Tag: Alex Wright

Upon Further Review: What stood out from all-22 of Browns’ win over Texans

What stood out from the all-22 view of the matchup between the Browns and Texans?

It is time for Upon Further Review, where we diagnose some things that show up once we get a birds-eye view of the game film. The Cleveland Browns won by a score of 27-14 over the Houston Texans, and it looked ugly from live viewing. The all-22 was also quite ugly, but it is always nice to add some context to what is happening outside of the broadcast view.

What stood out after digesting the coach’s film of this less-than-stellar Week 13 matchup between the Browns and Texans? Here are four bullet points, two offensively and two defensively, that made impressions on a second viewing.

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Browns’ top 10 defensive players in Week 13, per PFF

Who were the highest-graded defensive players for the Cleveland Browns against the Houston Texans this week?

Make it two weeks in a row where an opponent has failed to rush for over 100 yards despite half of them coming on the opening drives. Joe Woods has his Cleveland Browns defense playing a “bend but don’t break” mold of football over this two-game win streak, and he even saw his unit score two touchdowns on the day against the Houston Texans.

With contributions from a variety of unexpected players, the Browns were able to limit the Texans to just 14 points, with half of them coming in garbage time. Looking purely at PFF grades, who were the top ten defensive players for the Browns this past Sunday?

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Browns Rookie Stock Watch: Stock up on Martin Emerson, stock down on Perrion Winfrey

How have the rookies on the Cleveland Browns fared through the first eight games of their careers?

The Cleveland Browns are on their bye week this weekend, so this is a good time to re-evaluate the roster and take a look back at the season. We start that process today by seeing how the 2022 NFL Draft class has fared thus far through their rookie seasons.

Some have started the majority of games, some have hardly played at all, and some are just now ramping up their snap counts as they have been eased into their transition. How have these rookies handled their transition from the college game to the NFL level? We take a look here with this Browns’ rookie stock watch.

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5 Bold predictions as Browns look to advance to 3-1 vs. Falcons

What are your strongest #Browns predictions for Sunday’s game against the Falcons?

We are now just two days away from gameday as the Cleveland Browns are set to travel to take on the Atlanta Falcons. In search of a 3-1 start for the second time in year three of the Kevin Stefanski era, this should be a game in which the offense can move the football at will.

The Falcons, sitting at 1-2 on the season, are more efficient offensively than many would think. Rookie wide receiver Drake London has been among the best offensive rookies to start their careers this year, Kyle Pitts has been a threat when utilized, and veteran hybrid player Cordarelle Patterson is third in the league in rushing.

Neither defense has proven to be capable of effectively getting off of the field either. We may see some fireworks in this one. Getting ready for the game, however, here are five bold predictions as the Browns and Falcons prepare for battle.

DC Joe Woods has high praise for rookie Alex Wright

#Browns coaches are taking notice of the strides Alex Wright has made.

As the Browns are still working through the injuries of both defensive ends Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, rookie Alex Wright may have to make his second start of the season already. While the third rounder out of UAB has been tossed into the fire sooner than the team probably would have preferred, his efforts are not going unnoticed.

Defensive coordinator Joe Woods had this to say about his mammoth defensive end today:

“Alex is definitely getting better every week. He’s learning what life is like in the NFL, the players he has to go against every week. But you can see him from a technical standpoint, from a confidence standpoint improving in terms of playing the run, improving in the pass rush… he’s definitely getting better every week.”

Wright will be counted on in a big way again this week against the Atlanta Falcons, so the Browns will need that continued growth on the field.

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Browns: Looks like Alex Wright will start with Jadeveon Clowney out vs. Steelers

Jadeveon Clowney is out as the Cleveland Browns take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. This means rookie Alex Wright may be in line for the start.

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The Cleveland Browns will start third round rookie Alex Wright opposite Myles Garrett against the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has stated that Jadeveon Clowney is still reeling from rolling his ankle against the New York Jets and will need more than a short week to recover.

Also out is former third round pick Chase Winovich after playing 26 snaps on Sunday with little success. This more than likely means that seventh round rookie Isaiah Thomas will see a plethora of snaps, and Isaac Rochell looks likely to get called up from the Practice Squad on Thursday night.

The Browns need a bounce-back win in the worst way, and being down a starting pass rusher is not necessarily a great start towards preparation.

