Lance Zierlein’s 2019 NFL Mock Draft 1.0: Browns select LB Devin White

The Cleveland Browns may be fresh off their most-promising season since 2014, but that does not mean the job is finished.

The franchise still needs help along the interior of the defensive line, at least one of the offensive tackle slots, possibly at wide receiver, and at outside linebacker.

Cleveland will fill many of those holes through the 2019 NFL Draft as they are currently in possession of 10 draft picks, starting with the No. 17 overall selection in the first round.

With that selection, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, in his first mock draft of the year, sees the Browns adding a playmaker at linebacker in LSU’s Devin White:

No. 17: Cleveland Browns - LSU linebacker Devin White: Speed, speed, speed. White plays with good physicality and can really run. The Browns are looking for a linebacker with a nose for the football and that’s White.

White, who is 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds, announced on January 14 that he was forgoing his senior season to enter the draft. He played 34 games for the Tigers, finishing with 286 tackles, 8.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.

This past season he posted 123 tackles, including 12 for loss, to go along with three sacks and three forced fumbles, earning him Pro Football Focus’ highest grade among SEC linebackers:

White was just the seventh player in program history of post consecutive seasons of 100 tackles (he had 133 in 2017), was a consensus All-American selection this past season, and became the first LSU linebacker to win the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s best linebacker.

The thought of putting White on a defense that already features defensive end Myles Garrett is a pleasant one, although given that some draft projections have him as a Top-10 selection, general manager John Dorsey may have some work to do if he decides to target White on draft weekend.