The first stage of the post-college season/pre-draft portion of the calendar is wrapping up this season.
The East-West Shrine Bowl was held Thursday night at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. The Senior Bowl will be held Saturday afternoon in Mobile, Ala.
Those games are the first pole markers in the four-month ramp-up to the late-April draft. The next one will be a month from now when the NFL Scouting Combine is held in Indianapolis.
Between now and then, there will be much weight put on the performances of prospects during the week of practices leading into those two all-star games. Players will rise up the mock drafts, and the Browns will certainly be connected to several of them.
Today we will look at five players whose performances at the Shrine Bowl could lead them to a prominent spot in the Browns’ draft plans. The prospects are listed alphabetically.
Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tech
The Browns need a running back, with or without Nick Chubb back on the roster. The 5-foot, 10-inch and 230-pound Brooks isn’t just a power back. The former Red Raider showed off agility and balance during his time in the Metroplex for the Shrine Bowl. With the expectation of a return to the wide-zone run game for the Browns with coach Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, the vision and patience Brooks possesses would be an ideal match. Brooks also is a capable pass-catcher out of the backfield. In a deep pool of running backs available in this draft, he was one who raised his profile in Texas this past week.
Efton Chism III, WR, Eastern Washington
The Browns need a running back, with or without Nick Chubb back on the roster. The 5-foot, 10-inch and 230-pound Brooks isn’t just a power back. The former Red Raider showed off agility and balance during his time in the Metroplex for the Shrine Bowl. With the expectation of a return to the wide-zone run game for the Browns with coach Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, the vision and patience Brooks possesses would be an ideal match. Brooks also is a capable pass-catcher out of the backfield. In a deep pool of running backs available in this draft, he was one who raised his profile in Texas this past week.
Efton Chism III, WR, Eastern Washington
Chism may not be the fastest wide receiver in the draft class. He may be benefitting from some comparing him in ways to Cooper Kupp, another Eastern Washington product. Yet, there’s no doubt Chism left the Shrine Bowl with more people talking about him than when he got there. That’s even though he was extremely productive at the FCS Division I program, with more than 3,800 receiving yards and 37 receiving touchdowns. Chism, who stands just over 5-10 and weighs in at 195 pounds, was primarily utilized out of the slot at the Shrine Bowl, but that didn’t limit his production. The hands that led to a 3% career drop rate had four catches on four targets for 43 yards in the game. Chism also can return kicks and punts, which adds to what he can provide a team like the Browns, who need wide receivers and return game help, especially with punts
Luke Lachey, TE, Iowa
The Browns need another tight end regardless of David Njoku’s future. When you’re searching for a tight end out of college, there’s not too many places better to draw from than the tight end factory at the University of Iowa. Lachey, the son of Ohio State legend Jim Lachey, has the ideal kind of size for the kind of tight end he could be at the NFL level. He’s 6-6 and 247 pounds, and was effective in both the run and pass game for the Hawkeyes during the season. Once Lachey got into the all-star setting, it only allowed those skills — from route-running to pass-blocking to general footwork and hands — to showcase themselves.
Jordan Phillips, DT, Maryland
The Browns remain in the hunt for more young defensive tackle talent as Mike Hall Jr., their 2024 second-round pick, recovers from a knee injury that’s expected to sideline him months. No player may have made a bigger impression at the Shrine Bowl than Phillips, the undersized (6-1½, 318 pounds) defensive tackle from Maryland. He was a bull in a china shop when it came to one-on-one pass-protection drills over the course of the week in Texas. The knock about being undersized works for him in a game where low man wins. The question is about how much it changes his ceiling in terms of where he could land.
Shamari Simmons, S, Arizona State
The Browns need safety help, and Simmons may be the answer. The former Arizona State Sun Devil was absolutely all over the place during his time in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It wasn’t just about flying around making tackles, either. In fact, it was everything else he was able to do that would make him appealing for the Browns. Simmons got his hands on multiple passes, while also creating fumbles multiple times during the week. That kind of play-making ability was lacking badly with the Browns’ safety group last season. Simmons could fill that gap.
