Review of 2020 mocks shows respect for Cleveland Browns picks

What did the mocks tell us about each Browns draftee?

The seven mock drafts all had Jedrick Wills high in the first round, somewhere between fourth overall and 16th, averaging about ninth. The Browns chose him at 10, so no controversy here.  Wills is a very, very good player in a strong class for offensive tackles.

Also, although some were wary about playing him at left tackle where he will protect the quarterback’s blind side, did they remember that Tua Tagovailoa is left-handed? That is what Wills has been doing all year, protecting the quarterback’s blindside. If there is one stat for you to recall, how about this — he gave up only one sack in his entire college career. Baker Mayfield needs to take this guy out to dinner.

Grant Delpit was ranked highest by Pro Football Focus who had him at 15th, and worst at 43rd (Sporting News), another very solid consensus. No one thought he was worse than mid-second round, no one thought he would go later than the Browns at 44th overall.

Jordan Elliott was viewed as a first-round pick by Pro Football Focus at 23rd overall, while Draft site rated him at 118th, or fourth round.

Jacob Phillips was by far the most controversial player of all the Browns draftees. Walter Football rated him as a late first-round pick, while Ryan Wilson of CBS Sportsline ranked him a seventh-round pick. Amazing.

This writer was actually very impressed by Phillips, who can probably do many of the things that Joe Schobert used to do though I expect Phillips to come out of the game when the Browns go to the nickel formation.  How can the SEC tackles leader be a seventh-round pick? The major criticism from the CBSSports site is that they believe he freelances too much, but it is impossible for this writer to understand how he could be knocked back to the seventh round. Walter Football probably got it right. This is a quality football player.

Harrison Bryant was taken by the Browns at 115th overall, though the average of seven evaluators was three spots later, at 118. That is a wash. Draftek liked him as a second-round pick, while Walter Football figured him for the fifth round.

There was more of a consensus concerning Nick Harris. Everyone thought that he was either third or fourth round, and the Browns took him in Round 5. That is hard to argue with.

Additional controversy swirls around Donovan People- Jones, a Combine superhero (44.5-inch vertical leap is the second-best among wide receivers since 2006), but who did not put up good numbers as a Michigan Wolverine. What you need to know is that Walter Football thought he was a second-round pick, and on average he was judged to be worthy of a fourth-round pick. Several Browns fans have decided to hate him, since there were good Ohio State players still on the board at that time.

The Browns picked him up an amazing 70 spots later than he was expected to survive. Cleveland’s front office should not be faulted for that. Put another way, if a super prospect was not a star for Jim Harbaugh, is that enough for you to give up on him? Heck, maybe he is a free safety waiting to happen. Give him a chance before you boo him out of town, thank you.

Overall, the Browns chose players who were highly ranked by the experts. Not only that, but the key draftees fill holes in the Browns roster. The Browns should have two or three players, on average, who will be starters from this draft in year one. The mock drafts pinpoint what the analysts really thought about each player before the draft.

Pessimists will always say that it is going to be like Sashi Brown’s drafts. But it’s a new year, all teams are undefeated and the Browns have a GM from Harvard who trained under Bill Polian. The Browns have smart young men running the front office now.

There were no reaches, no trading away of future draft picks, no blatantly stupid picks.  This is going to work out.