Tag: Takkarist McKinley

Browns 2021 NFL Draft: History of the No. 26 pick

Some have been great, some have been rough

In a pleasant turn of events, the Cleveland Browns made it late into the 2020 NFL postseason and are no longer picking in the top half of the NFL Draft. This means the Browns no longer have the luxury of selecting players who have few question marks on their profile and must rely heavily on their scouting and analytics teams.

Additionally, Browns fans need to adjust their expectations on the type of player that comes with picks later in the first round. The Browns will pick at No. 26, much later than usual.

Here is a look back at who went at the 26th spot in the NFL Draft over the last ten years:

2020 – Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers

2019 – Montez Sweat, DE, Washington Football Team

2018 – Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons

2017 – Takkarist McKinley, DE, Atlanta Falcons

2016 – Paxton Lynch, QB, Denver Broncos

2015 – Breshad Perriman, WR, Baltimore Ravens

2014 – Marcus Smith, DE, Philadelphia Eagles

2013 – Datone Jones, DE, Green Bay Packers

2012 – Whitney Mercilus, DE, Houston Texans

2011 – Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

The 26th pick over the last 10 years has been a mixed bag. Jordan Love didn’t start a game in 2020 behind Aaron Rodgers. Takk McKinley just signed with the Browns on a one-year, prove-it deal. Paxton Lynch is a free agent and hasn’t played since 2017.

Adjusting expectations will be important for everyone as the Browns move towards being a winning organization.

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Mock draft Monday: 7 full rounds of Browns choices

Mock draft Monday: 7 full rounds of Browns choices

The 2021 Cleveland Browns roster, after several days of free agency, is finally starting to come into focus. The team’s probable draft options are becoming more apparent.

Here is a quick look at their free-agency haul through the first few days of the signing period:

Additions

SS John Johnson

CB Troy Hill

DE Takkarist McKinley

ILB Anthony Walker Jr.

WR Rashard Higgins

K Cody Parkey

OLB Malcolm Smith

DT Malik Jackson

OT Greg Senat

OLB Elijah Lee

WR Jojo Natson

Now for the picks!

My Draft (without trades)

Using PFF’s mock draft simulator, I feel like this draft makes a lot of sense for the Cleveland Browns as Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski continue to mold the roster with impact players.

Breaking down the draft, Kwity Paye immediately enters the Browns starting lineup opposite Myles Garrett. His addition is important for the long-term and in the short-term, the Browns can give him time to develop behind Tak McKinley. Ifeatu Melifonwu brings a different dimension to the secondary with his length and athleticism. While Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams aren’t slouching athletically, neither player has the size to match-up with bigger wide receivers.

Jamin Davis could be considered outside the norm for the Browns, who don’t invest heavily in the linebacker position, but his range and overall athleticism can be used to better cover tight ends in and out of the division. While Davis was a reach, Amari Rodgers can be considered a steal. Rodgers has good explosiveness, great hands, and could be a replacement for Jarvis Jandry after the 2021 season. According to most boards, Milton Williams would be considered a reach, but his most recent athletic testing might change that viewpoint,

Wrapping up the draft, both Chubba Hubbard and JaCoby Stevens offer the Browns improvements to their depth and team athleticism. Hubbard is an Olympic-level sprinter who has an amazing production profile at Oklahoma State. Stevens was a former five-star recruit from high school and will give Joe Woods an athletic ball of clay he can mold. With the final pick, the Browns selected Drew Dalman. While he isn’t a massive athlete, Dalman is technically sound and shows the ability to thrive in an interior zone-blocker.

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The Browns Wire Podcast: Free agency review and Browns all-time defensive draft

Reviewing the Cleveland Browns’ moves in free agency so far and drafting an All-Time defensive team.

Who belongs on the Cleveland Browns all-time defensive squad?

Donovan James (@DonJamesSport) & Josh Keatley (@JoshKeatley16) draft their all-time Cleveland Browns team & continue the March QB Madness tournament. It’s a great trip down memory lane for Browns fans and fun to go through the discussion and decision-making process.

Give the Browns Wire Podcast a like on Facebook and follow along with us on Twitter. It’s also available on all of your favorite podcast apps, including iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher and Spotify. Thanks for listening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9jEdxzGqxs

Browns agree to terms with DE Takk McKinley

Browns agree to terms with DE Takk McKinley on a one-year deal

The Cleveland Browns have jumped back into the free agency frenzy. The team agreed to terms with free agent DE Takk McKinley. Per Jonathan Jones of CBS, it’s a one-year deal.

The deal, which will not be official until Wednsday after 4 p.m. ET, is for up to $4 million for McKinley, who had himself an interesting 2020 season.

The No. 26 overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft by Atlanta, McKinley played just four games and dealt with injuries during his final season with the Falcons. Atlanta cut him in November and McKinley subsequently signed with, in order, the Bengals, 49ers and Raiders. He was never healthy enough to play for any of those teams.

