With The 6th Pick In The 2011 Stampede Blue Community Mock Draft, The Cleveland Browns Select...

by mgrex03 on Feb 14, 2011 8:40 PM EST in Community Mock Draft

Robert Quinn - DE, North Carolina

Pick made by nickfromnaptown:

Fans of the Cleveland Browns are banging their heads against the wall right about now. Both WR A.J. Green and DT Marcell Dareus have already been taken in the draft, two players fitting major needs.

So... what now? Do they reach for Julio Jones at No. 6 to give Colt McCoy a big-time receiving threat? How about creating a truly elite duo in the secondary by snagging CB Prince Amukamara to pair with Joe Haden?

The Browns say 'nay' and choose DE Robert Quinn out of North Carolina. With the current changes in coaching staff and possible transition from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense, the Browns are in dire need of bodies along the defensive line. The recent release of Shaun Rogers only depletes the talent across the positions, and the remaining guys on the roster don't exactly all fit in a 4-3 scheme. At this point, the Browns just need options; good ones.

An argument can be made that Quinn is the top pass rushing prospect in the entire draft, and sitting out his junior season due to NCAA violations is the only reason he won't go No. 1 overall. Browns GM Mike Holmgren has shown several times in the past he is not afraid to gamble on players with any possible character issues, and Quinn is too good to pass up on.

Quinn has been drawing comparisons to Julius Peppers and Mario Williams and arguably so. At 6'5" and 270 lbs., he is a long, athletic defensive end with above average initial burst and great acceleration. He's outstanding at pressuring the quarterback, possessing a solid spin and swim move, but lacking a strong bull rush. He plays the run well with excellent closing speed and sound tackling, but needs to bulk up to avoid bigger linemen taking him out of plays. Regardless, he lives in the backfield and really erases space in a hurry when he gets loose. Quinn also has a knack for stripping the football, piling up 6 forced fumbles in his last full season of play.

Grabbing Quinn is a great beginning to Cleveland's new front four (Browns can try Marcus Benard at the other DE position). Many will worry he will struggle playing in the AFC North as an undersized defensive end, understandably. Quinn will have to add bulk and prepare to be run at a lot. He has yet to reach his full potential as a football player, and the Browns are getting a future star. Expect to see Quinn have similar success that DE Carlos Dunlap had in 2010 with the Cincinnati Bengals. While it will take some time to adjust to the NFL game, he could very well end up in the range of 40 tackles, 9 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in 2011.

If Quinn is taken 6th overall, it'll be the first time since 2001 that the Browns used their first pick on a DL (Gerard Warren - 3rd overall). It'll also be the first time since 2002 that a player from UNC went at least 6th or higher, when both Julius Peppers (2nd) and Ryan Sims (6th) were selected in the top 6.

Robert Quinn Scouting Report from Mocking the Draft

The 49ers, and nopuntintended, are on the clock...

Pos	Team	Player	Pos	School	Drafter
1	Carolina	Nick Fairley	DT	Auburn	palco
2	Denver	Da'Quan Bowers	DE	Clemson	chad72
3	Buffalo	Marcell Dareus	DT/DE	Alabama	Buffalo_Bill_Cody
4	Cincinnati	A.J. Green	WR	Georgia	beerbrunch
5	Arizona	Patrick Peterson	CB	LSU	JesusNinja13
6	Cleveland	Robert Quinn	DE	North Carolina	nickfromnaptown
7	San Francisco				nopuntintended
8	Tennessee				Aerostar193
9	Dallas				Addai Another Aday
10	Washington				TouchdownColts
11	Houston				SupermanWearsBobSander'sPJs
12	Minnesota				Mr. Indianapolis Colts
13	Detroit				Bradman721
14	St. Louis				VolsnCards5
15	Miami				metallicolts
16	Jacksonville				Collin McCollough
17	New England				mgrex03
18	San Diego				ColtsFanFromHawaii
19	N.Y. Giants				erockrap
20	Tampa Bay				Sir Sci
21	Kansas City				FreeneyAteYourLunch
22	Indianapolis				BlueVol03
23	Philadelphia				AnotherWriter
24	New Orleans				ushoe
25	Seattle				Vikings55Thunder
26	Baltimore				JaredCounterman
27	Atlanta				fiftycal2004
28	New England				mgrex03
29	Chicago				DClark#44
30	N.Y. Jets				Eltoasto
31	Pittsburgh				emiller17
32	Green Bay				sanders_fan89

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Comments

Good writeup.

Peyton Manning- Screwing over Defensive Coordinators since 1998.

by JesusNinja13 on Feb 14, 2011 9:23 PM EST reply actions

Thanks J-NIN (Ya, that's right, I gave ya a nickname) I enjoyed your writeup too

by nickfromnaptown on Feb 15, 2011 2:30 AM EST up reply actions

So, kinda like J-WOWW?

I put on my robe and wizard hat.

by Bloodninja on Feb 15, 2011 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

You know it! Minus the humongous boobage though :(

by nickfromnaptown on Feb 15, 2011 5:23 PM EST up reply actions

What I think they'll really do...

The Browns will probably try their best to trade down. If they can snag a later 1st round pick and an additional 2nd round pick, they would be able to acquire more guys that fit their staggering needs.

