2013 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns Pick Barkevious Mingo at No. 6 Overall

With the No. 6 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected Barkevious Mingo.

After months of speculation and wild rumors throughout the day, the Browns might have been thrown a major curveball when the Miami Dolphins traded up to No. 3 overall (from No. 12 overall) with the Oakland Raiders. Everyone thought for sure that offensive tackle Lane Johnson was coming off the board, but they took OLB Dion Jordan instead. When the staff at Dawgs By Nature compiled our Browns big boards, Jordan was listed as the top player on six of our seven boards.

Ultimately, the Browns had to make the decision to go with another pass rusher that defensive coordinator Ray Horton can utilize. Back in March, Mike Krupka of Dawgs By Nature did a scouting report on Mingo. Here is a snippet of the "good" for him:

Barkevious is a long, lean, explosive athlete who possesses a fast first step and an array of rush and hand moves to get free and get to the QB. He possess the physical attributes that may be appealing to talent evaluators.

NFL Combine Results:

40 yard: 4.53 seconds
10 Yard Split: 1.55 seconds
Vertical: 37"
Broad Jump: 128" or 10’8"
3 Cone Drill: 6.84 seconds

Mingo will be an outside linebacker for the Browns, starting off as a rotational player with Jabaal Sheard or Paul Kruger. With Horton switching to the 3-4 defense, Cleveland needed to add a premiere pass rusher with great athleticism, and Jordan is the best guy in the draft to fulfill that role. Trading down to pick up additional picks was certainly enticing, but given the concerns fans had about Michael Lombardi and Joe Banner, this isn't too shabby and can be seen as an "acceptable Day 1" for Cleveland.

Here is what our LSU affiliate, "And the Valley Shook," said about Mingo recently:

Mingo is one of the most talented athletes in this draft, but there's a boom/bust quality to him that would give me some slight pause, were I a GM. He's still learning the game, and is a bit raw in his technique and play recognition, and keeping weight on will likely always be an issue. But he's very coachable, with the work ethic to get better at his craft. He'd be at his best in a situation where he can learn from veteran pass-rushers, and might struggle if pressed to start as a rookie. Still, athletes like Mingo rarely make it out of the top 15 of the first round, and he won't.

Per our list of players the Browns had shown an interest in, Mingo was 1 of 22 confirmed players who the team had brought in for a visit to Berea. I actually had Mingo as the No. 2 player on my big board, so I'm pretty happy about this. What do you think, Browns fans?