Cleveland Browns: Garrett Bradbury a good option in Round 2

Will he be a Brown?

Garrett Bradbury is highly ranked by some draft analysts. Dawg Pound Daily’s own Cory Kinnan has him listed in his top fifteen players in the draft. Kinnan has him placed as his twelfth overall prospect. But being the twelfth overall prospect does not mean he will be drafted in the top 15. The NFL Draft is a place where people do crazy things.

I believe top-15 overall is too high for Bradbury. He’s a good player, but he has flaws. He excelled against weaker opponents. But against better opponents, some of his balance, strength and quickness issues were exposed. In the NFL, those weaknesses will only be exacerbated by bigger, quicker and stronger defensive linemen. A first round pick should be able to at least hold their own against those better players. Bradbury is not there yet.

I believe he is either a late first round pick (irrespective of talent) or early second round pick. If Bradbury falls into the second round, the Browns should begin conversations to trade up to draft him. The Browns need depth at center. Bradbury can block at the second level with the best. His pass blocking IQ is there. He will need help with the more physically dominant defensive linemen then AFC North has to offer. But after a year of NFL strength and conditioning, he could easily start at center in year two.

With J.C. Tretter’s injury history, it might be a good idea to start looking into his replacement. If, and this is a big “if”, Bradbury falls. The Browns should absolutely be interested.