Updating the Cleveland Browns' 1st-Round Big Board Post-Combine

The 2015 NFL Scouting Combine has come and gone, with players further cementing their draft stock or making themselves known to fans and teams alike. 

Prior to the combine, we broke down the Cleveland Browns' biggest first-round targets. Now that the combine is over, let's revisit the Browns' first-round big board to see if the event could have altered who they may be interested in drafting with their two first-round picks in the 2015 draft.

Here are seven players the Browns could set their sights on in Round 1.

7. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

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In the previous first-round big board, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota was listed as the Browns' top Round 1 target. Nothing about the scouting combine has changed his status as a clear first-round draft pick; however, the Browns' needs, combined with the unlikelihood that the team will package a group of picks to move up enough to get him, drop him down to the bottom of this post-combine big board.

To be clear, the Browns need to solve their quarterback situation, but the immediate solution may not come in the draft. It would be wiser for the team to use both of its first-round picks on other positions of need, take a quarterback in a later round and focus on Johnny Manziel battling at least two veterans for the starting job in 2015.

Unsurprisingly, Mariota ran quickly at the combine, posting a 4.52-second 40-yard dash, a 6.87-second three-cone drill and a 4.11-second 20-yard shuttle. However, in throwing drills it was still evident that he is working on his dropbacks. How Mariota adapts to being under center will have much impact not just on his draft stock but also on his ability to be a successful quarterback in the NFL.

Considering that Manziel has the same issues with his game, it would be wise for the Browns to pass on the Mariota option in Round 1 in order to avoid a logjam of quarterbacks who need to be coached up significantly to be successful at the professional game.

That's not to say that the Browns should drop Mariota completely off their first-round draft board. It does mean, however, that he's less of a priority to the team now than he was before the combine.

6. Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa

Much like with Marcus Mariota, Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff isn't dropping down the Browns' first-round draft board because the team no longer needs the boost he could bring to their line or because he underperformed at the scouting combine.

Instead, Scherff is likely just out of the Browns' draft reach at 12th overall because he was so impressive at the event, which led NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock to say that Scherff will be "the first offensive lineman off the board," even despite tweaking a hamstring during the 40-yard dash that cut his workout short. Before the injury, Scherff completed 23 bench-press reps and ran a surprisingly fast 5.05-second 40-yard dash. 

Additionally, he drops on the Browns' draft board because Mayock is convinced that Scherff is a Day 1 starter—at guard. The Browns would ideally like to upgrade the right tackle position, and though Scherff was a collegiate tackle and could someday resume those responsibilities in the NFL, right now he's better-suited to play inside, where the Browns have less of a need.

5. Malcom Brown, DT, Texas

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The Cleveland Browns had plenty of options at nose tackle heading into the scouting combine, and the workouts by the top prospects at the position only made that fact clearer. 

Among the team's first-round options is Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown. He had 71 tackles in 2014, including 13 tackles for a loss along with 6.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. It was easily his best season, but with a small sample size, Brown needed the combine to solidify what he put on film in his junior year.

Though Brown's combine numbers—a 5.05-second 40-yard dash, 26 bench-press reps and a 4.59-second 20-yard shuttle—weren't eye-popping, he looked great in positional drills and drew praise from the NFL Network's Mike Mayock, who said that Brown's "tape is so clean. Stout vs. run, pushes pocket, excellent hand placement."

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein says of Brown that he "[d]iscards blockers when ready as a read-and-react defender and uses a punch to keep himself clean and scrape down the line after ball carriers," and that his "[e]yes stay glued on the ball-carrier no matter what battle is in front of him"—traits on tape that were confirmed in Indianapolis.

Brown is a run-stopping machine who is too "athletic and talented to consistently single block." Given the Browns' struggles at stopping the run over the past 10-plus years and Brown's clear talent, it's possible he is the team's biggest target with the 19th overall pick in the first round.

4. Devin Funchess, WR/TE, Michigan

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Michigan wide receiver/tight end Devin Funchess struggled at the scouting combine, running a less-than-optimal 4.7-second 40-yard dash and completing just 17 reps on the bench press. For most teams, that should drop him down the draft board, but for the Browns, his relatively poor combine could result in their gain.

