Tag: Nick Harris

Nick Harris: What the Browns are getting in their fifth-round pick

Nick Harris: What the Browns are getting in their fifth-round pick

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With the 160th pick in the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select Washington center, Nick Harris. Judging from most early reactions, fans are a bit confused by the addition of the All-PAC-12 center, but the value was too good to pass up and Nick Harris is going to surprise some with how fast he sees the field.

Strengths: Harris was named All-PAC-12 in back-to-back seasons after moving to center from guard, but he even played guard at a high level before the transition. At 6-1 and 302 pounds, Harris has fine size and extremely quick feet for his size. He looks for extra work at the second level and has unique lateral movement skills. He has been compared to current Las Vegas Raiders center Rodney Hudson, and this feels spot on.

Weaknesses: I am giddy writing this piece as Harris has an extremely high ceiling, but he does not look like it with an awkward, somewhat sloppy body and short limbs. We mentioned that his size wasn’t an issue, but he has been beaten by swim moves likely due to his lack of ideal height.

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Draft analysts love the Browns selecting Nick Harris in the 5th round

Draft analysts love the Browns selecting Nick Harris in the 5th round

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Draft analysts in the media certainly don’t have a 100 percent hit rate, but the consensus among the draft media is that the Browns nailed it by selecting Washington center Nick Harris in the fifth round.

Nearly everyone loves the pick. Harris is an agile, technically sound center who can also play guard. That’s a perfect fit for what the Browns are looking for and his movement ability nicely blends with Kevin Stefanski’s zone scheme.

But don’t just take our word for it…

We here at Browns Wire strongly approve, too…

Browns select Washington C Nick Harris in the fifth round

Browns select Washington C Nick Harris in the fifth round

The Cleveland Browns bolstered the offensive line depth chart with fifth-round pick, Nick Harris. Cleveland selected the Washington center with the No. 166 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Harris comes to Cleveland after starting 40 games across the interior offensive line for the Huskies. He started out at right guard but spent the last two seasons as the starting center. Harris earned first-team All-PAC-12 honors in both 2018 and 2019.

The 6-1, 302-pounder performed at the Senior Bowl in January.

Falcons Wire 2020 mock draft: Final edition

With the offensive skill positions basically set, it’s the play of the offensive line that will get Atlanta to that next step.

The NFL Draft begins tomorrow, and the Falcons have a few picks that could help them start 2020 better than they did in 2019. Adding some talent to the defensive line, secondary and linebacker corps may be exactly what the team needs to really take that next step.

With the offensive skill positions basically set, it’s the play of the offensive line that will get Atlanta to that next step. The team has talent at four of the five starting positions, however, adding a true left guard or swing tackle late in the draft would be useful.

Round 1 (Pick 16):  DT Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina

South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

The Falcons defensive line isn’t anywhere close to set despite the addition of Dante Fowler and re-signings of Tyeler Davison and Steven Means. With Deadrin Senat and Grady Jarrett in the defensive tackle rotation, Allen Bailey and John Cominsky as rotational defensive linemen, and edge defenders Takkarist McKinley and Austin Larkin rounding out the line, something feels like it’s missing.

Javon Kinlaw from the University of South Carolina is a perfect fit for the Falcons’ defense as a 1-technique defensive tackle who could also slide over and play some 3-technique.. The 6-foot-5, 325-pound nose tackle would instantly bring exceptional pass rush and run-stuffing abilities. In any other draft, he’s closer to a top-5 pick than a No. 16 overall pick. Kinlaw would give Atlanta three insanely talented starters up front.

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Jets Wire’s 2020 NFL Mock Draft 4.0: New York’s 7-round projection

Jets Wire’s Mock Draft 4.0 has New York landing Louisville OT Mekhi Becton at 11 and Penn State WR K.J. Hamler at 48.

With the draft this coming Thursday, we at the Jets Wire have another mock ready to go. This projection focuses strictly on the Jets and what they could do through all seven rounds.

The Jets find themselves in an interesting position with the 11th pick. At this point, they seem destined to take a tackle or a receiver. What they do in the first round may telegraph their plans for the rest of the draft.

In this mock draft, New York is able to add four potential starters on offense through its first four selections. By bulking up on offense, the Jets are putting Sam Darnold in a better position to succeed. This mock draft focuses less on the defensive side of the ball, as Gregg Williams has proven he can do a lot with a little and Joe Douglas indicated that free agency will pick back up after the draft commences.

