Cleveland Browns sign four undrafted free agents

Sep 7, 2013; Corvallis, OR, USA; Oregon State Beavers defensive end Dylan Wynn (45) during the game against the Hawaii Warriors at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns signed four undrafted free agents, the team announced on Friday.

Joining the Browns in the team’s facility in Berea for the first of three days of a rookie mini-camp are Northern Illinois offensive lineman Tyler Loos, Kentucky offensive lineman Darrian Miller, Tennessee State defensive back De’Ante Saunders and Oregon State defensive lineman Dylan Wynn.

The group joined the squad’s 12 draft picks; a few first-year players who were on the roster before the draft, most notably quarterback Connor Shaw; and 50 tryout players for the start of a busy weekend.

“We give guys an opportunity to come out here that maybe fell through the cracks with a lot of the tryout guys and it allows us to do 11-on-11 work,” head coach Mike Pettine told the team’s website. “Like we found last year, we found three guys that made the 53 in this. It’s just great to be able to get these guys on film and get them evaluated.”

Last year, Taylor Gabriel, Robert Nelson and K’Waun Williams were the players who made the team after starting out at the rookie mini-camp.

“I think with pretty much every guy that we drafted, at some point during today’s practice, there was a moment of, ‘Oh, that’s why we drafted him.’” – Head coach Mike Pettine

Loos, who is 6-foot-5 and 294 pounds, started all 14 games at left tackle for the Huskies in his senior season, a season that saw the offensive line allow just 14 sacks. He was named first team All-MAC for the second consecutive season. The downside on Loos is his injury history, he tore his ACL and meniscus in his left knee during his 2011 redshirt freshman season; suffered a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg in 2012; and was injured again in 2013 when he went down with a broken fibula in his left leg, a dislocated left ankle and a torn deltoid ligament in his left ankle.

The 6-foot-5, 307-pound Miller switched from tight end to the offensive line, where he was the Wildcats’ starter at left tackle from 2012-2014. According to his draft profile at NFL.com, Miller “doesn’t have the length or athleticism to make it as an NFL tackle, so he he’ll likely have to make the switch to guard. Has smarts and hands to play guard or center, but his lower body power must improve. With coaching, Miller could be a serviceable interior backup.”

Saunders, who is 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, was a two-year starter at safety for Florida before being dismissed from the team late in the 2012 season. He played two seasons at Tennessee State, interception nine passes, while also returning 57 punts for 373 yards and a touchdown. Prior to his senior season, NFL.com named him one of the top 14 small-school prospects in the country, writing that Saunders “lacks elite speed, but he has great instincts, is active in run support and can lay the lumber. Saunders has NFL talent, but red flags are flying with regard to his character.”

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The 6-foot-2, 283-pound Wynn made 44 starts during his college career with the Beavers, the seventh-most in school history. He played defensive end and defensive tackle and tied for the team lead with 12 tackles for loss and four sacks as a senior. Interestingly, Wynn spent much of Oregon State’s Pro Day doing drills as a fullback. (A position that only fellow rookie Malcolm Johnson currently holds on the roster.)

“I just wanted people to know that I can play in the league and I think I can do very well in the league,” he told The Oregonian. “It doesn’t matter where I end up on a team, I will earn a spot by outworking everybody.”

Pettine was pleased to be back on the field working with players – especially the ones the Browns selected in last weekend’s NFL Draft.

“We know things are always a little bit slow in the beginning,” Pettine said. “They’re kind of slowed down trying to process. We don’t get too wrapped up into it, but I think with pretty much every guy that we drafted, at some point during today’s practice, there was a moment of, ‘Oh, that’s why we drafted him.’”

What do you think of the players the Browns signed today?