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2022 NFL draft: DE Alex Wright noted as a steal after preseason

With a preseason under their belts, Wright is one of 10 steals so far from the 2022 NFL draft:

The 2022 NFL draft lacked a lot of excitement for the Cleveland Browns. Instead of drafting with the thirteenth pick in the first round, the team traded that pick, among many others, for QB Deshaun Watson. Instead of wondering which wide receiver or defensive lineman would join a team a year removed from the playoffs, fans were left waiting for Watson’s discipline to finalize.

Then, during the draft, GM Andrew Berry traded down from their second-round selection to add more picks later in the draft, denying fans even more.

Finally, Berry and the Browns got active in the third round with three selections. CB Martin Emerson, DE Alex Wright and WR David Bell added to positions where Cleveland had immediate and long-term needs.

Of the three, Wright was seen as the one with the highest upside but needing the most development coming from lesser competition at UAB. With preseason in the books, Wright is now listed as one of 10 steals in this year’s draft:

Wright already showed throughout preseason that he’s capable of handling a higher level of competition after playing at UAB. Physically, the rookie edge-defender is still developing a plan of attack, particularly as a pass-rusher. But he’s consistently worked his hands when getting after opposing quarterbacks and showed the ability to stack and shed to set the edge. His preseason flashes portend an individual capable of taking over a series.

With Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and Chase Winovich ahead of him on the depth chart, and fellow rookie Isaiah Thomas competing with him, Wright will still get a chance to grow into a bigger role. In 2022, Wright’s quick adaption to the NFL will allow the Browns to rotate their ends more often and keep them fresher without as much of a drop-off as they had last year.

When the offseason started, defensive end was seen as a need position. At that time, it was Garrett and a lot of question marks. With Clowney returning, the addition of Winovich and draft picks Wright and Thomas looking good in preseason, defensive end is now a position of strength and depth for the team.

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8 biggest questions entering Browns training camp

The 8 biggest questions that need to get answered in Browns training camp

Cleveland Browns training camp kicks off with the rookies reporting on Friday and the full team convening shortly thereafter. The Browns head to Berea for Kevin Stefanski’s third season as head coach with quite a few questions.

The biggest of those is what happens with QB Deshaun Watson, but that’s a greater question than can be answered in training camp. My questions for the Browns deal more with things that can be resolved in training camp and the three preseason games.

Here are the top questions for the Browns to answer on the practice field in training camp.

Browns sign two of their nine draft picks to four year deals

Two of the team’s third-round picks are now locked up for four years. Just seven more to sign with rookie minicamp on Friday:

The Cleveland Browns start rookie minicamp on Friday going through the weekend with OTAs starting a week and a half later. With rookie contracts limited by the wage scale agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, it is very rare that many hold out. A lot of teams have already signed a vast majority of their rookie class before their minicamps.

There are only a few details including things like offset language and how the contract is structured that agents can negotiate with teams. The few holdouts in the past few years have been with high selections in the first round and all of them got deals done.

The Browns are likely to get most of their rookie class signed through this weekend. It started with two of their third-round picks inking their deals. Alex Wright and David Bell are now locked into their four-year deals:

A few hours before the NFL releases the full 2022 schedule, seven Cleveland draft picks remain unsigned:

  • CB Martin (MJ) Emerson
  • DT Perrion Winfrey
  • K Cade York
  • RB Jerome Ford
  • WR Michael Woods II
  • DE Isaiah Thomas
  • OL Dawson Deaton

In case you missed it, with the schedule release on the horizon, we took a look at the quarterbacks on the Browns schedule this year that Emerson, Wright, Winfrey and Thomas will try to defend next year.

Alex Wright: What the Browns are getting in their 3rd round DE

Alex Wright: @joshkeatley16 looks at what the Browns are getting in their 3rd round edge:

The Cleveland Browns did not have a first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft and despite many fans clamoring for them to trade back in to snag a star, Cleveland made the decision to create no chaos on the first day.

On the second day, Browns fans grew even angrier, because the franchise elected to trade back from their first draft selection, but once they did make a selection they made some noise.

We already covered what the Browns are getting in Martin Emerson and now we move on to who their next selection was. With the 78th selection in the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected Alex Wright, defensive end from UAB.

Now let’s see what he can do.