With a later 1st round pick, it won’t be a ‘reach’ if they take a Julio Jones. If they miss a chance at him, I really like DT Corey Liuget from Illinois and think he would fit well there.

With their 2nd rounder I expect they’ll consider Tandem Doss (I really see him as a Brown). Doss has good size, is tough, quick and a serious route runner. Very few players are getting overlooked as much as him.

by nickfromnaptown on Feb 15, 2011 2:27 AM EST reply actions

Tandon^

by nickfromnaptown on Feb 15, 2011 2:28 AM EST up reply actions

Why not Von Miller?

The Browns do need playmaking in their LB corp, both at the OLB and ILB positions.

Von Miller has been nothing short of spectacular whenever he went against quality competition. He was never out of position consistently making plays in the backfield in the Senior Bowl getting past TEs and OLs that tried to block him, and is extremely instinctive too. He is one of the most Pro ready players I have seen in this draft, IMO.

Von Miller is the X factor in this draft and when the real draft comes along, I expect him to be gone higher than where he is drafted right now.

Yes, your pick does address a need but their LB corp has several needs too and Von Miller is more ready to contribute then Robert Quinn. Just my opinion, don’t take it personally :-)

by chad72 on Feb 15, 2011 12:39 PM EST reply actions

Von Miller and Quinn

have been pretty comparable in mocks I’ve seen. Teams needing a pass rushing LB have looked at both of them.

Peyton Manning- Screwing over Defensive Coordinators since 1998.

by JesusNinja13 on Feb 15, 2011 3:17 PM EST up reply actions

Indeed, they need LB help too, but...

Von Miller is simply a pass rush specialist, not a guy who can play the LB position in a 4-3. The Browns can’t afford to get a guy like him if they are going to use the 4-3 opposed to the 3-4. If it was certain they were going to use the 3-4, then Miller would have been considered for this pick, for sure.

Miller is simply too small to play DE in a 4-3.

So while I completely agree with you when discussing how big of an impact Miller is slated to be in the NFL, he just doesn’t fit into the plans of the Browns as well as Quinn does. Quinn will put on some weight and fit as a 4-3 DE just fine.

by nickfromnaptown on Feb 15, 2011 4:19 PM EST up reply actions

Agree with one, not with the other

I agree with the fact that Miller is too small to play DE in a 4-3.

But I do not agree with the fact that Miller is just a pass rush specialist that cannot play the LB position in a 4-3. He is what 6’3", 243 lbs. His pass rush may be miles better than his run D or coverage skills relatively but that doesn’t mean he can only rush the passer.

Brian Urlacher is 6’4", 258 lbs, Lance Briggs is 6’1", 242 lbs. He will be just fine playing outside in a 4-3, IMO. In fact, he may need to have more bulk for a 3-4 depending on whether he plays strong side (Lamarr Woodley is 6’2", 265, James Harrison is 6’0", 242). Our own Philip Wheeler is 6’2", 240 lbs.

The plays where he shed blocks in the Senior Bowl, they were all run plays that he blew up by shedding the OL once and a TE another time, if I remember right. Just my observation.

by chad72 on Feb 15, 2011 4:47 PM EST up reply actions

Just because his size matches up with other LB's in a 4-3 system doesn't mean he's a fit.

Miller does not possess the instincts to take correct angles and takes himself out plays too often. A big knock on him is his inability to be effective on draws, delays and cut-backs. He also isn’t very good at all in coverage.

As much as I don’t care to use the term ‘one-trick pony’, Von Miller fits that description perfectly. He is purely a pass rusher, nothing more. He will be way better off on a team using the 3-4, and I think the Bills will take him with the 3rd overall pick.

by nickfromnaptown on Feb 15, 2011 5:27 PM EST reply actions

was @ chad

by nickfromnaptown on Feb 15, 2011 5:27 PM EST up reply actions

Probably one game does not define him

I guess all the scouting reports have observed him beyond the Senior Bowl too and I will take their word for it since my observation is limited to the Senior Bowl. If he is a one trick pony, why would he go so high then? Risk vs reward would be very high, wouldn’t it?

Bills – are they going to stick with their 3-4 or go back to the 4-3 again, possibly like the Broncos?

by chad72 on Feb 15, 2011 5:35 PM EST up reply actions

Good question and this might help relate Von Miller's skills.

Remember how big of an impact Elvis Dumervil had the other year when he had 17 sacks? That has to qualify as reason enough to spend that high of a draft pick on a guy like Miller. In the right system (3-4) he can be used as an edge rushing demon.

Unfortunately for Dumervil, the Broncos are flirting with going back to the 4-3 as someone else here has pointed out. So what his role on the team will be now is completely up in the air. He would still be valuable on third down situations, sure, but who wants to keep that good of a player on the sidelines for 60-70% of the other plays? A 4-3 team would have the same issue with Miller.

I’ve read from several different places the Bills will go to the 3-4. A lot of their fans are clamoring for a Shaun Rogers signing to be their NT in that system, so must be.

by nickfromnaptown on Feb 15, 2011 5:44 PM EST up reply actions

???

6-5 270 undersized? Really? Then what exactly are our d ends?

Peyton Manning is God of all things football. I wouldn't care if he threw 100000 picks in a game, he will always be the GOAT!!! u may call me a peyton Homer, but I couldn't care less.

by PEYTON IS GOD!!! on Feb 15, 2011 6:54 PM EST reply actions