Let’s take a look at who we think the Jets could take in Douglas’ first draft as the team’s general manager in Jets Wire’s fourth mock draft.

1st Round:

11. Mekhi Becton | OT | Lousiville

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Despite having a drug test flagged at the NFL combine, Mekhi Becton should be one of the Jets’ primary targets. He has the positional versatility and mobility at 6-foot-7, 367 pounds to play both offensive tackle positions and can step int the starting lineup right away.

A wide receiver is tempting here, but an offensive tackle is the smart and safe move. Becton was the only one of the top offensive tackles to visit the Jets multiple times in the pre-draft process before visits were shut down due to the pandemic, so New York has gotten plenty of time to vet him.

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Will the Seahawks pick an interior offensive lineman in NFL draft?

It’s hard to predict what the Seahawks will do in the NFL draft, but adding a center/guard seems unlikely following their free agency moves.

Even though we have been doing it for months, it’s always hard to predict what the Seattle Seahawks will do in the NFL draft.

Their two most recent first round selections, Rashaad Penny in 2018 and L.J. Collier in 2019, were hardly expected – as Penny didn’t fill a positional need and Collier was not considered a first round talent by most evaluators.

So while it’s anyone’s guess what Seattle will actually do this weekend, it does seem like the team’s moves during free agency will steer them away from taking interior offensive linemen during the draft.

The team not only signed two new center/guard types in free agency – B.J. Finney and Chance Warmack – they also re-signed Joey Hunt, Mike Iupati, Jordan Roos and Jordan Simmons, giving them 11 players capable of playing the three interior spots.

Iupati is expected to re-join Justin Britt and D.J. Fluker as starters in 2020, which doesn’t leave much room for newcomers.

Of course, Britt could be a cap casualty, as cutting him would save the team $11.4 million dollars – money they could use to pursue an upgrade on the defensive line.

Even if they make that move, Finney will likely take over as the starting center, and Iupati and Fluker will have plenty of competition to back them up, including Ethan Pocic, Phil Haynes, Jamarco Jones (if they move him inside) Demetrius Knox, Simmons, Roos and Warmack.

There are plenty of good interior linemen available for the picking, and we have profiled quite a few of them including Nick Harris, Lloyd Cushenberry, Cesar Ruiz, Tyler Biadasz and Damien Lewis.

However – unless Seattle is planning to make multiple cuts up front, it seems unlikely they’ll use an early round pick on an interior offensive lineman during the 2020 NFL draft, and even a late round pick seems like a waste unless they see some real upside.

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Atlanta Falcons Mock: Draft Week Edition

Basing the selections on pre-draft visits, schematic fit and team need, here are the six players I think Atlanta will target in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Since draft week is finally upon us, here is my final shot at predicting what the Falcons may do this year. Remember, it’s just a mock draft and there are still a ton of possibilities.

Basing the selections on pre-draft visits, schematic fit and team need, here are the six players I think Atlanta will target in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Round 1, Pick 16: CB A.J. Terrell, Clemson

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Falcons released starting cornerback Desmond Trufant at the start of free agency and as Vaughn McClure alluded to, the team is looking for his replacement. This class is seemingly front-loaded with starting talent and the Falcons may have to settle for their CB1 at pick 16 before a run on the position occurs. Clemson’s A.J. Terrell fits everything the team looks for in a cornerback, but just falls slightly short of their arm length requirement. Terrell spent 53 percent of his snaps in press coverage during the 2019 season which should catch the eyes of Raheem Morris and Dan Quinn, who are huge believers in the alignment.

In terms of body type, Terrell is slender and fast, which is historically what Atlanta has praised in its outside corners. He’s 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, with 4.42 speed, man coverage ability, blitz ability, ball-hawk ability and the ability to lead a secondary. This should make Terrell very high on the Falcons’ draft board.

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Philadelphia Eagles final 7-round mock draft

Here is our final Philadelphia Eagles 7-round mock draft as we get closer to the 2020 NFL Draft on April 23, 2020.

The Philadelphia Eagles head into the 2020 NFL Draft with some major holes on their roster, mainly at wide receiver and linebacker. After not signing one free agent pass-catcher, Eagles fans would love to see their favorite team select a receiver with the 21st overall pick.

Luckily for Eagles’ fans, the 2020 NFL Draft is almost here, with the first round set to start on Thursday, April 23, 2020, at 7:00 PM EST. This NFL Draft will be very unique because of COVID-19, so teams will be drafting from home, reminiscent of your fantasy football draft with your friends.

