Retooling the Cleveland Browns 3.0: Pre-Combine mock draft

I had previously mentioned that the Browns needed some depth on the defensive line, and selecting Khalid Kareem here in the third round would be a great piece to add to the Browns top-heavy unit. With Olivier Vernon’s contract up at the end of the season, Kareem could even establish himself as a starter by 2021.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 265-lbs, Kareem has great size to be a valuable defensive end prospect in the NFL. While he did not produce insane numbers at Notre Dame, He still had 13 sacks and 26 tackles for loss over his collegiate career.

He’s probably not going to have a pro bowler caliber career, but those types of talents are hard to find late on day two in the NFL draft. Kareem is a safe pick to make as I could see him having a very long NFL career as a productive backup or a fringe starter.

This year’s draft class, in my opinion, isn’t very deep in terms of star talent at the defensive end position. That doesn’t bode well for the Cleveland Browns, so grabbing one of the few actually good depth pieces here in the 3rd round would be great for the team.

Behind Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon, Chad Thomas is the only defensive end on the Browns roster who in my opinion is a valuable asset at his role. Thomas proved to be a valuable backup last season, notching four sacks and six tackles for loss when the Browns needed him to step in as a starter. I could see Khalid Kareem coming in and stepping ahead of Chad Thomas in the Browns defensive end rotation, though.