THE DAILY BLOVIATION
Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
A new week dawns as we turn the corner towards the NFL Draft, which we eagerly await here at the OBR. Perhaps not as eagerly as we did before 2022, when we still had something known as a "first-round draft pick," but eagerly nonetheless. It's our chance to see how our approach to dealing with the draft (RAS, team guidelines) compares to the general approach (educated guessing) and whether we've narrowed down the team's focus.
Regardless of whether we have, it will be a grand festival of content and live shows here at the OBR, as we expect a lot of activity on our forums and in our video chat rooms throughout the weekend. My wife is doing the smart thing and leaving town entirely throughout the weekend, leaving me alone with my video streams, computers and single-minded obsessiveness.
From there, we careen straight into off-season team activities, which hopefully will start revealing hints of what the reconstituted coaching staff intends to do offensively in 2024. We'll get this 2024 season off to a little bit of a trot before we break into a full run in late July.
Between now and then, expect that there will be changes here at the OBR, which I will announce when the time is right. Many will be behind the scenes, but after being huddled with advisors, long-time site fans, and others, I'm truly excited about our next steps. Let's freaking go!
5. A GUARD AT 54?
With no glaring needs, Browns would be wise to take a guard at 54 - (morningjournal.com)
Jeff Schudel's column is perhaps titled by his editor a bit more aggressively than it really reads, as Schudel is not advocating a guard to exclude all other possibilities. But he does make a good case here that the team's offensive line situation does present a situation where the team could use an infusion of talent at the position for the future. He looks specifically at Christian Haynes of Connecticut as Mason McCormick of South Dakota State as possibilities at the position.
4. HARD ROAD AHEAD
2024 NFL Strength Of Schedule, Teams Ranked for Regular Season - (sharpfootballanalysis.com)
I looked at this chart and immediately thought, "Look out for the Bengals."
Warren Sharp's site took the Vegas odds plus team projected win totals and calculated the hardest schedules in the NFL. It's no surprise that the teams in the AFC North, which have to play each other in a brutal gauntlet, are crowded into the top five hardest schedules. The Steelers are supposedly dealt the toughest hand, the Browns the third toughest, with the Ratbirds right behind them.
Strangely, however, the last-place Bengals can be found all the way down the list with the sixth-easiest schedule in the league, indicating that their non-division schedule must really, really be easy.
More reassuring, however, is that these pre-season predictions are rarely even close to correct, as teams annually surprise by being far worse or far better than expected due to the value of drafted players, the impact of injuries, and myriad other factors. I'm not arguing that a pre-season strength of schedule means nothing, but it's not enough to get me into a full-fledged sense of panic quite yet. I'll save that for when I run out of Extra Toasty Cheezits, peanuts, and beer. Then, it is on.
3 GET OUT YOUR WALLETS
NFL’s Expanded Helmet Options Come With a Perk: More Merch - (frontofficesports.com)
The Browns added a white helmet to the mix last year, a change that had been a long time coming because of the NFL's concern over helmet safety and their adjoining concern about adding more varieties of helmets to the mix. The helmets were a hit with fans, who loved the retro look.
Well, the Browns have until May 1 to tell the NFL if they want to add a new helmet to the mix in 2025. If so, it will open up more merchandising opportunities for the team, addressing their serious issue of not having all the money in Northeast Ohio. There's money out there that does not belong to the team, much to the organization's dismay, and expanding the wardrobe and merchandising opportunities will help resolve that oversight.
As stated many times on this site, I'm not a "get excited about uniform tweaks" guy. Anything that detracts from the team's classic look gets a side-glance from me. Your mileage may vary.
No logos. No dogs. Thanks.
2. CONSOLIDATED GUESSES
One of these 12 players will be selected by the Browns at No. 54 - (thelandondemand.com, paywalled)
Who are the Browns projected to pick in 2024 NFL draft? What mock drafts say - (beaconjournal.com)
OK, let's admit something as a site that does mock drafts and where the webdork used to spend days and days hovering over something called a "Mock Draft Muncher": Mock Drafts are fun. They're fun, like comic book multiverses and alternate histories in sci-fi movies. It's always neat paging down (way down in recent years) an article to see who some goofus says the Browns will pick.
My years with the Muncher convinced me their accuracy tends to completely vanish after around pick number five if it takes that long. Back in 2022, I—a webdork who performed no in-depth draft study—did better in terms of accuracy than the most respected mock drafters on the planet, which is a total joke. But if you want to read summaries of mock drafts, we provide them here, and other Browns sites do as well. There's no harm.
1. BROWNS TAKE MORE VISITS
Insider notes on 2024 NFL Draft build-up: T'Vondre Sweat's stock takes a hit, Raiders decision-makers split over plans for QB - (sportskeeda.com)
Mississippi St. CB Decamerion Richardson is scheduled to visit Monday with the Patriots. By the end of this week, he will have visited with 10 NFL teams, including the Broncos, Jaguars, Chargers, Colts, Browns, Eagles, 49ers and Texans.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 15, 2024
Tony Pauline's article on SportsKeeda.com indicates that the Browns are among the teams that spent "extensive time" with UAB WR Tejhuan Palmer on his Pro Day as he begins to get some attention that could land him a Day Three draft selection. He's going to visit the Browns on an Official 30 visit, per Pauline.
Also fairly well known is that CB Decamerion Richardson has visited with the Browns and several other teams, per Adam Schefter. Richardson is 6'2", 188, with a 4.34 40 time. He's not considered a top available corner, but he is a developmental prospect with excellent tackling skills.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
NFL’s Bitonio, Corbett bring smiles to youth football players at Wolf Pack camp Saturday - (rgj.com)
I was going to go with this story about Joel Bitonio helping out at a youth football camp, but the nickel-scrounging freaks at the Reno Gazette-Journal put it behind a paywall for some reason. So, that's not really uplifting.
Man who protected little boy from flying puck at Cleveland Monsters game has been found - (fox8.com)
Here we go! Here's a great story about a man with a fast reaction time helping to save a four-year-old boy from being smacked with a puck at a Monsters game the other day. The mother, Asia Davis, was so grateful that she posted a TikTok looking for the man and found him! Andrew Podolak is the hero who managed to deflect the puck, helping to save the youngster from injury. He, the mother and the child participated in the puck drop during the team's final home game.
I can relate to the mother, who decries that she has the "reaction time of a sloth," because my glacial speed in responding to fast-breaking events has been recorded many times. Nothing is more stunning than how I managed to raise three children to adulthood without any of them getting injured due to my tortoise-like reflexes. Props to Andrew's heroics and props to Asia (the Mom) for making the effort to find him.
OBR ARTICLES FROM YESTERDAY
Top Cleveland Browns Draft Targets Cornerback - (Jack)
Cleveland Browns News 4/14: Prospect Visits, More Prospect Visits and Pay that JOK - (Barry)
The Cleveland Browns Mock Draft RoundUp 2024 - (Brad W)
EXCLUSIVE Meet 2024 NFL Draft Prospect Brian Jenkins - (Noah)
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When not randomly out-guessing Mel Kiper, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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