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00:00I read your column every day, mock draft, man.
00:02And the best part is you're number one on the CBS mock draft.
00:07So you're the first one I look at every day.
00:09Congratulations for that great award in your life.
00:11I'm sure you feel better right now.
00:13I appreciate it.
00:14Thanks for having me out.
00:15So, Mike, I'm not crazy, though.
00:16You've changed your mind on the Browns here at some point, haven't you?
00:19We all have, yeah.
00:22I've been waffling on tackle at six, which one exactly that they'll go with.
00:26But I do feel more confident that they go tackle first before wide receiver.
00:31But, hey, this year's draft compared to any in recent memory is so up in the air
00:38after pick like one.
00:40Completely agree.
00:41So you have Caden Proctor coming to the Browns with the sixth overall pick.
00:45Why?
00:47I think he's the best offensive lineman in the draft.
00:50That's why.
00:51And I think someone will at the end of the day agree with me.
00:54Not a lot of people do, it seems like, in the media.
00:56But his ceiling, to me, is the highest because of his physical tools, because of what he
01:03brings to the table at 6'7", 350, that you just don't get often in the NFL.
01:09And to me, when you watch his tape, by the end of last season, he was the best tackle
01:15in this draft class.
01:16He's the youngest tackle in this draft class.
01:18And he's three years of starting experience.
01:20He's only gotten better every single year.
01:22So with rare physical ability, with obvious improvement on tape, with obvious room for
01:28improvement, which is just getting his weight down to a more manageable, which, you know,
01:33that's a big knock on him.
01:34But there's been so few guys in recent memory.
01:37I feel like that was something we talked about a decade ago, plus about weight issues with
01:41guys.
01:41No one in the NFL seemingly anymore, with all the resources they have, have those sorts of
01:45issues.
01:46So because of that, I just think this guy could be special.
01:49And you don't necessarily need him right away if you're the Cleveland Browns.
01:52You can wait a year or two to get him.
01:55A couple things on that, Mike.
01:56You know, first of all, the weight issue was kind of a deal with DeJuan Jones here with
02:00the Browns.
02:01And, you know, obviously, it's well known that he has not been able to make it through
02:05the last couple of seasons and was dealing with, you know, some weight at the beginning
02:09of his career.
02:09The other thing I wanted to mention is that you've got probably some Browns fans scared out
02:13there only because, and this is no knock on Caden Proctor, because the Jade Wills experiment
02:18did not go well, a former Alabama tackle.
02:22So you mentioned that you think he is the best lineman in what seems to be a fairly deep
02:28class in terms of offensive linemen, but no real stars.
02:31Now, why does he stand out to all of them for you?
02:38It's a combination of two things.
02:41One is just that at 350, he can really move.
02:46It's rare to see a guy that nimble at 350, and even compared to, you know, J.C. Latham,
02:53Evan Neal, which like Alabama's track record tackle in recent years, it's not great.
02:57Not been good, no.
02:59So even compared to those guys, I think he moves so much better.
03:01Just so much more of a fluid athlete.
03:04And I'll say this, those guys played under Nick Saban.
03:07Ken Proctor played under Kalen DeBoer.
03:09And the Kalen DeBoer offense is a pro-style pass protection offense.
03:13It's so different than what they were doing in the past.
03:14So he's actually coming in more prepared in that regard.
03:17But then the other big reason is I see his balance for a guy that big, and it is exceptional.
03:23One of the things that Paul Alexander, former Bengals offensive line coach, one of the biggest
03:29things he said to me when scouting offensive linemen is, I watch how many times guys are
03:32in their shoulder pads and how many times they end up on the floor.
03:35And he says, you want that number to be as low as possible for each.
03:39And with Ken Proctor, just is never on the floor.
03:41And that's rare for a guy who's that tall, that big, to be on balance as good as he is.
03:48That's like a building block trait that speaks to natural coordination.
03:52And one of the things that kind of unites the elites at the position is their ability to
03:57stay balanced because it's just offensive line plays ugly.
04:00A lot of times you're not in the best spot.
04:02And so the guys that have that are the ones I trend towards.
04:05So that's why Proctor's my OT one.
04:06What did you think yesterday when Andrew Barry said a tackle is a tackle?
04:09It doesn't really matter if they're right or left.
04:13I agree with that.
04:14It's something that when I used to work at PFF, we were banging the table for and kind
04:18of pioneered the discussion on that, like, hey, left tackle and right tackle in terms
04:23of value at the NFL, there's not a huge difference because a lot of times people put their best
04:28pass rushers over the right tackles in the NFL, you know, like TJ Watt in that division.
