Retooling the Cleveland Browns 2.0: Mock draft post-Senior Bowl

The Browns dip into the world of Division III football with this draft pick, selecting offensive tackle Ben Bartch out of Saint Johns University in Minnesota. Bartch has great size, as he is listed at 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds on Saint Johns’ website. After an impressive career for Saint Johns, he started picking up draft steam in late August, and has kept the ball rolling. He took an opportunity to compete against some of the best NFL talent at the Reese’s Senior Bowl and impressed many there.

Of course, Ben Bartch’s biggest asterisk next to his name is the fact that he played Division III football. He will need to get acclimated to the level of talent he is facing in the NFL, so he is obviously not going to be a day one starter for any NFL team. Bartch’s best chance in the NFL may be to get with offensive line guru Bill Callahan.

You may have noticed my praise so far with Bill Callahan. He is, in my opinion, the best coach on this Cleveland Browns staff. He is a great offensive line coach, and the Browns need to utilize his talents while he is still with the team.

With their 7th round pick, the Browns go to the trenches once again, selecting edge rusher Alex Highsmith out of UNC Charlotte. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 242 pounds coming out of Charlotte, his draft stock right now is not nearly as high as it should be. Highsmith would be a huge steal for the Browns in the 7th round.

In my opinion, the best way to evaluate a player is to see what his opponents had to say about him. Clemson had nothing but praise for Alex Highsmith. Clemson offensive tackle Jackson Carman was quoted on saying that Highsmith was the best pass rusher he had ever faced in his 12 years of playing football. Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney also had high praise for Highsmith, comparing him to Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas.

Highsmith would join the Browns as the second Charlotte defensive linemen on the team, as Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi is also an alumnus of the school. Highsmith would provide much-needed depth behind Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon, being a huge steal for the team in the 7th round. The Browns need to improve their defensive line, and ending up with Highsmith anywhere on day three in the draft would be a great way of doing so.