Cleveland Browns add secondary help in 3-Round PFF mock

Steve Palazzolo and Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus took turns making picks in a 3-round mock draft and each selected a defensive back for the Cleveland Browns

There’s been a lot of debate as to who the Cleveland Browns should pick in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft, but it doesn’t seem like there are many who don’t think the defensive backfield is the No. 1 priority. Mock draft after mock draft has been released with Cleveland using their top pick on either a cornerback or a safety.

Now, we have another mock released with the emphasis for the Browns being secondary. A three-round mock was put out by Pro Football Focus (subscription required) and had a bit of a twist in that it was a “dueling draft” where Steve Palazzolo and Mike Renner took turns selecting players.

In that mock, each made a selection for the Browns and each one of them took a defensive back. Here are the two picks that Cleveland ended up making.

Steve Palazzolo made the call at No. 49 and took Taylor Rapp from Washington. Of course, recent news of the Morgan Burnett signing could have an impact on this pick. It likely won’t considering Burnett is over the age of 30, but then again, having a starting option could lead to the Browns choosing to address cornerback first and wait on a safety.

Should they pull the trigger here though, they won’t be disappointed. Rapp is one of the top safety prospects coming into the NFL and is an ideal fit at strong safety. There is a chance he may not even be available here, but if he does last until No. 49 he feels like one of the absolute safest picks.

At No. 80, Mike Renner played the part of John Dorsey and selected Jimmy Moreland out of James Madison. This one was a little more interesting because Moreland hasn’t been connected to the Browns the way Rapp has during the pre-draft process.

He’s also less of a household name, thanks to playing for a small school. Still, he showed incredible ball skills as he had 18 career picks, with 13 coming the past two seasons. Even more impressive, he took six of those to the house and holds his school record for both picks and pick-sixes.

Moreland is undersized at 5-foot-11 and 175-pounds but played well at the Senior Bowl and could end up being a nice player in the NFL. Cleveland could do much worse as a potential starter opposite Denzel Ward.

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