Cleveland Browns: 5 players to watch after the first round
By Thomas Moore
Tanoh Kpassagnon may have been a slow starter in his first two years at Villanova, but he made up for it his final two seasons in college.
As a junior he was a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection after finishing with 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He then took home first-team Associated Press FCS All-American honors as a senior after finishing sixth in the FCS with 21.5 tackles for loss and tying for fifth nationally with 11 sacks.
According to his draft profile at NFL.com:
"While he has the length, size and athleticism that is the foundation of what teams look for along their defensive front, his issues with contact balance and body control might not be easily remedied. Kpassagnon lacks natural pass rush talent and may need to strengthen his lower body so he can lock in as a two-gapping, edge-setting base end who can reduce inside on rush downs."
Kpassagnon, who is 6-foot-7 and 289-pounds, also caught the attention of everyone at the Senior Bowl, a group that included the Browns coaching staff, according to NFL Network draft analyst Bucky Brooks, who told mlive.com:
"“He’s really twitchy for a long, rangy guy. Normally you expect those guys to kind of lumber and labor off the ball, and he doesn’t. He has some quickness. He has some special ability. He has some special qualities, and he’s one of the guys that has been the buzz of the town.”"
Similar to Leggett, Kpassagnon would need some time for his game to develop, but with the Browns adding Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett in the first round, Kpassagnon can be a situational player that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams unleashes as needed.