Homeless Guy's 2023 Browns 7 Round Mock Draft 1.0 - Post Elijah Moore Trade - Against The World

After a long hiatus, we're here to continue the yearly tradition of picking the Homeless Guy's brain to see what the Browns should do in the draft this year.

With picks of Johnny Football and Josh Allen under his belt in past seasons, I have to say its been a mixed bag. Using the good old library's computers, I was able to join Homeless in a seven-round mock draft making all eight selections for the Browns using a draft simulation program.

Without a draft pick until the third round (74), there is not the usual amount of excitement for the Cleveland Browns draft that we've seen in the past. But Homeless says it doesn't mean that this draft is not important. If the front office misses in finding important future role players in this draft, the top-heavy-talent Browns will see the holes in its roster grow without the cap space to fill them in free agency. Homeless reminded me that the Browns go into next years draft with only four selections at the present time.

Accordingly, Homeless sees the Browns as drafting with an eye towards 2024 and beyond -- not necessarily to fill any immediate needs in the 2023 roster.

Here is who Homeless has the Browns selecting under a scenario where all the picks are exercised with no trades and some of my own thoughts on those picks.

Pick 1 (#74)

Keion White

EDGE |

Georgia Tech

Having made their offseason moves, the Browns are free to take the best player available at a premium position. Homeless believes that the way the mock draft simulation board fell, it is Keion White.

At 6'5" 285 pounds, White is "first-off-the-bus athlete." He's an athletic freak who potentially provides inside/outside flexibility. White's RAS score is 9.91. He has the athleticism of an edge rusher in the body of an interior defender.

White began his college career as a tight end, transferred from Old Dominion to Georgia Tech, and lost time to a basketball injury. He really only has one year of productive play on his resume and did not have overwhelming production at that. He registered 7.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

This is a raw prospect who would be a project. Homeless says that he thinks White is a better prospect than Alex Wright and the Browns should run to the podium if he remains available at this pick.

Other players available at this draft position that were available to the Browns included Jordan Battle |S| Alabama, Gervon Dexter | DL | Florida, Jayden Reed |WR | Michigan State and Marvin Mims |WR | Oklahoma.

I would have been tempted to pick Dexter to solidify the defensive interior.

Pick #2 (98)

Chris Smith II

S |

Georgia

The Browns picked up Juan Thornhill in free agency and have Andrew Berry draft pick Grant Delpit, whom the Browns expect to take another step one year further away from his Achilles injury. There is not much behind these two safeties on the current roster, so Homeless says that he fully expects the Browns to take a safety or two in this draft. Currently the second string has Bubba Bolden at strong safety and D'Anthony Bell at the free safety position.

Homeless says that he would not be at all surprised if the Browns make another low-end free agent swing at the position because this is not a strong draft for safeties. Homeless does like Smith, however.

Smith seems to be a decent value at this pick if you focus on what he did at the collegiate level. He's a do-it-all box, free and slot roaming safety who played at a high level in college on the biggest stage. In his senior and fifth-year senior seasons he rated as elite in coverage -- quarterbacks had anemic passer ratings of 53 and 50 when targeting Smith.

Homeless says he doesn't care that Smith is not a RAS specimen and uses Mike Hilton as a positive example of a defensive back that did not score well on the RAS that has gone on to be a high level NFL talent. Smith's RAS score is not just borderline, however, he posts an undraftable grade of 2.76, with the average free safety score being 5.21.

Also, Smith having been at Georgia for five seasons is older than what Berry likes to draft. I also think Berry might be once bitten having drafted the productive but unathletic Georgia safety Richard LeCounte in the fifth round a few years back.

I part ways with Homeless on this pick. I would have considered targeting Sydney Brown | S | Illinois and trading up with one of the Browns' later round picks to get him. Philly took him at 94, four picks before the Browns. Alternatively, with the selections remaining on the board at 98, I would have been tempted to move down a few spots to draft Michael Wilson | WR | Stanford.

Pick #3 (111)

Noah Sewell

LB |

Oregon

Anthony Walker is in the fold for another year and, if healthy, should give the Browns just enough at the middle linebacker position. The Browns, however, need a younger, long-term solution and sadly Jacob Phillips no longer seems like a viable candidate and Taki-Taki is just a guy.

Sewell is a plus athlete, registering an 8.32 RAS score. He was also productive at Oregon. He is fast and physical and at this spot is a good bet to be a guy that can improve the roster and develop into a good starting linebacker.

Homeless likes him here, and I can't argue with the pick.

Pick #4 (126)

Olusegun Oluwatimi

IOL |

Michigan

After resigning Ethan Pocic to a three-year contract with Nick Harris in reserve, drafting a center for 2023 is not a priority. However, Homeless notes that it is unlikely that Harris will be resigned next season if Pocic holds down the starting center position in 2023.

