As the 2015 NFL Draft nears, ClevelandBrowns.com is ramping up its coverage to ensure fans know everything about the team's potential picks.
The Browns have two of them in the first round, of course, so there's plenty of turf to cover.
"Browns draft radar" will give you a glimpse at the nearly two dozen names being mentioned in the same breath as the Cleveland Browns. Today, we break down one of the youngest offensive tackles in the draft: Miami's Ereck Flowers.
Vitals: 6-6, 329 pounds
Who's linking him to the Browns?
Why the Browns would be interested: The Browns have just a handful of position groups poised to return all of their usual starters in 2015. The offensive line is one of the few, leading many to wonder why so many mock drafts are pegging an offensive lineman to the Browns with one of their two first-round picks. The potential answer, though, lies behind what general manager Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine preach in nearly every one of their sessions with reporters. Competition is imperative at every position, and one of Farmer's offseason goals was to provide more of it on the offensive line, which boasts one of the more formidable starting units in the NFL but saw a significant dropoff when players went down with injuries last year. Flowers is one of the top offensive line prospects in the draft who, after just three years at Miami, has tremendous upside. A number of offensive linemen are expected to be picked in the second half of the first round, and Flowers is anticipated to be one of them. He's projected to play at either right tackle or guard after logging two seasons on the left side and one on the right with the Hurricanes. That flexibility would allow a team such as the Browns to plug him at a spot that needs competition the most.
Why he could be around at 12 or 19: Barring a gigantic surprise, he'll be there at No. 12. Only one offensive lineman (Iowa's Brandon Scherff) has been consistently pegged as a top-10 pick. After Scherff, it's all over the map with the likes of LSU's La'el Collins, Stanford's Andrus Peat, Florida State's Cameron Erving and even Florida's D.J. Humphries being projected throughout picks 15-32 with no consensus favorite as No. 2. The proven versatility -- as opposed to the projected versatility of Flowers -- may give the edge to Collins, who has played guard and both tackle spots, and Erving, who could potentially play all five spots, for the second and third slots for offensive lineman, leaving a player like Flowers around for the Browns.
Why he won't be around at 12 or 19: Flowers' upside and steamrolling ability in the run game may be just too tempting for teams in the middle of the draft to pass. NFL Network's Mike Mayock believes Flowers has the potential to be a regular at the Pro Bowl if he plays right tackle. It only takes one team to believe it for Flowers to be gone before the Browns make their second first-round pick.
Stat to know: The Browns averaged 146.4 rushing yards per game with their season-opening starting offensive line. In the final 11 games, Cleveland averaged a little more than 90 per contest.
Quote to note: "I enjoy run blocking. Weaknesses, I'm still working on every part of my game. I think I still have my best ball ahead of me and haven't come close to touching it so I'm just working on everything." -- Flowers
The last time …: Miami produced a first-round draft pick was 2008 (Kenny Phillips). In 2004, the Hurricanes had six players land in the first round.
