Sunday Dawg Chow: Browns news (4/16/23)

Dawgs By Nature:

• Draft INSIGHT: RB Chase Brown would give Browns another home run hitter (Barry Shuck) - It will be interesting to see what the Cleveland Browns will finally do with their running back room. And on Day 3 of the upcoming NFL Draft, an absolute gem should be there waiting. Chase Brown played at the University of Illinois and was an explosive pure speed rusher with high production.
• Browns NFL Draft Profile: DT Siaki Ika is a big player, but is his game small? (Thomas Moore) - The Cleveland Browns reportedly have at least two defensive tackles on their pre-draft visit list, so with that in mind let’s take a look at one of them in Siaki Ika, the large defensive lineman from Baylor.
• Browns Juan Thornhill recruiting former Chiefs teammate (Jared Mueller) - The addition of FS Juan Thornhill to the Cleveland Browns defense should be huge. While John Johnson III was a talented player before his arrival in Cleveland, Thornhill’s ability to be a true free safety will give new DC Jim Schwartz a lot more to work with. The free safety is attempting to bring in other champion Chief players this offseason. Earlier, Thornhill was recruiting WR Mecole Hardman. Now, it is RB Jerick McKinnon that Thornhill wants in Cleveland.
• 2023 NFL draft: Browns picks, analysis, rumors, visits, reports and more (DBN Staff) - The Cleveland Browns offseason was full of moves with the NFL draft being almost an afterthought. While the Browns don’t have a selection in the first two rounds, they do have eight picks this year. As we ramp up to the NFL draft, you can return here every day for any and all updates whether that is player profiles, mock drafts, players we think the team should draft, reports of visits with prospects, rumors and so much more. Below is all of our coverage of Cleveland’s offseason in relation to the NFL draft. Bookmark this page to make sure you don’t miss out on anything.

Cleveland Browns:

• Cleveland Browns draft forecast: Options remain among the undrafted free agents (Beacon Journal) - The NFL Draft will end at some point in the early evening of April 29. At that point, Browns general manager Andrew Berry’s work may just be getting started. While the Browns’ draft picks will be the center of attention, the players Berry brings in on rookie free agent contracts could at least provide some interesting names to potentially follow through the spring offseason program along with training camp.
• 3 questions as the Browns’ offseason program gets underway next week (cleveland.com) - The Browns are just days away from beginning their offseason program. Cleveland will get to work next week, with the team reconvening at their headquarters in Berea for the voluntary offseason program on Monday. As things just ramp up, here are three questions to keep in mind.
• Browns NFL Draft targets: Using ‘The Beast’ and past trends to identify 6 potential fits (The Athletic $$) - The Browns are pretty much an all-in team, one that has experience in most position groups and has core personnel pieces in place on defense even as new coordinator Jim Schwartz takes over. The Browns probably have their starting 22 (plus five or six others on each side) set as the entire listed starting offense is back and the defense, going through a bit of a remake, is probably looking for developmental players and rotation-fillers more than it needs immediate contributors. The Browns probably aren’t done in defensive free agency, either, though the draft could change plans for the months that immediately follow.
• Three most likely running back draft targets for the Cleveland Browns (OBR) - With the NFL Draft shortly upon us and the draft boards starting to settle down, I thought it would be worth looking at the most likely prospects the Cleveland Browns will go after position by position. My plan is to focus on three main targets for each spot but there might be a few more players that we look at depending on the position.

NFL:

• NFL scouts name GOAT draft prospects: Elway, Munoz, Jackson (ESPN) - NFL scouts can rank anything. That’s what decades of travel will do. But ask scouts, general managers and coaches to narrow down the best draft prospect they’ve ever seen and, well, that’s another matter entirely.
• Cardinals star safety Budda Baker wants out of Arizona (Arizona Republic) - Budda Baker, the Arizona Cardinals’ Pro Bowl safety and a team captain, has reportedly asked for a trade.
• Year away from the game might have given Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. a new perspective (Baltimore Sun) - There was talk of Odell Beckham Jr. arriving in Baltimore on Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti’s private jet, and that his motorcade to The Castle would rival that of any president. But there was a different side of Beckham at his introductory news conference Thursday. He was calm, secure, engaging and at times humorous, a far cry from what we’ve seen on TV or in recent body cam footage.