Two Rd. NFL Mock Draft: Building The Defense

Jan 2, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Washington Huskies defensive lineman Danny Shelton (55) and offensive lineman Colin Tanigawa (64) against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2015 Cactus Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium. Oklahoma State defeated Washington 30-22. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns have made it clear the type of team that they want to be. As you look at NFL Mock Drafts that always has to be kept in mind. The Browns want to be a defense and run game led team that fits with the rugged AFC North. Last year they showed that by drafting Justin Gilbert, Christan Kirskey and Pierre Desir for the defensive side of the ball and drafting Joel Bitonio and Terrance West for the run game. Only Johnny Manziel was drafted to impact the passing game, and even his best weapon is his legs.

That means as we get prepared for the NFL Draft that we have some idea of what the Browns GM Ray Farmer and HC Mike Pettine value. It doesn’t mean they will continue the process of not drafting receivers and tight ends, one year is not much to go on, but even free agency showed what they value. The Browns signed Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby to bolster the defense while adding slot receiver Andrew Hawkins for the offense.

Today and tomorrow we are going to give you a few NFL Mock Draft options that are reasonable but are based on information we think is important. Today we are have created a 2 Round NFL Mock Draft, we validated using FanSpeak’s Mock Draft simulator, that looks at the Browns continuing to build through their defense. We will have other Mocks that come from different directions to give some context to what the NFL Draft could look like.

For now it is building it through defense.

Next: Where to Next to Improve the Browns Defense at #19 and 43?