Homeless believes that Oluwantimi provides the opportunity for a good back-up option on a rookie contract that could, in time, ultimately replace Pocic if he becomes too rich for the Browns or turns back into a pumpkin at some point. Homeless also believes that Oluwantimi has the size (6-2, 309) and athleticism (7.77 RAS) to potentially fill in at a guard spot in a pinch.

Homeless says that Oluwatimi is better in pass protection than he is in the run game and needs to refine his technique. Who better to do that with than Bill Callahan, Homeless asks.

Personally, I am not a fan of the lineman-in-waiting theory. When the Browns drafted Cam Erving in the first round as a succession plan to Alex Mack I turned off the television in a rage.

I would have drafted Byron Young |DL| Alabama or K.J. Henry |EDGE| Clemson depending on whether Gervon Dexter or Keion White was taken in the first round. Both of whom were still available at this pick .

Pick #5 (140)

Andrew Vorhees

IOL |

USC

Why does Homeless double down on interior linemen? He says the Browns can't pay everyone. It is a sheer luxury to have the 5th and 7th highest paid guards in the NFL on a team that has one the best offensive line coaches in the history of the NFL.

Vorhees has a lot of that same nasty in him that Wyatt Teller has shown. He also has heart, Homeless says. After tearing up his knee at the combine, Vorhees came out and threw up an amazing 38 reps on the bench to show scouts in attendance his freakish upper-body strength.

Vorhees would be a redshirt for 2023-2024, but Homeless thinks he could provide guard/tackle backup flexibility at minimum for 2024-2025 with the chance to give you more with an opportunity.

I'd be good with this pick. I definitely was not impressed with the Browns depth at guard last season and agree that paying both guards at the top of the pay scale is not something that the Browns will be able to afford in the coming years if it wants to keep playmakers around Watson and field a competitive defense.

Pick #6 (142)

Jakorian Bennett

CB |

Maryland

On a team overstocked with outside corners, the Browns need to find a few guys with the aptitude and attitude necessary to man the slot corner role. Homeless says that a slot corner is a guy who has to have the want to to mix it up in the run game and the tenacity to stick with a receiver who has the space to avoid a jam and without the ability to use the sideline as an extra defender.

Homeless thinks that Bennett is more than a willing tackler and adds that he is top-flight athlete (9.58 RAS) who can potentially run with some of the speedier slot receivers in man and use his closing speed in zone coverage.

The guy I coveted for this role out of this draft is L.T.'s kin, Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson | CB | TCU. Hodges-Tomlinson was gone in this draft before the Browns made their first selection, however. I like Bennett with this pick.

Pick #7 (190)

Keondre Coburn

DL |

Texas

Homeless describes the 6"1", 343 pound Coburn as block of granite that plays with leverage. Homeless adds that Coburn can also generate pass rush. Coburn had 28 pressures and 4 sacks last season. He is also a good tackler, Homeless adds.

Colburn is available here because scouts believe that his lack of length will cause him problems at the NFL level. Homeless is quick to point out that similarly vertically challenged Aaron Donald has made it work, while carefully reminding me that nobody is getting Aaron Donald at pick 190 in this year's draft.

I agree with Homeless that Coburn would have a reasonable chance given a fair competition to push an incumbent DL off of this roster and otherwise would be a good practice squad candidate. As I noted above, however, I would have thrown more than a late round flyer at the position.

Pick #8 (229)

Dorian Thompson-Robinson

QB |

UCLA

Maybe it will be Kellen Mond again, but Homeless thinks the Browns should take a swing at a developmental QB with more upside than Josh Dobbs who has a game similar to Watson's.

In 2022 Thompson-Robinson played in 12 games for the Bruins and threw for 2873 yards on 360 attempts. He completed 69% of his passes with 25 TDs and registered a QB rating of 108.3. Thompson-Robinson additionally ran the ball 109 times for a total of 720 yards.

Homeless says that Thompson-Robinson possesses a good (not great) arm and is known for having the ability to process quickly. While he has some deep-ball accuracy issues, Homeless says Thompson-Robinson is very accurate on the short to medium-range passes and might benefit from some NFL coaching to break some bad habits.

Thompson-Robinson kept the chains moving with his arm and legs and Homeless thinks he had a marginal surrounding cast outside of his running back.

I wouldn't mind the Browns taking a look at quarterback Tyson Bagent, who set all kinds of records at tiny division II Shepherd. Bagent has a live arm and a play style similar to Patrick Mahomes. Ironically, the draft simulator had the Chiefs taking Bagent in the sixth round. He's a guy I'd think will realistically be a priority UFA at best, though.

With the pick, I'd prefer taking a shot at Trey Palmer | WR | Nebraska, who has one year of very good production and some unique physical skills. Or perhaps Evan Hull | RB | Northwestern, who could battle with Demetric Felton and Jerome Ford for change-of-pace back touches.