Cleveland Browns Scribbles: John Dorsey looking for more from (2018) draft – Terry Pluto - cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Scribbles in my Cleveland Browns notebook while listening to John Dorsey’s pre-draft press conference:

1. The Browns don’t draft until the 49th pick – that’s the second round. Who knows what they’ll do with that pick, other than Dorsey has an interest in Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons. He’d be a certain first-rounder, but he had ACL knee surgery.

2. I was fascinated to hear Dorsey talk about some almost forgotten players from his 2018 draft. Fans know how first-rounders Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward have emerged as future stars. The same with second-rounder Nick Chubb.

3. But Dorsey is a scout at heart. He wants the Browns not only to win, but have enough young talent coming in the next few years to remain a contender. That was behind his comments about Antonio Callaway, Chad Thomas and Austin Corbett.

4. A left tackle at Nevada, Corbett was the first pick in the second round of the 2018 draft. He had a brief training camp trial at left tackle, but that didn’t work. Like most teams, the Browns projected Corbett as a guard and possibly a center. Corbett sat behind guards Joel Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler last season.

5. I believe Dorsey picked Corbett thinking at some point, he would trade Zeitler. The Browns thought his $12.5 million contract was hefty for a guard. That happened, as Zeitler was part of the Odell Beckham/Olivier Vernon deal with the Giants.

6. Corbett will go into training camp with the first shot at starting at Zeitler’s right guard spot. The Browns took some criticism for taking Corbett with the 33rd pick, then he seldom played.

7. Dorsey on Corbett: “I think that he is going to make tremendous strides here in the 2019 season. Nothing is given in this thing . . . but I think he’s going to stand up to the challenge."

8. Dorsey stressed competition, and he signed Chicago Bears guard Bryan Witzmann as a free agent. He started 20 games in the last two season for the Bears. If Corbett falters, the 28-year-old Witzmann is a viable option.

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Austin Corbett has a wide open road to start at right guard. Photo by John Kuntz / cleveland.com.

9. Dorsey brought up Callaway’s name when talking about receivers “with some juice.” The talented 4th rounder is sort of forgotten in the hype over Beckham joining Jarvis Landry to start at receiver. The Browns also have the reliable Rashard Higgins to catch passes.

10. Callaway is fast. He sat out the 2017 at Florida because of some off-field issues. So he was rusty and raw when coming to the Browns. He still caught 43 passes for a 13.6 average – five for TDs.

11. In the understandable excitement about acquiring Beckham, it’s easy to ignore the fact he missed 16-of-32 games in the last two years because of injuries. In his 5-year career, he has played all 16 games once. The Browns need depth.

12. I’d like to see more of Callaway in the return game. He averaged 12.2 yards as a punt returner. The Browns are looking for a return man after trading Jabrill Peppers to New York.

13. This from Ben Cooper of Profootballfocus.com (PFF): “Only first-round picks DJ. Moore and Calvin Ridley had more yards after the catch as rookies than Callaway.” The Browns love that YAC (Yards After Catch) stat. Callaway had three receptions for more than 40 yards.

14. Dorsey also brought up third-rounder Chad Thomas, the defensive end from Miami who played only 22 snaps last season. The front office thought Thomas deserved more playing time, but former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had another opinion.

15. Dorsey on Thomas: "Chad is a very talented football player. Usually, guys in the first year into their second year make exponential strides and growth. I see him getting a lot of playing time this year. I could see him getting some rotational playing time and really developing into a really good football player.”

16. The Browns have Myles Garrett and Vernon and starting defensive ends. They traded defensive Emmanuel Ogbah to Kansas City for safety and special teams player Eric Murray. That opens a door for Thomas to earn playing time.

17. Dorsey dodged questions about Duke Johnson’s future, which makes sense. Who knows if there is a good trade to be made for the running back, who has asked the team to trade him. The Browns do like Dontrell Hilliard, an undrafted running back from Tulane they signed last season. It’s possible they view him as a backup to Chubb, if Johnson is traded.

18. Don’t be surprised if the Browns take a running back low in the draft -- they believe you can find talented backs in the final few rounds. Dorsey praised Kareem Hunt, who is suspended for the first eight games. The GM said Hunt is doing everything they ask “in and out of the building.”

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2019-04-19 13:42:00Z
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