If he’s healthy, he will take over the role held in Cleveland by his former Falcons teammate, Adrian Clayborn, as the No. 3 DE. McKinley has 17.5 career sacks in 49 games over four seasons.

12 pass-rushing options for Bills after J.J. Watt signs with Cardinals

Who could the Buffalo Bills target for a pass rusher following JJ Watt signing with the Arizona Cardinals?

The Buffalo Bills will not have three-time Defensive Player of the Year JJ Watt in the fold in 2021. On Monday amid some speculation once again connecting the Bills to Watt, the 31-year-old decided to announce his new team.

The Arizona Cardinals.

While Watt is gone, the Bills’ needs remain. What direction could the team and general manager Brandon Beane go in now in terms of improving the team’s pass rush now?

Here is a quick rundown of options remaining for the Bills, post-Watt:

Cincinnati Bengals waive DE Takkarist McKinley

The Cincinnati Bengals cut ties with Takkarist McKinley.

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The Cincinnati Bengals announced Tuesday that the team waived defensive end Takkarist McKinley.

According to Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer, McKinley failed his physical with the team after joining via waivers.

McKinley joined the team after being released by Atlanta last week and spent the last few days going through the normal COVID-19 protocols before taking his physical.

It’s a shocking turn of events for a Bengals team that had hoped the former first-round pick could be a low-risk addition to a struggling pass-rush.

Instead, the Bengals are left going back to the drawing board when it comes to reviving that pass rush, as McKinley reverts back to waivers again.

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Report: Browns put in a waiver claim on DE Takk McKinley

McKinley talked his way out of Atlanta and onto the waiver wire

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Takk McKinley is coming to the AFC North, but he will not be in Cleveland. It’s not for a lack of trying on the Browns part.

The Browns were one of four teams that placed a waiver claim on McKinley after the pass rusher was dumped by the Atlanta Falcons, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. McKinley joined the Cincinnati Bengals, who had the waiver wire priority over the other teams.

The waiver wire order is in the inverse order of the NFL standings. The 2-5-1 Bengals had the worst record of the teams making claims.

There was some speculation that the Browns had make inquiries with the Falcons about McKinley prior to the trade deadline. McKinley himself helped force his way out of Atlanta by posting on Twitter that the team should have accepted the trade offers he knew they got for his services. The 26th overall pick in 2017, McKinley posted 17.5 sacks in an increasingly diminished role with the Falcons.

Bengals claim former Falcons 1st-round pick Takkarist McKinley on waivers

The Cincinnati Bengals put a claim on Takkarist McKinley.

The Cincinnati Bengals have added to a struggling pass rush by claiming former Atlanta Falcons first-round pick Takkarist McKinley.

McKinley, the 26th pick in the 2017 draft, was waived by the Falcons after the team failed to find a trade partner before the deadline and he later took issue with that fact on social media.

The former first-round pick appeared in four games this season for the Falcons, tallying just one sack. He’s got 17.5 sacks over 49 games.

This move comes in the wake of the Bengals trading away Carlos Dunlap and desperately seeking help in getting to opposing quarterbacks with just Carl Lawson and Sam Hubbard the only players producing in this area.

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NFL trade deadline: 8 D-linemen the Bills could target

Buffalo Bills defensive lineman the team could target at the 2020 NFL Draft.

The 2020 NFL trade deadline is right around the corner. It’s slated for Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Sitting at 5-2 overall and in control of their own destiny at this point, could the Buffalo Bills add to their arsenal to solidify themselves as a legitimate contender in the AFC? Despite their record, the Bills do certainly have a hole or two they could stand to fill in their roster.

In this part of Bills Wire’s trade deadline coverage, we’ll take a look at a couple of defensive linemen the Bills could target as Tuesday inches closer and closer:

The Falcons’ Takk McKinley enjoyed watching Kyle Shanahan blow another Super Bowl lead

Ouch.

Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator with the Falcons when Atlanta blew a 28-3 lead in a Super Bowl 51 loss to the New England Patriots. Shanahan would leave the Falcons for the 49ers coaching job and found himself in a similar situation during Sunday’s Super Bowl 54 against the Chiefs, leading by double digits in the fourth quarter.

Well, it happened again, and Falcons defensive end Takk McKinley didn’t feel too sorry for the former Atlanta coordinator.

The Kansas City Chiefs scored 21 straight points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 10-point deficit in the 31-20 win. What was initially an opportunity for Shanahan to exorcise those 28-3 demons became another Super Bowl meltdown on his resume.

And this was how McKinley took that in:

Just ouch.

Obviously, a great deal of that bitterness on McKinley’s part came from merely being associated with that Atlanta collapse — even if Takk was drafted after the loss and never played for Shanahan. He’s still a Falcon. It comes with the territory.

You can’t blame him for rooting against Shanahan, but he absolutely kicked Shanahan when he was down there.

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