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Kiper's Mock Draft 5.0: Browns' Picks Remain Consistent

Joe Robbins

Today, Mel Kiper released his fifth mock draft of the year. Let's take a look at how Kiper's picks have gone for Cleveland in his first four attempts:

Kiper 1.0: QB Blake Bortles (No. 4), RB Carlos Hyde (No. 23)
Kiper 2.0: QB Teddy Bridgewater (No. 4), WR Davante Adams (No. 26)
Kiper 3.0: QB Blake Bortles (No. 4), WR Kelvin Benjamin (No. 26)
Kiper 4.0: QB Johnny Manziel (No. 4), CB Kyle Fuller (No. 26), WR Davante Adams (No. 35)

For Kiper 5.0, he went back to a one-round mock draft. The top three picks prior to Cleveland being on the clock at No. 4 overall remained the same, showing a rare sign of consistency between different versions of Kiper's mock drafts:

No. 1 - Houston: DE Jadeveon Clowney
No. 2 - St. Louis: OT Greg Robinson
No. 3 - Jacksonville: WR Sammy Watkins

For the second mock in a row, Kiper had QB Johnny Manziel going to the Browns:

No. 4 - Cleveland: QB Johnny Manziel

Of course it's a risk, but the Browns are in a reasonable position to take a quarterback at this spot and still come out of this draft with impact regardless of what they get out of that quarterback early on. I've also noted before I don't think they need to draft Manziel with the assumption that he starts in Week 1. Brian Hoyer offers a reasonable bridge to a young starter. If Watkins is available here, I can see that as the pick, and I'm not sure Manziel is the No. 1 choice for the Browns at quarterback. But I'll bet on their belief in his ceiling here.

At No. 26 overall, Kiper once again had cornerback Kyle Fuller going to the Browns:

No. 26 - Cleveland: CB Kyle Fuller

After doing this for over 35 years and trading notes with countless evaluators, I can tell you there's no magic formula for deciphering exactly which cornerbacks are going to make the transition to the NFL quickly and which will take some time. But I'd bet Fuller can play an important role earlier than most. The Browns could use it, too, because they need a player who can take on good receivers close to the level Joe Haden can. Fuller is a fit I like here and has to be in consideration if he's available.

What do you think of Kiper's picks for Cleveland remaining consistent?