This is what you get when you’ve already used your 1st Round pick! A list of the high quality and in some cases downright special players at the EDGE position who have dynamic skill sets and the Browns have zero f*cking chance to land any one of the high level players…they will all be gone by the time we pick at #49 for certain.
Our consolation prize is likely to be Omenihu in the mid rounds or possibly Joe Jackson (you will find him in my post on RDE’s) in the 2nd Round. Not sure where Dorsey values this position at the moment, as he added Olivier Vernon who can play both LB and EDGE. He drafted Chad Thomas last year as a developmental guy and also added Chris Smith (5th Round pick by Jacksonville) later in the year.
Thomas had very little production as he wasn’t ready to see the field regularly despite good production in college (Avg. 35 tackles, 11.5 TFLs and 4.5 Sacks). Oddly, Thomas was a 3rd Round pick and literally had zero stats recorded which is a pretty high pick not to make any noise at all, so the jury is cleary out on him. Reading his draft profile from last year, he lacked instincts, good hand usage and seemed to lead with his torso when trying to gain rush penetration…not a player who is ready to convert to immediate playing time at the Pro level. Needs a ton of coaching and technique improvement is key. He did not progress much in college which is often a sign of future issues growing at the next level.
Chris Smith had a few moments but he is not exactly the high quality depth you’d prefer to have. To get that normally you need to draft and develop it. After 3 years in Jacksonville where his production was near zero every single year, he bounced to Cinci where he finally had some tackles (not many) and a handful of TFL’s (4) and QB pressures (9). Just not sure why the hell we picked him up…maybe isn’t going to ever break out.
Omenihu or Jackson could be on the Browns’ board and fill a need for depth. Jackson would clearly be the superior player but at the cost of 2nd Round pick, he better play some in year 1. I think this list of guys in particular draws attention to the severe drop off in talent after Round 1 for these EDGE and DE roles. Overall terrible class due to being so dominantly top heavy.