In our post-combine 7-round mock draft, the Eagles took former LSU wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, with the 21st overall pick, but in our post-free agency 7-round mock draft, the Eagles traded the No. 21 overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.

This is our final 7-round mock draft before the 2020 NFL Draft.

*Note: This is what we would consider doing, not what we think the Eagles will do. Also, all draft pick values are referenced from the 2020 NFL Trade Value Chart (via DraftTek.com).*

Round 1, Pick 30 (From Green Bay): Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma

*Trade*

Eagles receive: Pick 30 (620), Pick 94 (124), and Pick 136 (38) (782 total)

Packers receive: Pick 21 (800)

The expectation is that the Eagles will select a wide receiver with the 21st overall pick. If Justin Jefferson is still available at that spot, the Eagles should stay put and take the stud receiver from LSU. However, as we get closer to draft day, it seems more and more likely Jefferson will be gone, along with the other top 3 wide receivers. For that reason, the Eagles should trade down and collect some extra draft picks in a loaded draft class.

The Green Bay Packers know that their window with quarterback Aaron Rodgers is closing, so the Eagles should target them as a team they can trade back with. In this trade back, the Eagles get the Packers 1st round pick, as well as an extra 3rd and 4th rounder.

With the 30th overall pick in the first round, the Eagles take former Oklahoma linebacker, Kenneth Murray. A lot of analysts and pundits do not believe the Eagles will take a linebacker in the first round, which is fair thinking. Philly has not valued linebackers for a very long time. It has been 41 years since they have taken a linebacker the first round, but it is time for the thinking to change.

Murray would be an instant starter for the Eagles and give them the stud linebacker they have needed. Murray is so aggressive on the field and he just flies around and makes plays. He would become an instant fan favorite in Philly and give the Eagles a building block on defense.

It is also worth noting former Eagles scout and lead NFL Draft analyst for NFL Network Daniel Jeremiah had the Eagles taking Murray in his latest mock. So, yes, this may not make you happy, but the Eagles should add Murray to their defense.

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3 interior offensive linemen the Texans need to tabs on in the 2020 NFL Draft

The Houston Texans could find value picks in the 2020 NFL Draft to provide quality depth along their interior offensive line.

The Houston Texans have their starters along the offensive line for 2020, but they could use some depth and also heir apparents to right guard Zach Fulton and backups Senio Kelemete and Greg Mancz.

Mark Schofield from the Touchdown Wire compiled his 11-best interior offensive linemen for the 2020 NFL Draft. Based on that list, here are three interior offensive linemen the Texans need to keep an eye on as the draft plays out.

1. LSU’s Damien Lewis

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Lewis plays with a chip on his shoulder at 6-2, 327 pounds. It comes with the territory as a JUCO transfer from Northwest Mississippi Community College and playing in the SEC. However, Lewis’ fighter mentality is ingrained in his DNA.

“It started with me when I was young. I played in a flag football league,” Lewis said at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “It really started early with me. I had a chip on my shoulder ever since Katrina forced me back to my hometown of Canton, Miss. I really had a chip on my shoulder and I felt like I had something to prove.

“I was with my mother and three younger brothers and she almost died. I really felt like I have to do this and I have always had a chip on my shoulder. With me, you’re going to hurt my family, so I always say, ’it is me vs. you. I have to take you out.’”

Lewis has gone against the best defensive lines in college football with Alabama also residing in the SEC West with LSU. Adding Lewis might give the Texans the option to part ways with Fulton in training camp.

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New Cardinals 7-round mock draft simulation starts with different OT

What if Arizona bucks the recent mock draft trends and takes a different Offensive Tackle at Pick 8?

What if Arizona surprises everyone and goes with a different offensive tackle than many have them taking?

What if they take Andrew Thomas at number 8 overall?

This simulation looks what would happen if the Cards do just that:

Round 1: Georgia OT Andrew Thomas

(AP Photo/John Amis)

Thomas may not excite fans like the massive Mekhi Becton, or be as athletic as Tristan Wirfs, or as dominant in the run game as Jedrick Wills.

But one thing he may be more than the other top three tackles? A very safe pick.

Given the Cardinals’ history of first-round picks that have not worked out very well, safe may be good. Thomas has the potential to be a solid right tackle for years, then take over at left tackle should something happen to DJ Humphries.

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