04:33So like, you're going to have to block the best guys if you're on the right side.
04:37And the pressure that comes from the right side, it actually leads to worse performance
04:42from the quarterback.
04:43Pressure from the left side leads to more sack fumbles.
04:45So that's why you want, you know, historically you want the guy on the left side so you don't
04:49get those game-changing plays, but pressure from the right is also super valuable.
04:52And obviously TJ Watt has had no issue causing a lot of fumbles.
04:56So it's, I'm in a completely agreement that a tackle is a tackle.
05:00Now it's more, how much has he played on either side?
05:03Because I don't want to go flip-flopping a guy because it is different hand usage.
05:07It is different, you know, coordination to go from left to right.
05:10So if a guy's done a bunch at one, I don't necessarily just want to flip them and think
05:15I'm getting the same guy on the other side.
05:18Yeah, Mike, you know, I've like you, I've kind of gone back and forth on, okay, obviously
05:23there's a needed tackle for the Browns.
05:25There's obviously a huge need at wide receiver with the Browns.
05:28And because of what the Browns did in terms of addressing their offensive line and free
05:32agency, I don't know, it gets me thinking that maybe wide receivers is the better pick
05:37here at number six and the value might be better.
05:39Um, who's your top wide receiver on the board?
05:43And I mean, you know, Carnell Tate is obviously a guy that is very well known here in Ohio
05:47being a Buckeye.
05:48Um, could you see that being a landing spot for him with the Browns at six?
05:54I think he could.
05:55And obviously you can't go wrong drafting Ohio state wide receivers.
05:57I think he's an incredibly safe pick.
06:00He's not my top guy, uh, on tape.
06:03I had Jordan Tyson as the top receiver in this draft class, but you know, I would not draft
06:08him top 10 given his injury history.
06:09And then I have Casey Concepcion after that, because I think he's the best separator, but
06:13another guy, it's like, I would not draft him top 10 either.
06:16And that's why lean tackles, because I don't actually see these receivers as kind of top 10
06:20wide receivers.
06:21I think they're all very good.
06:23And I think they're all really high floor and that you're getting a good one.
06:25But I think the one you get at 24 may not be too dissimilar than the one you would take
06:31at six.
06:32Um, now maybe, maybe the, the wide receiver class will be cooked by that action.
06:36Maybe, maybe, maybe you'll have five guys off the board and you won't actually have
06:39unfollowed at 24, which is maybe not as big a worry as tackle, but I see a bigger spread
06:43in this tackle class than I do in the first round receiver class, which is why I've kept
06:48saying if I were the Browns, I would probably lean tackle first.
06:52Yeah.
06:52And which also makes me think Mike, that, you know, maybe the play is to trade out.
06:57Should there be, you know, some interest that other teams have in somebody at number six,
07:02that Andrew Barry's best move, maybe to drop out of there, drop down a little bit, pick
07:07up some assets and still come up with some good players later in the first round.
07:12Oh, I would a hundred percent advocate for that.
07:14I think that is their best move.
07:16And if it's someone like, you know, the Cowboys who have multiple first rounders or someone
07:20who's, you know, really wants to go at, you know, a different position that the Browns
07:24wouldn't even take.
07:25That's yeah.
07:26That's your ideal move.
07:27Because again, the, I guess there's a spread in the tackle class, but not really between
07:32the top two or three in my eyes.
07:33And similarly with this receiver class, where it's like the guy that they might have as
07:38wide receiver one might be other people's wide receiver threes or fours.
07:41So it's a weird class in that regard.
07:43There is no way that the Raiders are not picking Fernando Mendoza.
07:48Is that, I'm safe to put it in double negative.
07:50I did read a couple of stories yesterday.
07:52They're like, what if the Raiders do decide they want to give up that first pick or they
07:56don't take Fernando Mendoza?
07:58Is there, is there any world do you see that happening in there is not, I do not see any
08:04world where that happens.
08:05Yeah.
08:06I figured that'd be a quick question because I just, I don't see how it doesn't happen
08:10that way either.
08:12So I think the other, the other big play for the Browns here is Jeremiah love.
08:15Like if he's sitting there at six and is available, you know, that's like the, the trade that everyone
08:23I think is waiting to see that happens to the Browns are like, well, if love doesn't get
08:26picked up by the Titans, like you said, and I think a lot of people are saying that Titans
08:30are going to take love, but if for some reason the Titans don't do that and he's still sitting
08:34there for the Browns at six, then obviously the Browns become a trade partner because
08:38they probably should feel comfortable with the running backs they have.
08:41It's one of the few things on offense that maybe it seems to be working right.
