THE DAILY BLOVIATION
Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
The draft is almost upon us, and we're ready to roll here at the OBR! Tonight, we've got a premiere of our "Studio #54" program at 7PM, where we'll each discuss our preferred picks for the Browns at positions 54 and 85. This will be exclusively on YouTube and will last about half an hour.
We've got some exciting contests going as well. If you jump into the Watercooler, you can win a free subscription by naming the first two players the Browns will pick in this thread. Subscribers can win a free hat from the soon-to-debut new OBR Gear Store by posting the most accurate first-round mock draft from PFF in this Insider Central thread. Finally, we will enter anyone who buys a "Locked In" t-shirt from the upcoming Gear Store into a contest to win an OBR Hat and a $100 gift certificate for Swag.
Naturally, we've got the OBR 2024 Draft Cave set up to roll throughout the NFL draft, from Pick 1 on Thursday at 8 through the last Browns pick on Saturday afternoon. That will be on YouTube, Twitch, and Xittter throughout the draft.
Of course, I'm reviewing the stories to pick from this morning, and they're mostly the same-old thing. There are a lot of speculative lists of potential players the Browns might be interested in, put behind paywalls for the most part. As you know from reading these Newswires these last few days, I'm really uninspired by what I've had to work with here this last week or so. I'm just not going to point you to a paywalled article that's barely better than a fan blog item you can get for free.
All this, I guess, leaves us without a lot left over in our LINKS OF MODERATE INTEREST, but maybe things will get better after the draft.
4. LET'S ALL MAKE MICHAEL HALL HAPPY
Browns can make an Ohio State Buckeye happy far beyond football if they select him in 2024 NFL Draft - (atozsports.com)
A to Z Sports has an "exclusive" with Michael Hall about what it would mean to him to be drafted by the Cleveland Browns, and, yes, he would be happy about that. Of course, he also says he'd be happy "no matter where I get picked," but let's all pretend that he really loves Cleveland more than anywhere else that will pay him a ton of money and give him an opportunity. That's because he's an Ohio State kid, of course. He's gotta want to be a Brown, right?
None of this, of course, matters because what's really important is that I want to see him picked by the Browns because I'm a total Buckeye homer, and I just love the energy Michael Hall brings with him. I think he would be a great fit, and that fact that he crushed his Pro Day and all that is just icing on the cake.
So, picking him would make him happy. It would make me happy. I'm not sure what the hold-up is here.
3. IGNORE EVERYTHING ELSE. NFL.COM HAS SPOKEN.
Cleveland Browns 2024 NFL Draft Guide: What you need to know - (nfl.com)
Here it is. The complete guide to the Cleveland Browns draft. We can stop publishing stuff at this point, because NFL.com has it all wrapped up in a single article. In fact, we've really been wasting our time here with the dozens and dozens of articles we've produced about the draft because we should have just waited on this one.
This is what you need to know. This and nothing else. So shut up and read this page.
2. ANALYTICS FROM 50,000 FEET
2024 NFL Draft: How teams use data to build their boards, from athletic evaluation to cognitive assessment - (cbssports.com)
CBS Sports is related to 247Sports, which is related to the OBR. This means we all work together to coordinate our Browns coverage, right? Nope. We're off in our little worlds, cranking away, doing our things. This is probably for the best, as I don't play well with others, tend to want to horde all the fun toys, and generally get cranky around nap time.
So, I didn't know that CBS was going to do a high-level view of how NFL teams use analytics, a subject of particular importance to our Cleveland Browns. But they did. And here it is.
1. I SENSE THE COST OF HASLAMWORLD IS GOING UP
Bears Set to Forge Ahead With Domed Lakefront Stadium Plans - (frontofficesports.com)
There have been all sorts of numbers thrown around regarding the cost of building a new domed stadium for the Browns or refurbishing the existing wind tunnel by the lake. The latter costs $1 billion (for what, I'm not sure), the former has been quoted as being about $2 billlion.
The cost in Chicago, according to Front Office Sports, will be between $2.5 to $3 billion dollars, with an additional $1 billion in road for infrastructure improvements. If I do my math right (and I'm an engineer, ya know) that comes to... um... $3.5 to $4 billion dollars. The Bears are talking about picking up $2 billion of it, leaving the rest to taxpayers, somehow.
Holy crap.
Numbers like that aren't getting thrown around Cleveland or Brookpark just yet, but I'm wondering what Chicago is getting that we're not getting.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Cleveland Browns Kevin Stefanski and Family Launching The Keepers Foundation - (OBR)
It's good when a Browns head coach feels secure enough to give back to the community. In recent decades, a Browns head coach giving back to the community meant tipping the guys from the moving company on his way in and out of town. Although he hasn't signed a contract extension, Kevin Stefanski has started the "Keepers Foundation" to help underprivileged kids in Northeast Ohio. Fred's article has the details and provides today's Lift.
YOUR MORNING NEWSWIRE SOUNDTRACK
Jake shares the replay of Monday Night's Twitch Show where he is joined by Pete Smith, Ian Valentino, and Brad Ward to go through a slew of Browns NFL Draft questions focusing on the key early picks and the names that will matter throughout the weekend's draft.
OBR VIDEO
THE REACT WITH BRAD WARD AND PETE SMITH
OBR ARTICLES FROM YESTERDAY
- (Jack)
Cleveland Browns Kevin Stefanski and Family Launching The Keepers Foundation - (Fred)
- (Jack)
Six Steps to put the Cleveland Browns back in the Playoffs No 3: Do They Draft an Edge Rusher - (Fred)
Six Steps to put the Cleveland Browns back in the Playoffs No 4: Do They Draft a Running Back - (Fred)
Cleveland Browns News 4/23: OBR Draft Calendar, Free Stuff, and Interviewing Fish - (Barry)
Cleveland Browns 2024 NFL Mock Draft: A Focus on Data and the Guardrails - (Cody)
FROM THE FORUMS
NEW! OBR VIP Discord Coming Soon!
Meanwhile, here are some new threads in the OBR’s discussion forums:
THE WATERCOOLER
JACK: Draft Two Tackles, Hear Me Out
Jacob Phillips to the Texans
Which player dont you want at 54?
OT: Any Family Matters/Urkel fans?
Cade York
LiveWire Thread for 4/23 - Twitter, Articles, Videos-OPEN THREAD
WRAPPING UP
When not frantically running amok pestering everyone, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
CONTACT Barry to sponsor the OBR. We have plans for nearly any budget!
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