Cleveland Browns: Mel Kiper, Jr. selects Jeffery Simmons at No. 17

ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper, Jr. released his latest mock draft and he has the Cleveland Browns selecting Mississippi State’s Jeffery Simmons at No. 17

With roughly three months remaining until the 2019 NFL Draft begins, there will be plenty of speculation about what the Cleveland Browns will be doing with the No. 17 pick. Some want them to add a legitimate left tackle to protect Baker Mayfield’s blindside.

Others want the Browns to go out and get Mayfield a No. 1 target at wide receiver. Another train of thought includes beefing up the defensive line by adding a powerful tackle to start alongside Larry Ogunjobi.

Someone who clearly agrees with that philosophy is Mel Kiper, Jr. of ESPN. The draft expert recently released his first-round mock on ESPN Insider (subscription required) and has the Browns selecting Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, Simmons is a powerful run stuffer who recorded 123 tackles, with 30 going for a loss, over his final two seasons with the Bulldogs. He would shore up the Cleveland run defense and make his teammates’ jobs easier along the line.

There are other factors to consider with Simmons though outside of football. The former 5-star athlete was videotaped back in 2016 punching a woman several times. Simmons apologized for the incident and had no issues while at Mississippi State.

Still, this could cause some teams to remove him from their draft boards. Having said that, Cleveland general manager has a history of taking chances with players in the past that have had similar red flags.

In Kansas City, he drafted Tyreek Hill who was arrested for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in 2014. He also took Antonio Callaway, who had a long string of incidents at the University of Florida which even led to him being suspended for all of 2017.

Dorsey has shown he’s willing to believe in second chances, and it’s feasible he could take a shot on the talented Simmons as Kiper suggests.