Browns To Meet With Marshon Lattimore
- Ohio State defensive back Marshon Lattimore is in San Francisco to meet with the 49ers today (Wednesday), a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll visit all of the top five teams, Rapoport adds. His visits with Tennessee and Chicago were previously reported, but we now know that he’ll also huddle up with the Jaguars and Browns. As buzz continues to build around Lattimore, it seems increasingly likely that he won’t make it out of the top five.
Browns To Meet With Josh Jones
- Washington wide receiver John Ross has completed his predraft visits, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, who reports Ross met with the Browns and Ravens. Ross, of course, gained notoriety at the combine after posting a record 4.22-second 40-yard dash. He’s expected to be a first-round selection, and has also been linked to the Titans and Eagles. Although he underwent labrum surgery following the combine, Ross should be ready to roll by training camp.
- North Carolina State safety Josh Jones worked out for the Titans on Tuesday and is meeting with the Vikings on Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Jones, who is expected to be selected near the end of the first round or in the early part of Day 2, also has visits scheduled with the Browns, Steelers, and Bears, per Rapoport. Thus far, Jones has also been linked to Baltimore and Miami.
Browns Meet With Corey Davis
- The Browns are visiting with Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday), Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Davis missed the combine with an ankle injury but he is still considered to be one of the very best wide receivers in this year’s class. Last year, he had 97 catches for 1,500 yards and 19 touchdowns.
B.W. Webb To Visit Browns, Bears
B.W. Webb spent his first four NFL seasons with four different teams, so the cornerback is accustomed to visiting different parts of the country. He’s continuing this trend this week as a UFA.
After paying a visit to Buffalo today to meet with Bills brass, Webb is scheduled to make trips to meet with the Browns and Bears, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Webb’s set to be in Cleveland on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday, barring an earlier deal changing the itinerary.
Webb has suited up for the Cowboys, Steelers, Titans and Saints the past four seasons, with his most significant usage coming in New Orleans. He started seven games last season on a Saints team stricken with cornerback maladies.
The Bears have retooled at corner this offseason in signing Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper. They still have Kyle Fuller, Tracy Porter and Cre’Von LeBlanc as well. Cleveland does not have the same depth outside. Jamar Taylor did well to rebound after a shaky stretch in Miami and was rewarded with an extension. He and Joe Haden remain the Browns’ top two corners. Behind them, though, are second-year player Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Trey Caldwell.
Browns Host Dalvin Cook, Others
The Browns are hosting Florida State running back Dalvin Cook on a visit today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). There are a handful of other big-name guys with Cook, including Takkarist McKinley, Quincy Wilson, and Joe Mixon, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets.
The Browns own the Nos. 1 and 12 overall picks in this year’s draft. Cook widely projects as a mid-to-late first-round pick, so he could theoretically be in range at No. 12. It also stands to reason that the Browns are open to wheeling and dealing, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what first-round picks they’ll hold when it comes time in late April.
Cleveland has tethered restricted free agent Isaiah Crowell with a tender and the Browns also slated to have Duke Johnson Jr. return in 2017. Running back might not be their top need, but they’ll be open to improving their team in any way possible.
- UCLA linebacker Takkarist McKinley is visiting the Browns, Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals all in a row, Rapoport tweets. We heard last month that he would visit with some of these AFC North teams, but we now know that he’ll be polishing off the AFC North in rapid succession.
Browns Notes: Draft Picks, Williams
Stockpiling draft assets has been a clear strategy for the Browns under their new regime, as Peter King of TheMMQB.com writes. After trading back several times in the 2016 draft, Cleveland is now armed with nine selections in the first five rounds of this year’s draft (and seven picks in the first four rounds of 2018). Acquiring more capital is all part of the rebuild orchestrated, in part, by chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta.
- Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams will attend predraft visits with the Ravens, Browns, and Titans, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. Williams is widely viewed as one of the draft’s top three wideout prospects, along with Washington’s John Ross and Western Michigan’s Corey Davis, and he’s also met with another WR-needy club — the Eagles — earlier this offseason. In January, a scout told Matt Miller of Bleacher Report that Williams favorably compares to Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green, and called him the “best player on the field” during the Alabama-Clemson Championship Game.
Cabot: Mahomes Is Browns' Second Choice Behind Trubisky
- Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that the Browns will draft Mitch Trubisky somewhere in the first round — although presumably not with the No. 1 overall selection, as the team seems set to take Myles Garrett there — if Trubisky is available. If they cannot somehow land Trubisky, Cabot believes Patrick Mahomes is the backup plan. Mahomes is probably not worth the Browns’ No. 12 overall selection, but he may be gone by the time Cleveland picks again at No. 33, so if the Browns want Mahomes, they may need to trade into the bottom of the first round to get him.
Browns Work Out Teez Tabor
- The Browns worked out Florida cornerback Teez Tabor on Friday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. It’s unclear how early Tabor might go in the draft – while Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com places him 35th overall among prospects, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report could see the defender lasting until Day 3. Tabor’s stock seems to be dropping on account of subpar 40-yard dash times.
Browns Draft Notes: Hooker, Watson
The Browns will host Ohio State safety Malik Hooker for a pre-draft visit Friday, reports Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. The club is “very high on” Hooker and is considering taking him in the first round, adds Cabot, who notes that it might not be in position to land him. The Browns are likely to take Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett first overall, and Hooker could be off the board when their second selection (No. 12) arrives. Hooker underwent surgeries to repair a sports hernia and a torn labrum Jan. 31, causing him to miss the combine, but he’s still likely to come off the board in the first 10 picks.
In advance of its meeting with Hooker, Cleveland ran Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson through a private workout on the road Thursday, according to Cabot. Watson may well be the Browns’ pick at No. 12.
Browns Move Erving To RT
- Given that the Browns signed free agent center J.C. Tretter to a three-year pact, former first-round pick Cameron Erving will now shift to right tackle, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. Erving, 24, started 12 games at center in 2016, but finished the season at right tackle after the Cleveland coaching staff saw enough of his struggles in the middle. The Browns will stage a competition on the right side, as Erving, Shon Coleman, Matt McCants, Spencer Drango, and Zach Sterup will all vie for the starting job. Austin Pasztor, Cleveland’s right tackle last season, is an unrestricted free agent.