Reliving Yesteryear: Cleveland Softball, Ted Stepien, and More Balls off Terminal Tower (Plus, a Quiz!)
April 17, 20142013-14 Cleveland Cavaliers and the #seasonofhuh – WFNY Podcast – 2014-04-17
April 17, 2014Fans of Johnny Manziel will be happy with the latest from Mel Kiper Jr. Though laced with caveats, the fluffy-haired draftnik’s latest mock not only has the Cleveland Browns selecting the first quarterback in the 2014 NFL Draft, but making that player one Johnny Football, the polarizing passer out of Texas A&M, with the trio of South Carolina’s Jadaveon Clowney, Auburn’s Greg Robinson and Clemson’s Sammy Watkins going first, second and third, respectively.
Manziel is not my top-rated QB, but he is the QB I believe (right now) is likeliest to go this high, as I believe a team like Cleveland, with a number of draft assets and a QB on the roster it feels can create a bridge to a young starter, is in a good scenario to take a chance on Manziel’s ceiling. The Browns owning the No. 26 pick as well as an early second-rounder gives them a chance to take a player like Watkins here if available and consider a QB later, but this is how I see it as of right now.
Regarding the other quarterbacks, Kiper has UCF’s Blake Bortles going eighth to the Minnesota Vikings, but the “Big 3” officially becomes the “Big 2 and Derek Carr” (as many had been hinting) with Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater falling to the first pick on the second day, leading to quite the haul for the Houston Texans. Carr was nabbed 2oth overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
For the Browns’ second first-round selection, Kiper jumps aboard the cornerback bandwagon and pegs Cleveland with Virginia Tech’s Kyle Fuller.
Depending on which game you’re watching, you could walk away thinking Fuller is as good as or better than any cornerback in this draft, and the Browns can take him expecting a player who will contribute early at a position where they lack enough depth behind Joe Haden. Fuller has good size at 6 feet tall, and not only plays fast, but gets off the ground well to challenge high-point throws against taller pass-catchers. If Cleveland goes another route at No. 4, this is obviously a slot where the Browns could go with a QB.
And to help quench the thirst of the wideout-hungry fans, Kiper closes things out with Fresno State’s Davante Adams being taken with the team’s second-round selection. Adams is a 6-foot-1-inch, sure-handed athlete who helped Carr get bumped in to the top 20.
Consensus appears to have Cleveland pegged with some combination of a quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback and offensive lineman being taken very early. While there will likely be countless mocks to unfold between today and the NFL Draft, it appears that the Browns should leave the second day with at least three of four needs having been tackled.
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(Photo: Thomas Campbell/USA TODAY Sports)
15 Comments
aw, forget all this bird cage liner, I’m more interested in Mel’s routine just 3 weeks from the draft. Is he already polishing his zingers or just now meditating on them? When does he skype with the hair guy? Already built his basement out into a perfect replica of this year’s studio set and voiding only into the catheter? Wanna ask his wife: when does he tell her “if it’s 6:30 and there’s no mac and cheese down here yet we have to anticipate calls are being made right now about mu shu delivery.”
Goose bumps, baby.
Man, I can’t wait to see where his darts land over the next 3 weeks. With such high accuracy rate, these guys are so reliable.
While reading this I envision him in the darkened basement…Riders On The Storm on permanent replay…
let me get this straight: bridgwater is both his top rated QB and projected as a second round pick.
this is called having it both ways and with a smidge of c.y.a.
What are things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
I would watch a McShay-Kiper buddy comedy.
We’re obviously not the only ones affected by pushing the draft back a month.
http://screencrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/dumb-and-dumber.jpg
Just like that! But with draft boards!!
Your uptick broke or something buddy?
I was thinking more along these lines…
“And I said Jamarcus Russell was a can’t miss prospect. The horror. The horrrrrror…”
Wow you must think a lot of Kiper and McShay to pull that off at least with mine they couldn’t do much worse. And there’s a real life sequel.
SO I WIN!
yeah, it’s B.S. i’ll admit it is fun to consider the Texans getting to add Clowney & Bridgewater.
This is actually good news because I don’t want me any JFF.