Multiple potential Browns draft targets considered ‘overrated’ by NFL execs

The Cleveland Browns could a go a variety of ways in the 2019 NFL Draft, but multiple NFL executives considers some potential targets as overrated.

Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey is one of the best in the league at preventing leaks from his organization and keeping his plans close to the vest.

He showed that prior to the 2018 NFL Draft as no one was able to guess who the Browns were going to select with the first overall selection. It did not come out until hours before the draft that Baker Mayfield was Dorsey’s guy.

Heading into the 2019 off-season, it is once again unknown what approach Dorsey will take to add talent this off-season. In the 2019 NFL Draft, they could go multiple directions. It would not be a surprise to see Dorsey take a best player available approach and select the best player on their board with the 17th overall selection.

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There are two positions that the Browns are expected to target in the off-season: Offensive tackle and defensive tackle. If they decide to wait until the NFL Draft to address these positions, they will have several talented options in the first couple of rounds.

However, there have been several players that have been listed as potential targets for the Browns in the draft. One name that was being connected to the Browns was Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. But after tearing his ACL during training, no one knows how far his stock has dropped.

Two other names that have been connected to the Browns in the draft are Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and Ole Miss left tackle Greg Little. Despite multiple outlets believing that both players are first round talents, there are NFL executives that believe both players are overrated.

On Feb. 15, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller shared his most recent scouting notebook. A part of his notebook was to have several NFL scouts and executives tell him who they believe are the most overrated prospects. Three names that could be potential targets for the Browns, Little, Lawrence, and Wisconsin offensive tackle David Edwards, all made the list. Here is one scouts opinion on Little.

"“Oof…this guy is just bad. I don’t know what to tell you. He doesn’t move well enough to play left. He’s too lazy. I laugh every time he’s in the first round of a mock draft.” — NFC pro scout"

The opinions on Lawrence were that teams are no longer drafting nose tackles high in the draft, and his size makes him an obvious candidate to play nose tackle. The other opinion of Lawrence was that he was never the best defensive linemen during his time at Clemson.

For Edwards, the idea around him is that he is a solid offensive linemen because the University of Wisconsin breeds top NFL offensive linemen. However, the scout quoted in Miller’s notebook says Edwards is just an average player.

These three players are expected to be first round or second round selections. But if the rest of the league shares the same opinions of the scouts in Miller’s notebook, then they could be surprising players that fall in the draft.

With the Browns surprising everybody in the 2018 NFL Draft with their two first round selections, they could make a couple of selections that shock the league once again. If they are targeting Edwards, Little, and Lawrence, then they may surprise people around the league once again if they select one of the trio early in the draft.