04-18-2025, 09:25 AM
(04-17-2025, 11:42 PM)Isaac Curtis: The Real #85 Wrote: Look, the FA class was weak. BJ Hill was a top 5 DT in FA and he is back. Ossai really came on late. Outside of Sweat, who is good, not great, I did not love any of the DE FAs. Safety was always gonna be too pricey. Burks was a great puckup at LB.team played much better last third of the season,..if we stay healthy we will be in the playoffs..I would imagine we will see DL..OL and linebacker addressed in the draft
point being the solution was always going to be, get better & cheaper through the draft and see what can be salvaged from whatcwe have with the new coaches.
At CB, CTB, Turner, and Hill all were in the green at PFF. Overall and in coverage. Not spectacular CB1 from anyone. But CB2 from all three. While I would not scoff at a CB1 type pick, I think we are OK with our top 3. Now the depth is iffy..Fig was OK-ish for a rook. Ivey & Wilson barely played. Davis is a good PS guy. Depth took a hit with Hilton gone, but we really only need +1.
At LB, Wilson was already above average overall, and borderline elite vs tthe run (7th). Burks rated really well, regular and post season, with Philly. And is more athletic. Pratt is a,very serviceable LB2/3 if you get him off the field on 3rd. Heyward flashed a teeny bit late. Njongmeta is PS level and probably gets swapped out for a more athletic cover guy, rather than a thumper. But we have 3 starter level guys at LB.
At DE, we have Trey. We overpaid a bit for Ossai, but we are gambling that his leap last year, both in terms of run D and sacks, is real. Murphy did not get a sack, but graded out as an OK+ish rotational guy. Yes, we are hoping he levels up. Sample was a perfectly fine depth guy pre-injury. And Johnson looked pretty good in limited snaps. We have 1 star + 3 rotationsl level guys and an OK rookie. While I'd love another DE to be DE2, I could live with those 5 if I have to.
The situation a S is more dire. Stone & Battle both regreessed last year and weren't good in coverage nor against the run. Anthony and Anderson played less than 20 defensive smaps between them, and those were almost all Anthony before the KC game week 2. I think we need 1, if not 2. I love the kid from Marshall as an eventual Stone replacement at FS in the 6th or as a UDFA. And I like Emmanwori, Starks, amd Watts a lot. Winston, Reid, and Bowman a bit, too. But that is probably depth.
At DT, they brought Hill back. He's solid, durable,,and versatile, if unspectacular. ESPN had Slaton has #1 in run stop win rate forca good Packers run D. Those are your starters. Jackson & Jenkins both got hurt in camp and got thrown into the fire before they were ready. They were not great,,but had some flashes. DTs take a while, usually..That is 4 guys. We usually carry 5 & play 4. Most of the FA's were $20 mil niche guys like Williams. I love Campbell, but $7 mil was high atcage 37. I think a +1 in the draft is fine.
Rounds 1-4 I'd expect 1 G, 1 S, 1 DT, and 1 DE. Plus 1 G in FA. Maybe if we see great value in a LB, OT, TE, or RB, they break in and move things back a round for the 4 big needs, or force us into FA.
I would have been more aggressive reducing Tee/Chase's cap hits, and restructuring Burrow. Thatcwould have been another $30 mil to play with. But it may be that the Browns just don't have the cashflow to do it. Or maybe Burrow won't until Trey is done. Anyway, absent that, I think they have done OK. We did not go backwards anywhere, really. Hilton is the most impactful guy we have lost, atm. And who would be 2nd? Trent Brown? ADG? Hubbard? But if you factor in a Trey extension/raise, the Practice Squad cost, 53 instead of 51, the $2 mil extra for our picks, and some cushion for rollover/injuries, most of that $23 mil in space is gone.
If we land a starting G in FA, or Blackmon at S, I'd call it a mild win if Trey is back & we draft well.
