2016 Draft Targets

ColumbusKing

I would be worried that, in this scenario, the Redskins would take Cardale before he got to us. They don't want RGIII anymore, it's seems clear they would want Cardale, right?

TexasAg1969

@calfoxwc said:
Wait, how about 2017? Never too early?

He comes out in 2017. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/2018/DE

Tim Couch Pulls Out

Below are some of the 2016 mock drafts floating around the internet already. Obviously, these are all way, way, way premature. However, nearly all of them (with the exception of one) have the Browns taking a quarterback.

Most mocks have us taking Cardale Jones, while one SI.com has us taking Hackenberg. The consensus seems to be that Manziel isn't going to turn it around this year, McCown won't recreate his wonder year from Chicago - and Vegas believes our "rush heavy" offense isn't going to net us very much success without a viable QB to keep defenses honest.

SI.com said:
1 - Tennesee Titans - SHAWN OAKMAN, DE
2 - Jacksonville Jaguars - RONNIE STANLEY, OT
3 - Washington Redskins - JOEY BOSA, DE
4 - Tampa Bay Bucs - DEFOREST BUCKNER, DE
5 - Oakland Raiders - LAREMY TUNSIL, OT
6 - Cleveland Browns - CHRISTIAN HACKENBERG, QB

Sporting News said:
1 - Tennesee Titans - Joey Bosa, DE
2 - Jacksonville Jaguars - Shawn Oakman, DE
3 - Washington Redskins - Connor Cook, QB
4 - Tampa Bay Bucs - Ronnie Stanley, OT
5 - Oakland Raiders - Jalen Mills, CB
6 - Cleveland Browns - Cardale Jones

WalterFootball said:
1. Tennessee Titans - Joey Bosa, DE
2. Oakland Raiders - Laremy Tunsil, OT
3. Cleveland Browns - Cardale Jones, QB
4. San Fransisco 49ers - Vernon Hargreaves, CB
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Robert Nkemdiche, DE

SBNation - Dan Kadar said:
1. Tennessee Titans - Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State
2. Jacksonville Jaguars - Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame
4. Washington - Jalen Ramsey, S, Florida State
5. Oakland Raiders - Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor
6. Cleveland Browns - Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State

BleacherReport - Matt Miller said:
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Ronnie Stanley, OT
2. Tennessee Titans - Robert Nkemdiche, DE
3. Jacksonville Jaguars - Joey Bosa, DE
4. Oakland Raiders - Ezekiel Elliott, RB
5. Washington Redskins - Christian Hackenberg, QB
6. New York Jets - Laremy Tunsil, OT
7. Chicago Bears - Jaylon Smith, LB
8. Atlanta Falcons - DeForest Buckner, DT
9. New York Giants - Vernon Hargreaves III, CB
10. St. Louis Rams - Laquon Treadwell, WR
11. Minnesota Vikings - A'Shawn Robinson, DT
12. Cleveland Browns - Cardale Jones, QB

CBS Sports - Rob Rang said:
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Ohio State DE Joey Bosa
2. Tennessee Titans -- Baylor DE Shawn Oakman
3. Jacksonville Jaguars -- Notre Dame OT Ronnie Stanley
4. Oakland Raiders -- Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves III:
5. Washington Redskins -- Michigan State QB Connor Cook.
6. New York Jets -- UCLA OLB Myles Jack
7. Chicago Bears -- Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd
8. Atlanta Falcons -- Oklahoma State DE Emmanuel Ogbah
9. New York Giants -- Virginia Tech CB Kendall Fuller
10. St. Louis Rams -- Mississippi OT Laremy Tunsil
11. Minnesota Vikings -- Alabama RB Derrick Henry
12. Cleveland Browns -- Alabama DT A'Shawn Robinson

CBS Sports - Dane Brugler said:
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Ohio State DE Joey Bosa
2. Tennessee Titans -- Notre Dame OT Ronnie Stanley
3. Jacksonville Jaguars -- Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves III
4. Oakland Raiders -- Alabama DT A'Shawn Robinson
5. Washington Redskins -- California QB Jared Goff
6. New York Jets -- Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg
7. Chicago Bears -- USC S Su'a Cravens
8. Atlanta Falcons -- Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell
9. New York Giants -- Ole Miss DT Robert Nkemdiche
10. St. Louis Rams -- Pittsburgh WR Tyler Boyd
11. Minnesota Vikings -- Baylor DE Shawn Oakman
12. Cleveland Browns -- Michigan State QB Connor Cook

Clevfan4life

why would someone have us taking another DT? That being said i'd take Bosa in a heartbeat. I hope we can swing something to get him.

The Gipper

Irrelevent anyway.....the Browns will be drafting in the late 20s.

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@the-gipper said:
Irrelevent anyway.....the Browns will be drafting in the late 20s.

These are based off of Vegas odds or this year's draft order.

Also, no we won't.

WalterWhite

Next year's QB crop could include: Connor Cook, Cardale Jones, Christian Hackenberg, Jared Goff, and Cody Kessler.

I think that's FAR superior to this years crop.

Tour2ma

Superior, but no "can't miss" prospects.... again... At least none that can be seen from Spring, 2015.

@clevfan4life said:
why would someone have us taking another DT?

Something to do with Big Phil's contract being up I'd guess.

ColumbusKing

When I saw that SI had Shawn Oakman ahead of Bosa I threw up in my mouth a bit

wargograw

A'Shawn Robinson *drooling*

SD_Tom

Look at how many absolute studs OSU has this year. Go Bucks!

