NFL Notes: Browns, Giants, Steelers

Browns

• Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that the Browns would draft Mitch Trubisky ahead of Deshaun Watson based on Trubisky’s arm talent and his overall upside potential, despite the fact he started only 13 games at UNC.
• If the Browns are able to trade for either Jimmy Garoppolo or A.J. McCarron, Cabot believes Cleveland may be able to win as many as seven games in 2017. However, going with a young quarterback this season would likely leave them in a similar position as they were last year.
• Assuming Trubisky isn’t available to the Browns at No. 12, Cabot believes they would consider someone like Patrick Mahomes later on in round one or at No. 33 overall.
• As for their current quarterback options, Cabot doesn’t think the Browns view either Cody Kessler or Brock Osweiler as starting candidates this season.
• Cabot expects Tyvis Powell to get an opportunity to compete at safety this summer, given that the Browns are thin at the position.

Giants

• Jordan Raanan of ESPN expects the Giants to draft a quarterback this year, but he believes it’s “highly unlikely” that they will do so in the first round. This is a assuming that Deshaun Watson or Mitchell Trubisky aren’t available to them at No. 23 overall.
• In fact, Raanan goes a step further and mentions that the second round could still be too early for them to grab a quarterback. Raanan believes the best bets for the Giants would be someone like Nathan Peterman, Josh Dobbs or Jerrod Evans in the middle rounds.
• While the Giants have done work on Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes, Raanan seems to think they’re just doing their due diligence in case Mahomes is there in the second round.
• Raanan suggests Vanderbilt LB Zach Cunningham, Florida’s Jarrod Davis and Temple’s Hassan Reddick as quality options for New York to consider at No. 23. Raanan adds that the Giants’ decision to re-sign Keenan Robinson doesn’t affect anything when it comes to possibly drafting a linebacker.
• As for Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey, Raanan believes there’s a “strong” likelihood of the Giants using their first-round pick on him, assuming he’s still available.
• Raanan considers it to be “very doubtful” the Giants would draft Michigan S Jabril Peppers in round one.

Steelers

• On Sunday, Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes showed off his arm strength by throwing a ball 78 yards at his Pro Day.
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes that the Steelers were represented at the workout and previously interviewed Mahomes at the Scouting Combine. Fowler mentions that it’s possible Pittsburgh could also bring him in for a pre-draft workout in the coming weeks.
• According to Fowler, the Steelers are “aggressively evaluating” several quarterbacks in this year’s draft class and Mahomes could be an intriguing option for them to consider, given that he has good size, big arm, can throw from several angles and on the run.
• If the Steelers were to take Mahomes as a long-term prospect, he could sit a few years behind Ben Roethlisberger and possibly take over at some point when Big Ben is ready to move on.