The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kiper has Trubisky, Hunt to Browns
Mitchell Trubisky will pivot in the Browns backfield and hand the football to Kareem Hunt this fall if the latest mock draft issued by Mel Kiper Jr. is on the money.
Kiper on April 19 unveiled his three-round mock draft for the first time. The ESPN guru, who has made his living through the draft for 35 years, has the Browns taking Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett first and quarterback Trubisky from Mentor High and North Carolina with their second first-round pick – the 12th pick overall.
Cornerback Jourdan Lewis of Michigan will be taken by the Browns with the first pick in the second round, pick 33 overall, Kiper says.
Kiper has North Carolina State safety Josh Jones going 52nd with the Browns’ second pick in the second round and Hunt, the running back from Willoughby South and Toledo, being taken by the Browns with the first pick in the third round – pick 65 overall.
Kiper has Trubisky as the only quarterback being taken in the first round of the three-day draft that begins on April 27. He has four running backs going ahead of Hunt – Christian McCaffery of Stanford to Carolina eighth, Leonard Fournette of LSU to Indianapolis 15th, Dalvin Cook of Florida State to the Redskins with the 17th pick in the second round and Joe Mixon to Detroit with the 21st pick in the second round.
The latest gaze into his crystal ball produced a different picture for Kiper than the one he saw in the mock draft he released on April 5. In that speculation he had the Jets taking Trubisky with the sixth pick and the Browns taking Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson 12th. This time, he has Watson going to the Jets with the seventh pick in the second round – pick 39. He has the Jets using the sixth pick on Alabama tight end O.J. Howard.
“I’m not projecting picks based on what I’m hearing around the league,” Kiper wrote in a preamble to his mock draft. “This is me making 107 picks — three full rounds — based on what’s best for each team at that slot.
“In this scenario, I have the Jets passing on a quarterback at No. 6 — remember, I don’t have Mitchell
Trubisky as a top-20 prospect — and taking Watson with their second pick. I don’t expect Watson to make it to Round 2, but he’s my third-ranked quarterback.”
Kiper says the Browns, with five picks in the top three rounds have to hit on at least three of them – something the draft analyst working the midnight to 8 a.m. shift at the corner gas station already knew.
“This slate would give Cleveland my top-ranked pass-rusher (and overall prospect) and topranked quarterback with its first two picks,” Kiper wrote. “Those are franchise-changing prospects. Trubisky is going to need some time to adjust to the league, but he has a high ceiling.
“… Lewis is my seventh corner off the board here. Jones is tremendously athletic, running a 4.41 40 at the combine at 220 pounds, and could contribute immediately. Hunt is a downhill runner who breaks tackles and has some value as a receiver out of the backfield.”
Here is a more complete scouting report from Kiper on Hunt:
He gave Hunt an “exceptional” grade on competitiveness, writing: “Runs hard. Carried a heavy load and played through injury. Dealt with ankle sprain, Lisfranc injury and hamstring strain throughout his career but only missed five of 50 games, and he started all 13 in 2016. Excellent ball security with just one fumble on 855 career offensive touches (0.1 fumble percentage).”
Kiper rates Hunt above average for vision/patience, average for agility/acceleration, above average for power/balance and above average as a receiver.