Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Dawg Pound Daily 2017 NFL Mock Draft: Final edition

By Matt Stevenson

Nov 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14) throws a pass against the Southern California Trojans during a NCAA football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14) throws a pass against the Southern California Trojans during a NCAA football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
Oct 22, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils kicker Zane Gonzalez (5) against the Washington State Cougars at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils kicker Zane Gonzalez (5) against the Washington State Cougars at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Last season the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected a kicker incredibly high and, well, it didn’t pay off. This year, that philosophy might scare teams away from over drafting a kicker and Gonzalez projects to be a decent NFL kicker for years to come. The Browns have had a wide variety of kickers since the departure of Phil Dawson and continue to search for their guy.

Gonzalez played in the Senior Bowl and tied the record with three field goals. His collegiate career wrapped up with him being the FBS career leader in field goals and points for the position, something that certainly should help his draft stock.

Projecting where kickers and punters get drafted is difficult, but the disappointing Roberto Aguayo could serve as a positive for teams interested in kickers, and in this case Cleveland is the beneficiary.

Sep 10, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes offensive lineman Isaac Asiata (54) and offensive lineman J.J. Dielman (68) celebrate with the Deseret First Duel trophy after beating Brigham Young Cougars their crosstown rivals 20-19 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes offensive lineman Isaac Asiata (54) and offensive lineman J.J. Dielman (68) celebrate with the Deseret First Duel trophy after beating Brigham Young Cougars their crosstown rivals 20-19 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

The Browns heavily invested in their offensive line via free agency this offseason. The additions create a congested offensive line and now young players such as Shon Coleman and Cam Erving find themselves fighting for a starting role. Despite this, injuries have been prevalent for some of Cleveland’s linemen and having depth at the position is never a bad thing.

Adding Dielman gives the Browns another prospect to develop and gives him plenty of time to do so. I wouldn’t expect him to receive playing time unless the injury bug bites them big time in 2017, which is not unusual for them.

Dielman played three seasons at right tackle but began taking snaps under center so he offers versatility for the Browns’ young offensive line. That is something the team has repeatedly looked for when drafting offensive linemen and that leads me to believe the Utah lineman is on the table for the Browns this late in the draft.

At the end of the day, the Cleveland Browns are the team to watch at the 2017 NFL Draft. The front office has kept their cards close and different rumors have appeared weekly since the start of 2017.

Next: DPD Podcast: Episode 6

Truly, for once, nobody knows what Cleveland is going to do outside of the No. 1 overall pick and some believe that is even in question at this point. It will without a doubt be one hell of a rollercoaster ride and the fans of Cleveland finally have a draft in which can finally turn this franchise around.

Home/Browns Draft