Cleveland Browns mock draft: All defense edition
By Thomas Moore
5th Round (No. 141 overall) – Nick Vigil, ILB, Utah State
Nick Vigil earned first team All-Mountain West honors for the second consecutive year in 2015 as posting a career-high 140 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
While there are questions about whether or not Vigil should have left the Aggies after his junior year, according to his NFL.com draft profile:
"Vigil has the desire and instincts to play in the NFL, but his slim frame and lack of play strength will need to be addressed in the weight room and the training table. Vigil’s athletic scores at the combine could push his draft stock in either direction, but with more mass, he has the ability to stick on a roster even though it may need to be as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense."
5th Round (No. 172 overall) – Matt Ioannidis, DT, Temple
Matt Ioannidis earned first team All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2015 after totaling 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and five pass breakups. That mirrored his 2014 campaign, when he was a second team all-conference selection while posting 11 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
Ioannidis has a grittiness about him that would appeal to Browns fans as he was a two-year recipient of a single-digit uniform number at Temple, which only gives out those numbers to the nine toughest players on the team.
“Toughness isn’t necessarily being the biggest guy or putting on a show, but it is doing the tough things that people don’t want to do,” he told theamerican.org. “Consistency, it is one of my strongest assets. I am consistent day in and day out. It is easy to be with the defense we are on. You always have someone covering for you but I feel that I show up every day and I am the same.”
According to his draft profile at NFL.com, Ioannidis is a:
"Muscle shark who never shrinks in the face of physicality or doing the dirty work that needs to get done. Ioannidis isn’t a bad athlete, he’s just a little bit limited due to a lack of twitch. With power and toughness to spare, he is at his best as a block-eating two-gap player who can anchor against the run and who can generate decent push in the pocket when called on as a pass rusher. He has the looks of a starter in a 3-4 defense and a rotational tackle in a 4-3."
5th Round (No. 173 overall) – Jatavis Brown, SS, Akron
The 5-foot-11, 222-pound Jatavis Brown was the 2015 MAC Defensive Player of the Year after finishing with 116 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and four forced fumbles. He was also a three-time first team All-MAC selection. His size is not ideal to play linebacker at the NFL level – he would easily be the smallest linebacker if added to the Browns’ current group of linebackers – but his 4.47 time in the 40-yard dash at last month’s NFL Regional Combine may make him attractive as a safety or special teams player.
“Honestly, I’d like to see a team create a position for me,” Brown said after his workout. “Not quite a linebacker, not quite a safety but use me and be creative.”
With the Browns needing a replacement for special teams ace Johnson Bademosi, who left for the Detroit Lions in free agency, Brown could be a player that Cleveland looks at late in the draft, especially with the team holding five draft picks between rounds five and seven.
Next: Rounds 6 and 7