CLEVELAND, Ohio (TheOBR.com) Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
It snowed in Cleveland yesterday. Snowed! I thought that March was the “goes out like a lamb” month, where all was great by the end of the month, but I guess not. Ah, the joys of the weather in Cleveland.
So, I’m bundled up in a sweatshirt/hoodie thing today and prepared for more cold weather. And inside of a month, I bet there will be days when it’s warm enough to switch over my Hawaiian shirt collection. My clothing choices are very binary at this point – either hoodies or Hawaiian shirts, with virtually nothing in between. This time of year challenges my elite sartorial senses.
Not only am I challenged by limited clothing preferences, but I’m also challenged when I host Gang of Three with two people who know NFL football inside and out: Pete Smith and Lane Adkins. We talked about a couple of items that had previously appeared in this space.
One of the challenges, it seems to me, is that a team that’s already largely set on defense is going to be challenged to find good value at the #6 spot in the draft. The chances are that they will slightly overdraft someone at that spot. To me, the sixth overall selection is a perfect place for a team to take a player like Caleb Downs – a brilliant player at a position that is often not considered a premium one. That seems like good value at the position for me. But it doesn’t address the team’s biggest needs.
Yesterday, I got all excited about the rise of Monroe Freeling, a player with the exact right physical characteristics for the left tackle position, but who lacks the experience one would hope to find. Freeling, as the guys pointed out last night, will probably need a year to get coached up and play at this level. Todd Monken and Andrew Berry may not have a year to spend on that – both (particularly Berry) are under the microscope on a team whose owner maintains is better than their 5-12 record.
Todd McShay came out with his latest mock draft and put Freeling at #17 to the Lions, where he would replace Taylor Decker. Freeling seems like a great value pick at that spot. It sort of feels right to me that he would go in the 12-18 pick range, to a team like the Lions, who might be able to have some more patience with him as he develops with a solid cast around him.
Ohio State’s Carnell Tate is a really good football wide receiver and had a few weeks as the #1 receiver with Jeremiah Smith out, acquitting himself well. There’s a strong argument to be made that he’s the top receiver in the draft, although his lack of production against Miami concerns me a bit. Again, though, it’s not a #6 pick that I feel fully confident about. I’d feel better to be sitting around 10-14 and be able to pick up a guy like Makia Lemon in that spot.
All of this says to me that if I were Andrew Berry, I’d be really interested in defensively-needy teams that might want to trade up to grab Caleb Downs, Reuben Bain, or other defenders who might make a little more sense at the #6 pick than the Browns attempting to insert a round peg into a square hole at that slot.
In another little bit of news yesterday, the Browns re-signed TE Blake Whiteheart to a deal. While the team has made a big deal about the Jack Stoll signing on their in-house media, to me, both Whiteheart and Stoll are fighting for the TE3 spot on the team. TE2 needs to come from outside the building in the draft, or if a player like the Bears’ Cole Kmet becomes available. Again, the Browns can land a very solid TE2 late in the first or second round, which might be a spot available in a trade down. To me, the Stoll/Whiteheart signings have nothing to do with TE2, but rather with Todd Monken fishing around for extra bodies that can be parked on the line. He might still look at a fullback – I don’t think he cares how he gets to the type of personnel that he wants for smashmouth running, but he’ll keep looking until he finds it.
Per usual, around this time of year, I can’t make up my mind. Yesterday, I was pumped about an offensive tackle. Now, I’m more excited about what the team can do if they trade out of the #6 spot. I got through this every year, usually winding up believing that I’m happy it’s Andrew Berry’s job to figure it out and not mine. Good luck, Andrew.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
OBR GOODIES
OBR VIDEO
OBR ARTICLES
– Last Day For The Cleveland Browns To Trade Myles Garrett In 2026
– Cleveland Browns 7-Round Mock Draft, Vol. 1
– Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 03/23/26: Rising in the Draft for a Reason
– Cleveland Browns Film Room: What Does Jack Stoll Bring to the Tight End Room?
FROM THE FORUMS
– Pete, You’re under the radar players
– Mauigoa
– Offensive Tackles to Keep in Mind?
– Jaxson Smith-Njigba Extension – $168.6 Mil over 4Yrs
– LiveWire Thread for 3/23 – Twitter, Video, Articles
– Three guys you want the Browns to draft
– OT: Anyone else concerned about lack of signings in FA
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond…
Virtual reality gaming is reducing social isolation among older adults
I don’t play “social” games… I obsessively cheat at Solitaire because four years ago, I wondered whether I could make money at Vegas-style solitaire by redoing a move or two while playing. Turns out that I can, but I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent proving this notion, which is of interest to no one else on the planet.
Better off playing video games, it appears, are seniors who are socially isolated, and can, through VR helmets, participate in games and social activities with other seniors in the VR world. This is the second day in a row where The Lift has focused on what advanced technology can do to help seniors, which probably means that – as a nerd who loves technology – I”m growing old at the right time. So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.
WRAPPING UP
When not quietly wasting valuable time,, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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