Cleveland Browns stockpile defense in 7-Round Mock Draft

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BOULDER, CO – NOVEMBER 17: Quarterback Steven Montez #12 of the Colorado Buffaloes is is sacked by Maxs Tupai #92, Leki Fotu #99 and John Penisini #52 of the Utah Utes in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field on November 17, 2018 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Round 3, Pick 74: Leki Fotu, NT, Utah

Back on the clock with the first of two picks in the third, the Browns again look to fill a position of need by grabbing nose tackle Leki Fotu. On the surface, the defensive line for Cleveland seems to be stacked. And in a way, they are.

Their starting edge rushers are Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon and they have Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi in the middle. All four players can get after the quarterback and both Vernon and Garrett can set the edge on the run. Where they do fall short though is their overall ability to slow down the running game.

Last season, the Browns were 30th in the NFL in stopping the run. According to NFL.com, they were gouged for 144.7 yards per game on the ground. This was a direct result of their inability to fill the gaps as running backs were routinely able to get into the second level.

Adding Fotu will help tremendously in this area. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 337-pounds, Fotu is a brick house that can destroy guards and centers. It will take more than one lineman to block him and his presence will greatly impact the Cleveland run defense.

He’s also a steal at this point since teams undervalue nose tackles as a whole. Considering they usually are off the field on third-down, that makes sense. However, teams need to be able to get to those third and longs in order to bring in the pass-rushing specialists. Fotu can help them do exactly that.

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