in obvious pass rush situations. I just went back and looked up Diabate in Lindy's draft guide and he was listed as their 11th best Inside LBer prospect (projected for 6th-7th round). Interestingly enough, he played his 1st 3 years of college football at Florida before transferring to play his final year at Utah.
This type of guy would have to show he can also excel on special teams, but with the changes in the return games the NFL has proposed - that may be even more difficult to accomplish. It'll be interesting to see what unfolds. It looks like there's a lot more competition for starting jobs, active roster spots and even practice squad opportunities in the front 7 this year. With the hiring of Schwartz at DC on top of all this - the defense should be a lot more fun to watch once it all gets underway.
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OK-now I am officially getting excited about the coming defensive storm. These DL additions to MG warrant it IMO.
https://www.brownsnation.com/myles-garrett-made-pffs-record-book-in-2022/
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Re: Diabate
3 games deep, UF vs LSU, UTAH vs SC and then UF show some strong indicators on why he was an UDFA.
Good athlete, incredibly limited football player at the moment. RAS is nice, but the mentals are lacking on film big time.
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Re: Diabate
3 games deep, UF vs LSU, UTAH vs SC and then UF show some strong indicators on why he was an UDFA.
Good athlete, incredibly limited football player at the moment. RAS is nice, but the mentals are lacking on film big time.
Re: Diabate
3 games deep, UF vs LSU, UTAH vs SC and then UF show some strong indicators on why he was an UDFA.
Good athlete, incredibly limited football player at the moment. RAS is nice, but the mentals are lacking on film big time.
Not the answers I was hoping for; but thanks for the research. So much for my reminds me of Jevon Kearse coming out after watching a small extract of film/best moments. 1st step instinct is very important, Bark Mingo had all the hustle and athleticism a guy could ever want; but he had the instincts of a raccoon crossing a busy highway at night. Let's see what he does with the very small window of opportunity training camp provides.
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Hopefully all of the offseason moves upfront protects them way better than last year. The only good news about last year was we got to see the alternative to Phillips was an upgrade. I just read JOK spent a lot of time in the weight room (where he added weight and muscle) so he doesn't get bullied by TEs. I don't know if any of this will make you feel any better about the depth but here's a few thoughts. The arrival of Za'Darius Smith as an OLB pushes a very reliable Taki Taki to a backup UNLESS Smith is going to line up exclusively in a 3 point on the edge all year per Gumbs' depth chart. Taki Taki can also be the 1st one off the bench in the Middle. This team has a rarely mentioned backup OLB (Jordan Kunaszyk) that played in all but 2 games last year. He's 6'3" 235lbs and he's been in the league since 2019. He's a great open field tackler and very reliable on STs. Also, Tony Fields got a lot of experience behind a bad situation upfront last year. If the DL improves the way we hope/think it can - he could look a lot better. We're gonna find out pretty soon what we have here...
Let me preface this, by saying trust the depth chart more than my fluent jibberish thinking out-loud here. I can't help but thinking we didn't bring Ogbo Okoronko, Isaiah McGuire, and Lonnie Phelps here to watch 1 guy (that can also play OLB) play their position all year.
Yeah, that's the hope, that the DLine keeps the LBs "clean" and less prone to get the crap kicked out of them. I'm not sure when Takitaki will be healthy enough to play at a high level. Hopefully the entire unit has much better health, and if not, the LB unit is a deeper one than last year.
I know they took JOK with a high second rounder, but it still feels like this front office kind of looks at the LBs as "something we'll get to later...."
I know they took JOK with a high second rounder, but it still feels like this front office kind of looks at the LBs as "something we'll get to later...."
In the sense of the D, LB is a "get later" position. I think 10 LBs were drafted in the first 3 rounds this past draft. Basically 10% of all drafted players in those rounds.
In the NFL of today, LB just isn't a marquee position anymore as it was in the 60's. Even the 80's. I can't think of any defensive formation where a team brings in more linebackers. Can you? They start pulling them off the field in favor of faster coverage guys or more beef along the line in a goal line deal.
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I know they took JOK with a high second rounder, but it still feels like this front office kind of looks at the LBs as "something we'll get to later...."
In the sense of the D, LB is a "get later" position. I think 10 LBs were drafted in the first 3 rounds this past draft. Basically 10% of all drafted players in those rounds.
In the NFL of today, LB just isn't a marquee position anymore as it was in the 60's. Even the 80's. I can't think of any defensive formation where a team brings in more linebackers. Can you? They start pulling them off the field in favor of faster coverage guys or more beef along the line in a goal line deal.
In the sense of the D, LB is a "get later" position. I think 10 LBs were drafted in the first 3 rounds this past draft. Basically 10% of all drafted players in those rounds.
