Squad upgrade: Trade and Free Agency topic
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hat Duron Harmon brings to the Browns roster
Duron Harmon adds depth after the Rodney McLeod injury
By Matt_Wilson Nov 23, 2023, 9:05am ESTThe Cleveland Browns took another big injury hit on Sunday when it was announced that safety Rodney McLeod will miss the rest of the season due to a biceps injury. In order to help soften the blow, the team announced that they have signed 3-time Super Bowl Champion defensive back Duron Harmon.
Harmon is an experienced safety who has had a lot of success in the league over the years and actually had one of his best seasons in 2022 with the Las Vegas Raiders.
2022 Statistics
Tackles: 86
Pass Deflections: 5
Interceptions: 2
Forced Fumbles: 2
PFF Grade: 72.3
Harmon will provide the Browns with a lot of the experience and leadership ability in the secondary that they lost with McLeod. He’s another versatile safety who has played all over the field for defenses and can be utilized in the same ways that Jim Schwartz used McLeod.
He had a 77.6 coverage grade in 2022, which is far above average for the strong safety position. Harmon’s instincts and ball skills have allowed him to consistently be in the right spot when it comes to navigating inside of passing lanes and diagnosing route combos.
Though he’s not necessarily known for his ability to stop the run, he's more than capable of doing so as evidenced by his production in that category over the past three seasons for the Lions, Falcons, and Raiders.
In addition to the Harmon signing, Cleveland has a couple of in-house options at their disposal as well to help with the Rodney McLeod damage control:
D’Anthony Bell
Bell is currently one of the team’s core special teamers, specifically on the punt and kickoff units. He’s a bigger, box-type safety who’s naturally an excellent tackler and does a great job against the run while showing adequate coverage ability as well. He started a couple of games for the Browns in 2022 but has only participated in 4% of total defensive snaps so far in 2023.
Ronnie Hickman
Hickman is currently in his rookie season after signing with the team as a UDFA after the 2023 NFL Draft. He had a very successful and productive preseason with the team that resulted in him making the 53-man active roster heading into the regular season. He has shown a lot of improvement in pass coverage since being signed and is happy to step up and make stops against the run. He has participated in 19% of total defensive snaps this season and had a particularly good showing against Pittsburgh last weekend.
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WR Kenny Golladay
If the Browns are going to find some success on offense down the back stretch, it's going to be because of the supporting cast around Thompson-Robinson. The rookie has some positive traits, but he's only going to be as good as the players around him. Right now, the Browns are really banged up at receiver, and the healthy players outside of Amari Cooper are relatively young.
The outisde options are limited, but Kenny Golladay has a 1,000-yard season on his resume. He was a bust with the New York Giants, but he'd at least be worth a workout right now.
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So Duron Harmon brought his hat to the Browns roster. I've got one with Snoopy on it.
...Rodney McLeod was a pleasant surprise this year. Of course he's gotta get hurt though...
So Duron Harmon brought his hat to the Browns roster. I've got one with Snoopy on it.
...Rodney McLeod was a pleasant surprise this year. Of course he's gotta get hurt though...
McLeod had some really bad plays when Thornhill was out, one giving up a touchdown iirc. Just a total misread in the wrong direction.
Will miss the depth, but not a game changer or anything,
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The Cleveland Browns have signed QB Jeff Driskel to the active roster off the Cardinals' practice squad. To make room on the roster, the team has waived DE Sam Kamara.
Driskel (6-4, 235) is in his eighth NFL season out of Louisiana Tech. Originally a sixth-round draft pick by the 49ers in 2016, Driskel has appeared in 23 career games with 11 starts with the Bengals (2018), Lions (2019), Broncos (2020) and Texans (2021-22). He has completed 216 of 365 career passes for 2,228 yards with 14 touchdowns. He has added 384 rushing yards with three scores. He made two starts for the Texans in 2022 and has spent the majority of this season the Cardinals' practice squad.
....Now that we've qualified for the playoffs they want to make sure they have somebody better than PJ Walker at their disposal. They're getting serious now.
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Bernie Kosar was talking about kicking the tires on Jarvis Landry. I wonder if he’s still in shape.
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Bernie Kosar was talking about kicking the tires on Jarvis Landry. I wonder if he’s still in shape.
Bernie Kosar was talking about kicking the tires on Jarvis Landry.
With EJ Moore taking a seizure on the field after his head got smashed into the turf...and Tillman not being a good route runner and thus only getting 1 or 2 catches a game...we're weak at WR.
BEING A BROWNS FAN IS A TEST TO SEE HOW MUCH YOU CAN TAKE -
Bernie Kosar was talking about kicking the tires on Jarvis Landry.
With EJ Moore taking a seizure on the field after his head got smashed into the turf...and Tillman not being a good route runner and thus only getting 1 or 2 catches a game...we're weak at WR.
With EJ Moore taking a seizure on the field after his head got smashed into the turf...and Tillman not being a good route runner and thus only getting 1 or 2 catches a game...we're weak at WR.
