Browns Digest

Prominent NFL Draft Expert Has Browns Taking Athletic DT With 54th Pick

Would you like to see this Florida State product in a Browns uniform next season?

Spencer German

Apr 27, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The podium with draft logo at the first round of the 2017 NFL
Apr 27, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The podium with draft logo at the first round of the 2017 NFL / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Mel Kiper Jr. is basically an institution when it comes to NFL Draft. 2024 will mark forty years of ESPN's draft analyst being one of the leading voices on the subject.

When he drops a mock draft everyone is ready to dissect it. With just three weeks to go until the draft commences in Detroit, Kiper Jr. released a two-round mock draft, which foretasted Cleveland's first pick on the weekend at No. 54 overall.

With the pick, Cleveland selected the super athletic defensive tackle out of Florida State, Braden Fiske. Kiper explained the selection by writing:

"Cleveland, without a first-round pick as a result of the Deshaun Watson trade from March 2022, could look for a wide receiver or offensive lineman in Round 2, but I see depth along the D-line as a more pressing hole. Fiske, my second-ranked defensive tackle, had a stellar combine workout, showing top-level physical traits. He had 12 sacks in his two seasons at FSU."

Fiske is an intriguing prospect, particularly after putting on an impressive show at the NFL Combine back in early March. The former Western Michigan Bronco posted the best forty time (4.78), vertical jump (33.50 inches), broad jump (9-feet, 9 inches) and 20-yard shuttle time (4.37) of his defensive tackle contemporaries in Indianapolis.

His results at the combine have boosted his stock to the point where Kiper Jr. has him graded as the second best defensive tackle in the class. If that's the case for many of the teams as well it's hard to imagine Fiske falling to 54. Defensive tackle does remain one of the Browns biggest needs though so if he was there when they're on the clock it would be an enticing pick to add an athletic interior d-lineman who can get after the quarterback.

That said, drafting Fiske would seem to go against general manager Andrew Berry's history of drafting younger players with more room to develop. At 24, Fiske is closer to or may have already hit his ceiling. The average age of players drafted in the first three rounds during Berry's tenure is 21.63, a figured that includes 12 total drafted players over the last four years.

Fiske may be a little longer in the tooth, but that is a a theme for this draft as a whole. With so many players receiving an additional year of eligibility for the Covid-19 season there are plenty of prospects who are entering the league at an advanced age then normal. Those circumstances may just leave Berry bucking some of his personal trends.

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Spencer German

SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.