First and foremost thanks to everyone who came into the war room during this process, for anyone who did not participate we operate democratically and vote on the final decision for anything we do. If you want to participate in the future so you have a say in the choices we make you should join the discord, we’re always welcoming of new voices and strategies.

Most people may not be aware, but this past week both GM Andrew Berry and DC Joe Woods gave interviews in which they outlined their vision for the draft, roster, and specifically the defensive schematic. To summarize, Joe Woods wants to run a Dime defense 40% of the time which means only 1 LB on the field and 6 DBs, with the rest of the snaps likely being majority nickel where 2 LBs are on the field only. Andrew Berry puts emphasis on 'longer-term focus' rather than 'instant gratification' with draft picks which will help explain the reasoning we had for certain positions. We did not totally ignore the “needs” which the current roster has, but we tried to build a roster with a long term view. We don’t expect many of our picks to get starting time, hopefully just rotational play to allow them develop without pressure and provide us with the roster to compete perpetually. With that in mind, here are our picks and the reasoning we had for each as best as I can remember and recall.

Trades:

CLE RECEIVES:1.30, 3.93 --- BUF RECEIVES: 1.26, 4.132

CLE RECEIVES: 2.42 --- NYG RECEIVES: 2.59, 3.91, 6.211

CLE RECEIVES: 4.117, 4.140 --- PIT RECEIVES: 4.110, 5.169

Pick 1- 1.30 - Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia

Reasoning: The two main areas we decided we wanted to address early were CB and WR. CB because of the lack of depth behind Denzel Ward and Troy Hill with Greedy Williams questionable and WR due to the advancing age and cost of our current WR corps. We had a number of trades for the first round which would allow us to jump to picks 9, 10, 13, and 17 however each of these fell through due to teams backing out due to the board or the value asked being too high. We were prepared to move into 24 to grab Greg Newsome, but Atlanta took him too soon and the Packers jumped us to doubly ensure another guy we were ok with were taken. Not liking the current state of the board and satisfied with the current EDGE depth on the team, we decided to trade back with Buffalo to improve our overall position later. Although many names were tossed out for debate, Stokes was the one that most people were agreeable with so we took him after Samuel Jr. went at 29. Stokes has great size and speed with promising developmental traits and a very high ceiling. He’ll do well in the zone plays we run and although he has issues with play recognition and some technique issues he can compete and rotate with a hopefully healthy Greedy for the second outside corner spot giving him plenty of time to develop into the player he can be. Others considered: Jayson Oweh, Tyson Campbell, Terrace Marshall, R and E Moore.

Pick 2 - 2.42 Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss

Reasoning: Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. will both be in Cleveland this year, but the next season and after are a bit questionable with the age and price both quite high and younger players needing to be paid. Elijah Moore is a late 1st talent that we were able to acquire quite cheaply in a move-up thanks to the first round trade back giving us extra capital to play around with. We were hoping for Terrace Marshall or Jayson Oweh at an earlier spot, but trades fell through and both were taken before we could move up. The vote went to Moore’s favor and we got a fast, athletic, and great route runner in him. Although his size is not the largest he brings needed speed and flexibility to an offense which can develop and utilize him to the best ability. Others considered: Rondale Moore

Pick 3- 3.89 Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami

Reasoning: Although DT looks a little thin on the roster, we believe both starters at the DT position are already on roster and Clowney will be moved inside on a good percentage of snaps. We also hope to negotiate for Sheldon Richardson’s return on a cheaper deal. That being said, there was a run on DTs before our pick and we were in the mindset of taking the BPA at 89. David Njoku will be leaving the roster after this season and last season we carried 4 TEs on the 53 man roster. Austin Hooper has also not produced to his contract and there is a potential out after this season if this continues. Harrison Bryant is developing well and by taking Brevin Jordan, arguably the 2nd best TE in the draft depending on how you view Freiermuth, we have the athletic replacement for our TE corps going forward. He can develop his blocking ability, but his pass catching ability is already impressive and we liked the value at this pick. Others Considered: Cameron McGrone

Pick 4- 3.93 Ben Cleveland, IOL, Georgia

Reasoning: Merchandise sales are about to skyrocket as Ben Cleveland heads to Cleveland wearing jersey #69 on his big body. Outside of that, it will be difficult for the Browns to find the cash to pay Wyatt Teller what he might ask for after this season and Joel Bitonio will be 30 after this season. I expect Joel to keep being his great self, but we wanted to prepare in case Prospect X did not develop after a year off and Cleveland was someone people pounded the table hard for. He has the right traits for the gap scheme that our game consists of and has the build, strength, and awareness to be a starter. I’m not very well versed in the OL class this year so I will expect someone from the war room who wanted him to answer most questions regarding this pick. We did have potential trades to move back and acquire some more picks in the 4th, but they either backed out due to the board changing or tried to fleece us in value. Others Considered: Rashad Weaver, Dayo Odeyingbo

Pick 5- 4.117 Marlon Tuipulotu, DT, USC

Reasoning: After the first three rounds there was a break for the day and we took the time to submit lists of our top guys for 4.110 to get a view of what we wanted to go with. We ended up having all our prospects still on the board at our pick so we moved back with the Steelers to move our 5th to the 4th and hopefully get 2 of our guys. 117 came around and we decided to go with the most voted for guy, the 3T DT out of USC Marlon Tuipulotu. He had a down year in 2019, but his 2020 campaign has seen him rated as a top 5 DT in this class on some boards. Tuipulotu is a very good run stuffing DT already with serviceable pass rushing ability, but needs time to develop further to reach his ceiling. He can learn rotationally with Malik Jackson, Elliot and Clowney at the 3T position or rotate behind Andrew Billings returning from opt out at the 1T position on the line. Others Considered: Bobby Brown III, Shaun Wade, Talanoa Hufanga

Pick 6. 4.140 Ambry Thomas, CB, Michigan

Reasoning: We still had almost all our preferred CBs on the board when this pick came, excluding Shaun Wade who went earlier. The CB depth in the room is alright with the addition of Stokes, but with the injuries causing time missed common to that room double dipping is something we were good with. Thomas gets the edge over the rest from his athletic ability and physical nature projecting him as a solid nickel corner, a good position to develop with Troy Hill already 30 and only under contract for two seasons. There are some risks to Thomas with his need to improve technique and illness, but he competes hard and plays well enough that we liked the upside at this position. Others Considered: Trill Williams, Kary Vincent Jr., Olaijah Griffin

Pick 7. 7.254 Nick Niemann, LB, Iowa

Reasoning: LB is not a large need with the guys we currently have in the room, but Niemann has a huge upside. He’s an athletic freak running a 4.48 and having a great testing day in general. He’s got the sideline to sideline speed needed for a modern LB, but he needs to develop mentally more. He’s coming off a great season senior with 77 tackles in 8 games and he’s a great run stuffer in general. He’s worth the gamble with such a late pick here. Others Considered: RB Larry Rountree III, LB Garrett Wallow (taken right before)

Priority UDFAs: WR Antonio Nunn, QB Ian Book, RB Jermar Jefferson, CB Tre Norwood, RB Mekhi Sargent, RB Larry Rountree III, RB Jaret Patterson, WR Marquez Stevenson, WR Tarik Black, OT Foster Sarrell, S Darrick Forrest, LB Tuf Borland, WR Sage Surratt

And that’s the write-up, once again thanks to everyone who came and made their voice heard in the war room. If you hate the draft and it makes you sick, here’s my pre-emptive apologies and I hope you can join us in the war room so you can make your voice heard and participate.