We've always been thin at WR, but I'm not sure adding another guy who can't get open would do much, even if we all really like Landry.
Tillman is definitely a work in progress, and I've pretty much written off David Bell. The Browns definitely need to add to the WR unit this offseason.
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With EJ Moore taking a seizure on the field after his head got smashed into the turf...and Tillman not being a good route runner and thus only getting 1 or 2 catches a game...we're weak at WR.
We've always been thin at WR, but I'm not sure adding another guy who can't get open would do much, even if we all really like Landry.
Tillman is definitely a work in progress, and I've pretty much written off David Bell. The Browns definitely need to add to the WR unit this offseason.
We've always been thin at WR, but I'm not sure adding another guy who can't get open would do much, even if we all really like Landry.
Tillman is definitely a work in progress, and I've pretty much written off David Bell. The Browns definitely need to add to the WR unit this offseason.
Whatever happened Watkins? I thought he was impressive in the preseason for whatever that's worth. Is he still with us?
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We've always been thin at WR, but I'm not sure adding another guy who can't get open would do much, even if we all really like Landry.
Tillman is definitely a work in progress, and I've pretty much written off David Bell. The Browns definitely need to add to the WR unit this offseason.
Whatever happened Watkins? I thought he was impressive in the preseason for whatever that's worth. Is he still with us?
Whatever happened Watkins? I thought he was impressive in the preseason for whatever that's worth. Is he still with us?
Practice squad, I believe.
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Practice squad, I believe.
He reminds me of Kennan McCardell in the sense of making some strong 1st impressions but we never really tapped McCardell's talent and skillset before he went off to Jax and became a Pro Bowl WR. We had him from 92-95 (finally getting 5 starts in 95 and reps in other games for 56 rec 709 yards and 4 TDs). I've love to see what a QB like Flacco could get out of Watkins. Play his ass at Cincy - the Rats are absolutely bullying a very timid and intimidated Dolphins team today so we might as well let Moore and Cooper heal.
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Bernie Kosar was talking about kicking the tires on Jarvis Landry.
With EJ Moore taking a seizure on the field after his head got smashed into the turf...and Tillman not being a good route runner and thus only getting 1 or 2 catches a game...we're weak at WR.
Tillman not being a good route runner and thus only getting 1 or 2 catches a game...we're weak at WR.
I think you need to keep a few things in proper perspective.
- Tillman is a mid round rookie on a team that has gone through 4 QB's now.
- He only started getting meaningful targets the last 6-8 games, depending on how you view meaningful.
- He has been playing a more classic 'X' receiver roll, not all that unlike DK Metcalf. However, unlike Metcalf, he isn't some physical freak of nature. But his style of game, contested catches in tight spaces and creating separation off physicality and contact, is in that same mold. You basically play your game away from him until you draw those 1 on 1's, force the issue, and make a defense double him.
- To further that point, DK averages just under 5 catches per game is entire career and a notch over 1k per year.
- We simply lack the consistent QB play to have made him a more effective player his first season. But also having a coaching staff who has slowly grown to the adjustment of better using his skill set, being that we've had a handful of receivers the last season who vary pretty significantly from Ceddy. Maybe save for DPJ, who was shipped off in favor of him.
When you take into account he's a 4.6 runner who is a taller 6'3 type with longer strides and a much higher center of gravity which increases the need for hip sink and shoulder control, saying that Tillman "isn't a good route technician" just comes across as sloppy bubs.
edit: To bullet point this. I don't think the raw talent of the WR room is the problem. It's health, experience and getting our QB situation settled.
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Tillman not being a good route runner and thus only getting 1 or 2 catches a game...we're weak at WR.
I think you need to keep a few things in proper perspective.
- Tillman is a mid round rookie on a team that has gone through 4 QB's now.
- He only started getting meaningful targets the last 6-8 games, depending on how you view meaningful.
- He has been playing a more classic 'X' receiver roll, not all that unlike DK Metcalf. However, unlike Metcalf, he isn't some physical freak of nature. But his style of game, contested catches in tight spaces and creating separation off physicality and contact, is in that same mold. You basically play your game away from him until you draw those 1 on 1's, force the issue, and make a defense double him.
- To further that point, DK averages just under 5 catches per game is entire career and a notch over 1k per year.
- We simply lack the consistent QB play to have made him a more effective player his first season. But also having a coaching staff who has slowly grown to the adjustment of better using his skill set, being that we've had a handful of receivers the last season who vary pretty significantly from Ceddy. Maybe save for DPJ, who was shipped off in favor of him.
When you take into account he's a 4.6 runner who is a taller 6'3 type with longer strides and a much higher center of gravity which increases the need for hip sink and shoulder control, saying that Tillman "isn't a good route technician" just comes across as sloppy bubs.
edit: To bullet point this. I don't think the raw talent of the WR room is the problem. It's health, experience and getting our QB situation settled.
I think you need to keep a few things in proper perspective.
- Tillman is a mid round rookie on a team that has gone through 4 QB's now.
