Browns Digest

4 Potential Defensive Line Targets Shined Thursday

Thursday featured a number of outstanding performances from defensive line prospects. Four of those stand out as potential fits for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Draft.
Pete Smith|
4 Potential Defensive Line Targets Shined Thursday
4 Potential Defensive Line Targets Shined Thursday

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Cleveland Browns

Every year the defensive line prospects seem to get faster and the 2023 NFL Draft class was no exception. The 40-yard dashes were impressive but there were a number of players who put together of outstanding athletic profiles. Of those, a few stand out as potential options for the Cleveland Browns.

Isaiah Foskey, EDGE Notre Dame

Notre Dame pass rusher Isaiah Foskey turned in a complete workout and was largely as advertised. Foskey's explosion was excellent as illustrated by the 40 and his jumps. His agility does raise some questions. It's not problematic necessarily, but it suggests some stiffness and a lack of bend. Given his size, it's not terribly surprising, but whether it's his hips or his ankles, neither looks like a dominant trait.

Foskey's a player who uses his speed and explosion to put the opponent at a disadvantage. He can win with power. The agility appears to be more of a secondary option.

It's interesting that Foskey has sort of been viewed as someone who is falling in the draft. Maybe he is, but Foskey has good production in multiple seasons even if his senior year wasn't as impressive as his junior campaign. He's also a good athlete. 

Keeanu Benton, DT Wisconsin

Benton's raw explosive power is great. Not only does the 3-cone evaluate hip flexibility but it also is a good indicator of overall balance and that is where Benton was at his best. The rest of his profile was largely fine, avoiding any major weaknesses, which is half the battle.

Benton really has everything the Browns or any team are looking for in a player. He's young, he's been productive, played a ton of football and he's a good athlete.

Gervon Dexter, DT Florida

Dexter was expected to be a good athlete, but he had a great day. A 6'6" 310 pound player that have excellent speed and explosion. 

The 10-yard split is pretty miserable, which is something that is often highlighted. Undoubtedly, the ability to fire off the ball matters, but the 10-yard split in itself can vary. Typically, the broad jump is a better overall measure of raw explosive ability. That being said, if Dexter's 10-yard split can get improve, that would be a pretty scary given how fast he ran the other 30 yards.

Dexter's still raw and developing. The production really isn't there, but these type of physical traits at a position like nose tackle can get teams excited about what he can be.

Adetomiwa Adebawore, DL Northwestern

Adebawore posted elite numbers in everything he did. Otherworldly speed and explosion, it's easy to start imagining what a team like the Browns could do with him in their defense. He's got an unusual body type which might suggest he should play as an up field 3-technique defensive tackle. And Adebawore can certainly do that, but with that kind of speed, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz may not hesitate to put him out on the edge, even in that wide-9 look.

Notably, Adebawore did not participate in the agility drills. He only ran the 40 once. Who could blame him? So he may simply be done testing, which does raise some questions.

It may not be all that important to the Browns specifically because if they are lining him out wide or tilting him, his speed, explosion and leverage are going to be a problem before any potential lack of agility might be a factor. If that is how they evaluate Adebawore, they might see him as the ultimate complement to Myles Garrett. He could be a shorter, hopefully more functional version of Jadeveon Clowney.

He's going to be barely 22 at the time of the draft and he was productive for the Wildcats. The question now is whether Adebawore will make it to the 42nd pick in the draft and if he does, would the Browns pull the trigger?

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Pete Smith
PETE SMITH

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