08:44I don't talk about love and you know how he plays out in this draft and are the Titans
08:50are sure bet for that?
08:53I don't know if they're sure bet.
08:55I mean, it's always, again, hard to say for certain where a team will go, but I think
08:58three or four or even five wouldn't surprise me if Jeremiah love comes off the board just
09:04because he's, I mean, he's like Saquon Barkley, not only from a talent perspective, but just
09:08in terms of face of the franchise, like the guy is super likable.
09:12He's does everything right.
09:14You're going to sell a zillion jerseys that say love on the back, right?
09:17As soon as you draft that guy.
09:19So from that perspective, ownership would be all on board.
09:21We've got some Kevin ones.
09:22If you're looking for one, we've got a couple of Kevin love jerseys.
09:26Yeah, right.
09:27It does.
09:27Like those, when you got a name like that, it's going to move more jerseys.
09:30So I do think that he's probably off the board by six, but if not, I do think the Cowboys
09:37are a team that could get antsy because everyone knows he would get drafted seven with the commanders
09:41like that.
09:41That's his floor to me.
09:43So it would probably be an intriguing trade-off spot if he is there.
09:46Mike, the guy that dropped into the fifth round last year ended up being a Cleveland Brown
09:51and everybody's going to try to figure out who's this year's player that's going to be
09:56projected to go in the top 10 and end up being sitting there on Saturday or Sunday.
10:02Reuben Bain's situation in Miami with the revelation recently of the car accident where
10:07there was a fatality, et cetera.
10:09How much do you think that has damaged his stock and is he a guy that you could see sliding
10:13deeper than, than everybody thought?
10:16I don't think so.
10:17I don't think it's really damaging stock.
10:19And again, by all reports, people I've talked to that NFL teams knew this and it's not as
10:25if it's, uh, you know, it's not even like it's Jalen Carter who was drag racing.
10:30This is just an unfortunate act.
10:32Yeah, it's tragic, but I mean, those kinds of things happen and, uh, obviously Miami knew
10:40about it and NFL knows about it.
10:42It's more going to be the on field and the arm length that I think, and what he does at
10:47the NFL level, what he projects to that could cause him to fall a little bit.
10:51I don't think he'd last outside of the top 10.
10:53I would be floored if he did.
10:55Let's go 24.
10:56Jordan Tyson.
10:57I, you know, speaking of the Cavs, uh, Jordan's brothers here with the Cavaliers.
11:00I think there'd be a lot of happy folks in Cleveland if he's sitting there at 24 and the
11:04Browns can take him, uh, why Tyson maybe over and, uh, looking at your partner right next
11:09to you on the mock drafts, uh, Casey Concepcion, Brian Wilson's got him same spot.
11:13You guys both think a wide receiver in that spot, but why was Jordan Tyson the right fit
11:17for the Browns at 24?
11:19I've said, I thought he was the best wide receiver on tape.
11:22He looks the most like a wide receiver one.
11:24He has, you know, his brother's ability to, you know, the crossover at the top of the
11:30route.
11:31Like he has that.
11:32That's what it looks like to get open at the NFL level.
11:35Now it's just with him as the injuries.
11:37And that's why I think he could fall to 24 is he didn't have a full healthy season in
11:42college, whether it was his freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, senior year, and
11:45even the hamstring injury that he suffered at the end of his senior year went all the
11:49way through his pro day that he had to miss.
11:51And now I think he's working out today to do some running for NFL team.
11:55So that's the worry with him, but on the field, you are getting a true number one potential
12:03type of wide receiver if he does fall there.
12:05But again, I've said this wide receiver class is really close and that if a guy has that
12:09big a red flag, which is injury, which is availability, it could cause him to fall.
12:14I love the site CBS because it gives me all six of you guys at one time and I'll go
12:20back
12:20and look at what you have or whatever.
12:23But do you guys have meetings like, do you guys talk about what the other guys have?
12:26Because Pete Prisco is the only guy that thinks the Browns might even consider Ty Simpson
12:31at 24 to take a quarterback.
12:33I'm just curious, when you guys, are you just kind of on your own for these things?
12:36Or do you guys actually have meetings to talk about like, hey, who are you taking here?
12:39What are you doing there?
12:41It's on our own.
12:42So it's all in our opinion.
12:43I think since he's gone by then, truthfully, I think he will be gone.
12:47I think his floor is 21.
12:49I don't think the Steelers would pass on him.
12:51So if the Browns want him, I don't advocate picking at six, but if they do trade back
12:57and get a bunch of draft capital, then we could think about it.
13:00How big is that gap between Mendoza and Simpson?