- He only started getting meaningful targets the last 6-8 games, depending on how you view meaningful.
- He has been playing a more classic 'X' receiver roll, not all that unlike DK Metcalf. However, unlike Metcalf, he isn't some physical freak of nature. But his style of game, contested catches in tight spaces and creating separation off physicality and contact, is in that same mold. You basically play your game away from him until you draw those 1 on 1's, force the issue, and make a defense double him.
- To further that point, DK averages just under 5 catches per game is entire career and a notch over 1k per year.
- We simply lack the consistent QB play to have made him a more effective player his first season. But also having a coaching staff who has slowly grown to the adjustment of better using his skill set, being that we've had a handful of receivers the last season who vary pretty significantly from Ceddy. Maybe save for DPJ, who was shipped off in favor of him.
When you take into account he's a 4.6 runner who is a taller 6'3 type with longer strides and a much higher center of gravity which increases the need for hip sink and shoulder control, saying that Tillman "isn't a good route technician" just comes across as sloppy bubs.
edit: To bullet point this. I don't think the raw talent of the WR room is the problem. It's health, experience and getting our QB situation settled.
Good points! I like the edit; and agree that adjusting to 4 different QBs during a rookie season with a limited volume of reps to date requires some patience throughout the learning. 1 thing I love - is the lad can block and bully some DBs. He also looked pretty good catching the ball a week or 2 ago.
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Tillman not being a good route runner and thus only getting 1 or 2 catches a game...we're weak at WR.
I think you need to keep a few things in proper perspective.
- Tillman is a mid round rookie on a team that has gone through 4 QB's now.
- He only started getting meaningful targets the last 6-8 games, depending on how you view meaningful.
- He has been playing a more classic 'X' receiver roll, not all that unlike DK Metcalf. However, unlike Metcalf, he isn't some physical freak of nature. But his style of game, contested catches in tight spaces and creating separation off physicality and contact, is in that same mold. You basically play your game away from him until you draw those 1 on 1's, force the issue, and make a defense double him.
- To further that point, DK averages just under 5 catches per game is entire career and a notch over 1k per year.
- We simply lack the consistent QB play to have made him a more effective player his first season. But also having a coaching staff who has slowly grown to the adjustment of better using his skill set, being that we've had a handful of receivers the last season who vary pretty significantly from Ceddy. Maybe save for DPJ, who was shipped off in favor of him.
When you take into account he's a 4.6 runner who is a taller 6'3 type with longer strides and a much higher center of gravity which increases the need for hip sink and shoulder control, saying that Tillman "isn't a good route technician" just comes across as sloppy bubs.
edit: To bullet point this. I don't think the raw talent of the WR room is the problem. It's health, experience and getting our QB situation settled.
saying that Tillman "isn't a good route technician" just comes across as sloppy bubs.
...but it's not just me sayin' that. The sidelines announcer said it during the game (Deron Cherry?). And I read it in someone's article a couple of weeks ago.
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...but it's not just me sayin' that. The sidelines announcer said it during the game (Deron Cherry?). And I read it in someone's article a couple of weeks ago.
Oh shit, an article? Well fuck me... my bad.
Look man, you know as well as I do, most of what you read from the wanna-be sports media writing groups, Dawgs By Nature, Dawg Pound Daily, etc etc.... are watered down nonsense that lacks attention to detail. And sideline announcers are basically cramming homework during the week that way they at least have some understanding as to the games and personnel they have to announce for. Which means you're going to get cosmetic and, if you're lucky, maybe some depth to the commentary. Otherwise they just watch ESPN and take a couple notes.
Would any of these sources say Larry Fitzgerald was "bad route runner"? HELL No... so why would we say the same of a WR who plays a similar position and style? Corey Coleman was a bad route runner. Antonio Callaway was a bad route runner. Anthony Schwartz was a non-existent level route runner.
That ain't Ceddy. Just because we don't see significant separation like you would have with "smaller" receivers, doesn't mean he ain't getting it done.
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...but it's not just me sayin' that. The sidelines announcer said it during the game (Deron Cherry?). And I read it in someone's article a couple of weeks ago.
Oh shit, an article? Well fuck me... my bad.
Look man, you know as well as I do, most of what you read from the wanna-be sports media writing groups, Dawgs By Nature, Dawg Pound Daily, etc etc.... are watered down nonsense that lacks attention to detail. And sideline announcers are basically cramming homework during the week that way they at least have some understanding as to the games and personnel they have to announce for. Which means you're going to get cosmetic and, if you're lucky, maybe some depth to the commentary. Otherwise they just watch ESPN and take a couple notes.
Would any of these sources say Larry Fitzgerald was "bad route runner"? HELL No... so why would we say the same of a WR who plays a similar position and style? Corey Coleman was a bad route runner. Antonio Callaway was a bad route runner. Anthony Schwartz was a non-existent level route runner.
That ain't Ceddy. Just because we don't see significant separation like you would have with "smaller" receivers, doesn't mean he ain't getting it done.
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