ABOUT AUSTIN CORBETT

Browns General Manager John Dorsey obviously has strong faith in Austin Corbett. It’s why he drafted the offensive lineman from Nevada even though the Browns had no natural spot for him to immediately start.

And it had to bother Dorsey to hear some people classify Corbett as a “mistake” because he was on the bench after being the No. 33 pick in the 2018 draft.

While Corbett was a left tackle at Nevada, the Browns were not serious about him playing that position in the NFL. He briefly was used there during the 2018 training camp as the Browns searched for a replacement for future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas.

The Dorsey front office considered Corbett a guard in the NFL. He also could play some center.

Here’s some background:

1. In the spring of 2017, the Sashi Brown front office signed guard Kevin Zeitler to a five-year, $60 million deal. And they extended the contract of Joel Bitonio – a five-year, $50 million deal.

2. The Browns had oodles of salary cap room and were desperate for linemen. So the deals made sense. They also had allowed right tackle Mitchell Schwartz to walk away via free agency. Dorsey signed him in Kansas City before the 2016 season.

3. Not long after he became the Browns general manager on Dec. 7, 2017, Dorsey viewed the Browns as having two of the most expensive guards in the league. As the team improved, the Browns would have about $20 million tied up in salary money in those two players.

4. Most football people and football analytics believe if you’re going to spend $10 million on an offensive lineman, he should be a left tackle – not a guard.

5. It seems from the moment the Browns drafted Corbett, in the back of their minds they were waiting for the right moment to trade Zeitler. That’s why Corbett was drafted – not to replace Thomas.

6. Before trading Zeitler, the Dorsey front office had discussions with new offensive line coach James Campen. Dorsey worked with Campen in Green Bay. The Browns consider him a significant upgrade over Bob Wylie, who was one of the stars of “Hard Knocks” on HBO.

7. Campen worked for the Packers for 15 years. The Browns gave him the added title of associate head coach, allowing him to leave Green Bay even though he was under contract for 2019 with the Packers.

8. I’ve been told Campen “absolutely loves” Corbett and believes he can become a very good guard in 2019. Corbett’s salary cap number for 2019 is $1.7 million, compared to $10 million for Zeitler.

Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett often was the team's only effective pass rusher in 2018. Photo by John Kuntz / cleveland.comcleveland.com

ABOUT ANALYTICS

One of the surprising aspects of Dorsey’s management style is how he leans on analytics. It also played a role in the Browns sending Jabrill Peppers, Zeitler, the No. 17 pick and No. 95 pick in the 2019 draft to the Giants for Olivier Vernon and Odell Beckham.

I heard the Browns did a lot of research on the effectiveness of Vernon as a pass rusher. I’d love to get my hands on those numbers.

If you can choose between spending big money on a guard or a pass rusher, pick the pass rusher every time. But make sure you don’t focus on sack totals.

That’s why the Browns weren’t alarmed by Vernon’s relatively modest total of 13 sacks in the last two seasons with the Giants.

Profootballfocus wrote: “Vernon is simply not the type of pass rusher that racks up big sack numbers...Vernon’s 192 pressures over the last three seasons were the 16th most in the NFL. That’s despite missing a handful of games over that span with injury...that’s top-notch production.”

Nearly as good as a sack is a quarterback hit. That often causes a quarterback to throw before he’s ready. No quarterback likes dealing with pressure.

The Browns’ top four players for QB hits in 2018:

1. Myles Garrett: 29.

2. Larry Ogunjobi: 15.

3. Genard Avery: 14.

4. Emmanuel Ogbah: 8.

How about Vernon?

He had 21 hits in 11 games for the Giants.

Profootballfocus also counts “quarterback hurries.” That’s more of a judgment call because you have to decide if the quarterback is rushing his throw because of defensive pressure or lack of poise in the pocket.

But a QB hit delivers a painful message.

Profootballfocus also wrote: “Emmanuel Ogbah racked up a measly 31 pressures across from Myles Garrett last season – 15 of which were either unblocked or deemed a cleanup. On the other hand, Vernon had 46 on 82 fewer pass-rushing snaps.”

Finally, the Browns thought Vernon was out of position as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. He is a natural defensive end in the 4-3 defense, and that’s where he will play.

ABOUT ODELL BECKHAM JR.

1. The Browns had on-and-off talks with the Giants since the end of the 2018 season about a trade, and it wasn’t always Beckham-centered. The Giants wanted to upgrade their offensive line, targeting Zeitler. The Browns were focused on a pass rusher – Vernon.

2. The Giants kept telling teams they wanted a pair of No. 1 draft picks for Beckham. When Dorsey said he was “not ready to go for it” at the NFL Combine, the general manager meant making a deal involving two future first round picks.

3. Two days before the trade was eventually consummated, Dorsey was thinking the odds were “99 percent” against a deal happening. Then the Giants changed their minds, willing to take the Browns’ No. 17 pick in this draft. The discussion moved into other players, the two teams settling on Jabrill Peppers going to New York instead of a future first rounder.

4. The Browns know Beckham can be volatile. But they also learned he was not a player who was late for meetings. He didn’t blow off practices. When Dorsey talked about Beckham’s “passion for the game,” he meant the receiver’s willingness to prepare for games in practice and the video room.

5. It was just like when the Browns traded for Jarvis Landry. Word out of Miami was Landry could be difficult, impatient with coaches and wanting the ball thrown to him more often. But he also was a player dedicated to practicing every day. And he was durable, never missing a game due to injury.

6. Combining two emotional personalities at receiver such as Landry and Beckham could be a problem, but they played together at LSU. They like each other. So even if they have some issues, they have their positive history in college to work through them.

7. The Browns also believe the Landry/Beckham combination will work because of Adam Henry, the Browns’ receivers coach. He coached both receivers at LSU. He also was Beckham’s receivers coach with the New York Giants in 2016-17.

8. So the Browns did weigh personalities and off-field chemistry before making the Beckham deal. They also knew Baker Mayfield has the respect of Landry. Mayfield had developed an off-season relationship with Beckham. He seems to connect with both guys.