PoeticG

This is way premature. They have no idea how good any of our players will be, this is a whole new team. Three QB's that we haven't really seen yet, Manziel, Shaw and McCown. The new WR Duo, plus a few new faces, a new running game featuring new TEs and an improved offensive line. I haven't even talked about the Defense yet- but my BOLD prediction is that they will finish top 3 in the NFL. This team is going to be better by a lot than they were last year. The pundits and critics are to dimwitted and near thinking to see any different. We picked 12th this year and we could have been even higher than that if we didn't sustain the injuries and the late season meltdown. But, think of it this way, if we didn't tank at the end of the season we would never had been in position to draft the players that we did. We got a lot-lot better. 11+ Wins, my lowside prediction.

TexasAg1969

If JF ends up taking over the starting position he will likely struggle the first half of the season as all new starting QB's almost invariably do. So drafting inside at least the top 15 is likely to occur.

The Gipper

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

These are based off of Vegas odds or this year's draft order.

Also, no we won't.

We shall see. The main thing missing obviously is a top of the line franchise QB. But the team is strengthened just about everywhere else. McCown will be a steady veteran hand in control. Obviously not spectacular. So I figure probably mid teens.

(Point being....where they will draft next year, they probably again will not be in position to take the cream of the crop at QB)

The Gipper

@walterwhite said:

Next year's QB crop could include: Connor Cook, Cardale Jones, Christian Hackenberg, Jared Goff, and Cody Kessler.

I think that's FAR superior to this years crop.

Is it? I guess I need to see the college season play out as, after 12 Gauge....who honestly is still really a mystery who could be just a flash, I am NOT all that impressed with those other names. I don''t see a Winston/Mariota/Newton...and certainly no Luck in that bunch.

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@the-gipper said:
Is it? I guess I need to see the college season play out as, after 12 Gauge....who honestly is still really a mystery who could be just a flash, I am NOT all that impressed with those other names. I don''t see a Winston/Mariota/Newton...and certainly no Luck in that bunch.

If the 2016 draft were today, Cook is probably the second QB off the board behind Christian Hackenberg. However, if Cook's career continues to progress, I think he'll be the first QB taken next year. I like the toolset that Hackenberg possesses. I like that he has experience in a play-action, pro-style offense. However, my biggest detractor for Hackenberg is also what I feel to be Cook's biggest benefit. I get the impression that the Penn State offense protects Hackenberg and emphasizes him, while the Michigan State offense pushes Cook. Cook plays a grittier type of football. While it isn't the prettiest, Cook seems like he's almost ready to turn the page.

In order to eliminate as many variables as I can, I compared first half performances against Ohio State in 2014. Common opponent, same time of day, same score differential (for the most part). I understand this is projecting a sample to a population and is a common logical fallacy, but....screw it, the draft is a year away. More than enough time between now and then for my opinion to change.

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/connor-cook-vs-ohio-state-2014/

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/christian-hackenberg-vs-ohio-state-2014/

I see a PSU offense that protected Hackenberg by primarily sticking near the bottom of the route tree and playing sideline to sideline. PSU started off with a number of quick hitches, in what I'm assuming was both an attempt to set the pace as well as bait up a safety, but the strategy was an overall failure. I also slightly get the feeling that Hackenberg is rattled easily, in this game I got a heavy "captain checkdown" vibe. PSU played Hackenberg no favors with the playcalling, it was as vanilla as it could be. However, that is also a cause of concern to me - as I wonder if the vanilla playcalling, the high-percentage PA passes and the occasional 50-50 ball to an All-American WR (in 2013) are all scripted solely for Hackenberg to shine. Hackenberg reminds me plenty of Brady Quinn. A guy who seemingly has all of the tools, runs a pro-style offense, has played well in big games, and then fizzles in the pros when the scripted offense busts.

Comparatively, I see an MSU offense that opens the game up pushing Cook immediately...starting off with a PA deep post against 2-high coverage. MSU got lucky on a roll out that turned into a TD, but overall Cook was asked to make plenty of NFL reads (and throws) in that first quarter - a handful of outs, a backside screen, a deep curl, etc. Cook's play against a very good defense wasn't disappointing, it was solid, exciting and inspired. At this stage in his career, Cook physically reminds me of Philip Rivers and mentally reminds me of Andrew Luck - he plays gritty but he can make any single throw you ask of him and he prepares like a coach.

Cook isn't polished. He's like a pony that hasn't quite found his legs fully. But he's being pushed by the MSU staff and he's pushing back - attending offseason training camps, working out with George Whitfield, staying for another year to refine his technique (and to beat Meatchicken again).

I don't like highlight videos. I try to refrain from ever watching them; they're normally just a series of wide open streaks for TD's or stupid lucky plays that rarely ever happen. However, this highlight reel of Cook is similar to what they aired for Jameis during the draft. It features plenty of NFL-caliber throws as well as plenty of attributes you like to see in a quarterback (working up the pocket, standing tall and delivering a strike while taking a hit, etc.)

The Gipper

Nice job. I really haven't seen much of these guys.....or haven't paid much attention. Will have to do so this fall....if these guys could end up being in the Browns crosshairs next year.

Tour2ma

Hackenberg absolutely leaves me cold. Only positive I can find is that he shows great determination in throwing to his primary... even if he's on his way into fetal position due to seeing pressure coming.

The bar for being considered a top prospect seems to get lower and lower...