There are no fireworks in this week's edition of the Browns Mailbag, but we're chomping on plenty of leftover questions from the holiday weekend.
Let's knock out three on the 6th of July.
I really like all of our draft picks and think all of them have a good shot of making the roster. How many rookies will we see on the roster in September as the season starts? -- Anthony B., Jonesboro, Georgia
This is an impossible question to answer at this point in the offseason but it's sure to be a hot-button topic throughout training camp. Instead of analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each of the 14 draft picks, here's a look at what each will face from a competition standpoint when the team returns in late July. That can have just as much of an effect on a player's chances.
And, for reference, the Browns had eight of 12 draft picks make the initial 53-man roster last season. Two of the four who didn't make it were on injured reserve, one was placed on the practice squad and one did not return in any capacity.
QB
Draft pick: Cody Kessler (3rd round)
Number of QBs who made initial 53-man roster last year: 2 (Austin Davis made it three shortly before the season opener)
Number of others at the position: 3 (Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, Davis)
WR
Draft picks: Corey Coleman (1st round), Ricardo Louis (4th), Jordan Payton (5th), Rashard Higgins (5th).
Number of WRs who made initial 53-man last year: 7 (Terrelle Pryor was released before season opener, making it six)
Number of others at the position: 7 (Andrew Hawkins, Pryor, Taylor Gabriel, Rannell Hall, Darius Jennings, Marlon Moore, Dennis Parks)
TE
Draft picks: Seth DeValve (4th round)
Number of TEs who made initial 53-man last year: 4
Number of others at the position: 5 (Gary Barnidge, E.J. Bibbs, Connor Hamlett, Randall Telfer, J.P. Holtz)
OL
Draft picks: Shon Coleman (3rd round), Spencer Drango (5th)
Number of OL who made initial 53-man last year: 6 (Austin Pasztor was added to make it seven before the season opener)
Number of others at the position: 11 (Alvin Bailey, Joel Bitonio, Conor Boffeli, Michael Bowie, Dan France, Garth Gerhart, John Greco, Erle Ladson, Mike Matthews, Pasztor, Joe Thomas)
DL
Draft pick: Carl Nassib (3rd round)
Number of DL who made initial 53-man last year: 8 (Billy Winn was traded before the season opener to drop the total to seven)
Number of others at the position: 8 (Armonty Bryant, Desmond Bryant, Jamie Meder, Danny Shelton, Nile Lawrence-Stample, Kyle Rose, Dylan Wynn, John Hughes III)
ILB
Draft pick: Scooby Wright III (7th round)
Number of ILBs who made initial 53-man last year: 4
Number of others at the position: 5 (Demario Davis, Christian Kirksey, Tank Carder, Dominique Alexander, Justin Tuggle)
OLB
Draft picks: Emmanuel Ogbah (2nd round), Joe Schobert (4th)
Number of OLBs who made initial 53-man last year: 4
Number of others at the position: 5 (Cam Johnson, Jackson Jeffcoat, Paul Kruger, Nate Orchard, Barkevious Mingo)
DB
Draft picks: Derrick Kindred (4th round), Trey Caldwell (5th)
Number of DBs who made initial 53-man last year: 11 (Charles Gaines was placed on short-term IR before season opener to drop it to 10)
Number of others at the position: 17 (Sean Baker, Pierre Desir, Mikell Everette, Gaines, Justin Gilbert, Joe Haden, Tracy Howard, Don Jones, Rahim Moore Sr., Eric Patterson, Jordan Poyer, Tim Scott, A.J. Stamps, Jamar Taylor, K'Waun Williams, Tramon Williams, Ibraheim Campbell)
Rahim Moore has really seemed to have taken a liking to Cleveland and Coach Hue, do you see him starting this season and sticking around? - Mike P., Canfield
There have been few new additions to the Browns roster who have been more outspoken about their happiness than Moore. Not only has he relished a fresh start after a tough season in Houston, but he's also tapped into the history of the franchise, often naming the previous UCLA DBs who have shined with the Browns in the past. He's humbled, excited and confident at the same time and has provided a nice presence in a relatively young Browns DBs room.
"If you don't know your history, you won't be a part of it," Moore said last month.
Moore is easily the most experienced safety on Cleveland's roster after the offseason departures of Donte Whitner and Tashaun Gipson. Whether that means he'll be starting for the Browns in their season opener remains to be seen, though, as Ibraheim Campbell and Jordan Poyer are providing tough competition. Rookie Derrick Kindred is also a candidate. Moore's experience and upside make him a plausible candidate for the 53-man roster but he'll have to prove he belongs in August.
With all of the DBs that were taken by the previous regimes, are there some quality corners? And who's our safeties? -- Rusty S., Southington, Connecticut
Covered the safety aspect in the previous answer so we'll focus on the corners. There are a number of them you can put in the same boat of "lightly seasoned and entering an important year of their career." That includes 2014 first-round pick Justin Gilbert, third-year player Pierre Desir and second-year Charles Gaines. As injuries piled up, all three of these players were thrown into the fire in some degree. They made plays but also had their fair share of struggles. None did enough to guarantee themselves a significant role on the 2016 squad but left room to show they belong with a brand new set of eyes on Jackson's coaching staff.
All three will face significant competition not just from veterans Tramon Williams and Joe Haden, but also the likes of Jamar Taylor, who was acquired in a draft day trade with the Dolphins, and a number of talented rookies, a group that includes fifth-round pick Trey Caldwell and undrafted free agents Tracy Howard and Mikell Everette.