13:05See, I've been saying that talent-wise, it's not that big.
13:08He has legit NFL tools.
13:11Ty Simpson does.
13:12There's a lot to like about his game.
13:13It's more just in the how safe do you feel about this guy translating?
13:17Because with Mendoza, he's never gotten hurt.
13:20He's played a lot more football.
13:22He's played a lot more big situations.
13:25And the guy's football IQ and sort of off field is about as off the charts as you could
13:30ever get from a draft prospect.
13:32That's not the same with Ty Simpson, right?
13:34He does not command a room the same way.
13:37He does not have the same 6'5", 235 frame.
13:39He does not have the same play and crunch time situations.
13:42He was not as healthy.
13:44So in terms of just like on-field ability, throw for throw, when he was healthy, I don't
13:49think there was a huge difference.
13:50It's more just the other things that Ty Simpson has to answer for.
13:55That's the unfortunate reality of only having one season of tape.
13:59I'm sure you haven't started working on your 2027 mock drafts yet, but you guys do your
14:04work, so maybe you already have.
14:07And what leads me to that is that there's going to be at least four Buckeyes probably taken
14:12in the first 10 picks of this year's draft.
14:14And I was wondering, if he was eligible, Mike, would Jeremiah Smith be the number one pick
14:18in this year's draft?
14:20See, I don't know if he'd go number one just because of the way quarterbacks are.
14:24Like the Raiders, if they drafted him, they'd still have no one to throw him the football.
14:29So I don't know if he would go number one, but I would guarantee you that the Jets would
14:34not take long to call his name a number two.
14:37Let me ask you guys, Andrew Barry last year seemed to have got the draft right.
14:41He's had a lot of drafts where he hasn't gotten things right.
14:44Is he getting better?
14:46Is it smarter?
14:47You know, there's talk about Paul DePodesta, maybe how much, what his influence was, especially
14:51knowing that he wouldn't be with the team anymore.
14:53If anybody knew he wouldn't be with the team at this point.
14:56Is Andrew Barry getting better at picking players in the draft?
15:00Well, he finally got some high picks last year, too.
15:02Every one of those guys that he picked last year started at some point during the season.
15:06Now, again, I think it's relative because you've got to remember they were only a five-win
15:09team, but he got it right last year is what most people will tell you around here.
15:14Yeah, I think to your point there, it's the first time in a while he had first rounders,
15:19right?
15:20I think that's always easy to throw stones at a guy when, you know, I think they didn't
15:26even have a second rounder for two of those years that he's been in.
15:28You know, like when you don't have a top two round pick, it's, I always say that like
15:33after your draft is your first and your second round pick that if you go hit, hit, it doesn't
15:39matter what the heck you do after that.
15:41Cause it's tough to hit third round.
15:42Just go back and look through third rounders historically.
15:44And it's like five or so guys out of 32 most years is like what you're expecting to become
15:51competent quality starters.
15:52So if you don't have the premium capital, it's just going to get tough.
15:56And he's found some guys, you know, even beyond that, he's found some guys like Isaiah
16:00McGuire, Martin Emerson.
16:01So I don't think his draft track record, it's just, we didn't have much to go off of,
16:06unfortunately for him.
16:08That's fair.
16:08So I disagreed with the wills pick at the time I had Chris Morph's there.
16:12That's one that's regrettable.
16:14You're not the only one.
16:15Yeah.
16:16I got a headache for that still.
16:18Yes.
16:19I think they're, they're the turnaround, I think is real because he's been good at
16:25the later picks at least hitting again, it's hard to hit thirds, hard to hit fourth, hard
16:30to hit fifth and fairly consistently.
16:32He's been able to find at least guys who can see the football field at that point, which
16:35is kind of what I think of when I think of good GMs is a lot of the really, really
16:39bad
16:40ones who really don't have it.
16:41You look at their day threes and it's just guys who don't even, they can't even see a
16:44field.
16:45So at least he's finding some guys that can there.
16:47And so now that he has the premium picks, obviously this would be a big one for him
16:51in terms of actually his draft prowess and flexing what he can do.
16:55Mike, as always, thank you.
16:56We appreciate your time.
16:57And of course you're sitting in the sweet spot when it comes to cbssports.com's mock
17:01drafts.
17:02And he's right there.
17:03He's the first thing you'll see when you get on there.
17:04Mike, thank you.
17:05Appreciate your help.
17:07For sure.
17:07Fellas appreciate you having me on.
17:08Talk to you soon.
17:09Mike Greyer, CBS Sports.
17:10Make sure you're reading them.
17:11CBSsports.com.
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