Cleveland Browns: New staff gets to work in 7-round mock draft
Coming into the 2019 season, the Cleveland Browns had some holes on the roster, as every team does. If you would have asked most, however, the defensive backfield was not a huge area of weakness for this team. Damarious Randall was a very nice player at free safety, and while Morgan Burnett was a small question mark, the team expected him to fill the position next to Randall well.
However, expectations soon took a nosedive, as Randall has appeared to all but quit on the team in his contract year, and Burnett was placed on the Injured Reserve list in November.
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The lack of depth at safety really burdened the team, especially with the nagging injuries to the starting cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams that have hampered their production and availability all season.
The Browns could definitely use some help in the back end of their secondary, and with many of their main targets at possibly higher positions of need already off the table, they snag Grant Delpit from LSU with their first round pick.
Delpit is an athletic freak who can play a number of positions. Having experience at both safety spots, he has the athleticism and recognition skills to put himself in the right spot at the right time to make a play.
He’s excellent in run support, and can provide help in the box as an extra linebacker when needed. He is also really good in both man and zone coverage, and he loves blitzing off the edge when lined up over the slot receiver in coverage.
Delpit has been started every game in his college career, amassing 190 total tackles, with 16 of those being tackles for loss. He has eight interceptions and 23 pass breakups in three years, as well as six sacks in 38 career games. He’ll have a chance to add to those numbers as well, as LSU plays in the College Football Playoffs in the coming weeks.