In the NFL of today, LB just isn't a marquee position anymore as it was in the 60's. Even the 80's. I can't think of any defensive formation where a team brings in more linebackers. Can you? They start pulling them off the field in favor of faster coverage guys or more beef along the line in a goal line deal.
I think you're right. It might have started to happen in the 80s; but there's 2 LBer Corps in that decade that reminded us how important/impactful the LBer position could still be. The 85 Bears had Wilbur Marshall, Otis Wilson and Mike Singletary and the Giants had Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, Gary Reasons, Carl Banks, Brad Van Pelt, Pepper Johnson while the names on their Dline aren't as easy for me to remember. Washington's Joe Gibbs said Lawrence Taylor changed the game and the way offenses had to prepare for him. I think Joe Theisman would agree with him. In the 90s and shortly thereafter, Pittsburgh also had a ton of Pro Bowl LBers in their zone blitz schemes like Kevin Greene, Greg Lloyd, James Harrison, Joey Porter and others. Having said that, these are exceptions to the rule so I do think you make a good point above.
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I think LBs started to be diminished past the 80's. I just pointed out the 80's since it was still a top position on D. You still had plenty of teams still playing a 3-4 base. I don't think anybody has played that as a base in quite a few years.
It just became a tweener position. As O's started to go pass heavy, backs became diminished as did the need for linebackers. Teams either wanted more size and pass rush from the front 4 and wanted to have more DBs on the field.
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Re: Diabate
3 games deep, UF vs LSU, UTAH vs SC and then UF show some strong indicators on why he was an UDFA.
Good athlete, incredibly limited football player at the moment. RAS is nice, but the mentals are lacking on film big time.
Re: Diabate
3 games deep, UF vs LSU, UTAH vs SC and then UF show some strong indicators on why he was an UDFA.
Good athlete, incredibly limited football player at the moment. RAS is nice, but the mentals are lacking on film big time.
No doubt. Where I think he can shine is on special teams. He better if he wants to make the team. If he can do that, then he will have the time to improve in other areas...if he can.
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The Problem with DePodesta the bean counter:
The Problem with DePodesta the bean counter:
Funny pic, but I don't see how that applies to DePodesta?
In the beginning the plan was to get rid of players from a team that won 1 game over 2 seasons, build some assets, and go from there. What we are seeing now is the result of the plan. We will soon find out if the plan pays dividends.
Seems the pics are reversed.
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looking forward to seeing this guy in the pre season
Wes Martin | 67
OG | Indiana |
Cleveland Browns
Ht: 6025 / 6' 03" | Wt: 315 | Upd: 06/18/2023Vitals
Birth Date: 05/09/1996 Age: 27 Original Team: WAS NFL Entry: 19 04 131 NFL Exp: 5 Depth Chart Key: U/Was Team History: WAS NYG JAX WAS CLE Player History
05/19 WAS D/C signed
08/21 WAS waived
09/21 WAS P/SQ 0-2
09/21 NYG from WAS P/SQ 3
12/21 NYG Covid-19
12/21 NYG activated 14
05/22 NYG waived
05/22 JAX w/claim from NYG
08/22 JAX waived
08/22 WAS w/claim from JAX
08/22 WAS waived
09/22 WAS P/SQ 0-2
09/22 WAS activated 2
09/22 WAS P/SQ 2-4
10/22 WAS activated 4
10/22 WAS P/SQ 4-15
12/22 WAS activated 15
12/22 WAS P/SQ 15-16
12/22 WAS activated 16
03/23 WAS UFA
03/23 CLE UFA signedOurlads' Profile:
2019 Review: What Ourlads' NFL Scouting Services said about WES MARTIN: Wes Martin is already in line to start at left guard as there isn’t much competition that pre-existed and it was such a sore spot in 2018. The powerful run blocker will still have to earn his stripes in training camp however.
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There's a rumor out there about the Browns trading/signing for Aaron Donald. That would be the nuts if it came about.
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CB Thakarius Keyes. He's a 6'1 , 202 lb. camp body. A nice big corner. Mike Pettine would love him. A 7th round pick of the Chiefs in 2020. Was with Chicago & Indy in 2021. No stats last year.
Enjoyed a 2 week vacation to OH-io & Michigan missing 1 roster transaction..
For the Browns to add CB Thakarius "BoPete" Keyes..
The Browns waived 2022 7th round draft pick, C/G Dawson Deaton w/injury designation.. (in 2022, D.Deaton tore his ACL in August going to IR)
https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2023/7/6/23786460/browns-waive-dawson-deaton-nfl-draft-thakarius-keyes
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