NFL.com's Bucky Brooks thinks that Funchess' combine performance could make him "a man without a position at the next level," noting that his slower 40 time "will lead scouts to question his ability to thrive on the perimeter" as a wide receiver and his low bench-press reps "makes it tough to envision him moving defenders off the ball as a tight end."

However, Funchess is a good example of why tape should trump a workout. In three years at Michigan, he caught 126 passes for 1,715 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging 13.6 yards per reception. He surpassed 700 receiving yards in each of his last two seasons.

Additionally, Funchess is 6'4" and 232 pounds. While he may not have showed off his strength in a positive light at the combine, a player of his size can get physical with defensive backs on the next level. His size and resume also make him a good candidate to check off two of the Browns' biggest needs with one pick—a tall wide receiver and a pass-catching tight end.

The combine proved that Funchess needs a bit more honing and could use the help of an NFL-caliber weight room. He's still a candidate for the Browns in Round 1.

3. Kevin White, WR, West Virginia

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West Virginia's Kevin White easily put forth the best scouting combine performance among the wide receivers, likely putting him out of the Browns' reach with the 12th overall pick in Round 1. But that doesn't mean they do not covet him—in fact, it seems more likely now that they'd package picks to move up to select him than to try to get Marcus Mariota.

The 6'3", 215-pound White ran a 4.35 40-yard dash and posted 23 bench-press reps. But where he really shined was in receiving drills. It's clear that he is hitting his stride as a receiver. In college, he caught 144 passes for 1,954 yards and 15 touchdowns but only blossomed in 2014, when he had 109 catches for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Given White's combine performance and his senior-year numbers, Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar believes that "White's ceiling will be extremely tantalizing to the NFL, especially since he's only had one dominant season at the Division I level." 

Prior to the combine, NFL.com's Lance Zierlein wrote that, "White competes hard for the ball and has the leaping, hands and high-pointing ability to be a factor down the field despite his lack of top-end speed." He wiped out that concern about his speed with his impressive 40-yard dash. White looks like the complete wideout the Browns so desperately need this year.

2. Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota

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The Cleveland Browns still have a glaring need at tight end, and Minnesota's Maxx Williams remains the best draft prospect at the position. As such, he remains high atop the Browns' first-round draft board after the scouting combine.

Williams did not post a speedy 40-yard dash time, running it in 4.78 seconds. However, it was par for the course among the combine's tight end group, with none displaying blazing speed.

Williams made up for that lack of speed by being "the most natural pass-catcher among the tight ends, exhibiting strong hands and impressive ball skills while snatching passes from every angle" while looking "like a refined route-runner getting in and out of cuts," according to NFL.com's Bucky Brooks.

Further, his 4.37-second 20-yard shuttle somewhat assuages concerns about his speed. He does have explosiveness and burst that the 40-yard dash did not show.

Williams is the only tight end in the top tier of his position and will be a draft target by a number of teams, the Browns included. Whether or not they can land him does not matter—he's the best tight end of the 2015 draft class. For that reason, he remains high on this draft board.

1. Danny Shelton, NT, Washington

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Though it may seem like the Browns' biggest draft needs this year fall on the offensive side of the ball, defense also has a major hole that the draft needs to help plug—the run defense, specifically the nose tackle position. Washington's Danny Shelton separated himself as the draft's best player at the position, and it's almost certain the Browns took notice.

It's not that Shelton led his position when it came to his workout. He ran his 40-yard dash in 5.64 seconds and his 20-yard shuttle in 4.65 seconds. He did exhibit athleticism and explosion with a 30.5-inch vertical leap. But those numbers are of little concern to NFL analysts who watched him in Indianapolis—and on tape.

The NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said that Shelton "is so rare with his strength and his power," that he doesn't care about his timed workouts. Jeremiah says that Shelton should be an immediate starter in the NFL.

The big plus with Shelton is that he can play all three downs, with an ability to collapse a quarterback's pocket as well as stuff the run. He had 93 tackles, nine sacks and 16.5 tackles for a loss in 2014 and could be just as productive in the NFL.

Given his all-around ability, his impressive size (6'2", 339 lbs) and strength and the fact that he grades out as a pure nose tackle, Shelton must be at the top of the Browns' first-round draft board. Nose tackle may not be the most glamorous use of a first-round draft pick, but the Browns cannot pass up someone of his talent should he be there when they select at No. 12.

All scouting combine data via NFL.com unless otherwise noted.