I am sure many of you are familiar with who Greg Cosell is. If you are not, he is generally a well-respected NFL analyst and works with NFL Films. He has never released a mock draft, but decided to do so on Monday. Cosell added a disclaimer to the beginning of his mock draft in hopes that people would understand that his selections would likely differ from the traditional mock drafts that are out there:
I will choose players based on my film study and my sense of team needs. I have no idea what different teams draft boards look like, nor will I try to speculate what a team might be thinking. The main objective of my mock is to further discuss the top players by putting them in a draft format. One other caveat: I am disregarding documented off-field problems, character issues, anything that is not a function of on-field play. I understand that teams significantly factor that into the equation, but I am solely basing my player evaluations on what’s on the tape. That’s what I do. I watch tape.
Hence, Cosell's perspective is an interesting one to consider. Again, this mock draft comes from a film study and needs perspective, not what Cosell thinks will actually happen (otherwise, there is no way he would have swapped the first two quarterbacks like he did). If his film analysis tells him this, could there be a handful of other teams in the league that see the same thing? Cosell's picks for the Browns are after the jump.
4. Cleveland: The Browns select my highest rated player, RB Trent Richardson. Richardson is a special runner, the best to enter the NFL since Adrian Peterson. Cleveland will not compete in the AFC North trying to outscore Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. They will not sustain offense throwing the ball. They must shorten the game, limit the number of snaps their defense is on the field, and try to win 17-14. You need a foundation back to do that.
22. Cleveland: The pick here is LSU WR Rueben Randle. Having chosen Richardson at #4, the Browns now select the big (6’3", 210 pounds) and athletic Randle. He pairs with another big WR, Greg Little, Cleveland’s second round pick a year ago, to give the Browns a young and physically imposing tandem that is a nice scheme fit in the Pat Shurmur/Brad Childress version of the West Coast offense. Randle, as I’ve said before, showed some similarities to the Giants’ Hakeem Nicks in terms of athletic movement and deceptive vertical speed. There were times watching tape I felt he was the quicker more athletic than both Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd.
I guess Randle is the new "hot mock pick" for Cleveland all of a sudden, eh? What do you think of Cosell's perspective?