Cleveland Browns have too many draft picks

Moves that make sense for the Cleveland Browns in the late rounds

There are some things that can be done with late-round picks that do not result in plugging up the roster with draft duds. The most obvious move would be to package picks from rounds 5, 6, and 7 to try to move up in some other round. Tell you what, give me a late fourth-round pick or even a future-year fourth-round pick and you have a deal.

The trial-and-error process with an open roster spot should be preferred over the late-round draft picks in this season’s uncertain draft environment.

Another class of moves would be to draft positions that do not inflate the roster; namely, fullback, kicker, punter, or long snapper. These positions do not increase the roster spots at the position.

The guy either beats out the incumbent or gets cut, but the problem of tying up roster spots is avoided.  The Browns have drafted two kickers — Zane Gonzales and Austin Seibert — and both times they have had injury problems.

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. It just did not work out.

Injuries are difficult if not impossible to predict. Anyway, the idea is that you are supposed to be willing to cut the late-round picks if they are not actually better than the incumbent, rather than protecting them and cutting more talented players to save the late-round draft picks.

Drafting a fullback would force a summer camp showdown between incumbent Andy Janovich and the rookie. It would be hard for the rookie to unseat the veteran. However, this can only work if it is a late sixth or seventh-round pick that the front office is willing to cut if the coaching staff prefers to stay with Andy Janovich, who is a true stud fullback.

Years ago, the Browns gambled a fourth-round pick on a fullback named Owen Marecic who wound up pursuing a career in sports medicine. The main issue was that the fourth round is too early unless the team has already made up its mind to cut the incumbent, which is definitely not the case with Janovich.

Hence, if they want to bring in competition, wait till the sixth or seventh round because Janovich will probably win it, and the team may have to try to sneak the rookie onto the practice squad.

This analyst believes that the Browns should still have the flexibility to sign about three to five undrafted free agents out of training camp this season. This will be the richest group of undrafted free agents in history, so they need to have open roster spots available to try some players for a few weeks, cut the ones that do not work, and re-load.

Undrafted free agents are almost as useful as the draft, so the Browns should not close their roster with marginally talented players too soon.