NFL Draft 2016: UCLA’s Myles Jack a perfect fit Cleveland Browns
Former UCLA Bruins linebacker Myles Jack should be on the radar of the Cleveland Browns in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Myles Jack had his Pro Day at UCLA on Tuesday as the top linebacker in the 2016 NFL Draft solidified himself as a top-five pick. Jack estimated he was at 80 percent after undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus put on a show with a 40-inch vertical leap and 10-foot, 4-inch broad jump.
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Jack plans to run the 40 on April 1, according to NFL Media’s Steve Wyche, but still wowed the 132 personnel from 32 teams at the Pro Day. One of the personnel men in attendance was first-year Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson who has a need for an inside linebacker after Karlos Dansby was released on Wednesday.
The Browns are getting younger and in full-on rebuild mode and they should target Jack with the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft instead of a quarterback prospect like Carson Wentz or Jared Goff.
Jack may be the most athletic player in this draft and a player who has the on-field skills to match with his elite measurables and projects as a game-changing defensive player. He’s a playmaker in every sense of the word and a safer choice than either of the two quarterbacks.
Wentz started for a year and a half at FCS North Dakota State and while he is a winner and has prototypical size for the position, making the leap from the FCS to the NFL is awfully risky for a franchise who has repeatedly been burned by the likes of Tim Couch, Brandon Weeden and Johnny Manziel.
There won’t be any worries about taking Jack with the No. 2 overall pick. He fills a need opened by Dansby’s release, which is quite a coincidence it happened one day after Jack’s Pro Day and gives the defense some much-needed credibility.
Jack, who won’t turn 21 until September, had scouts raving about his potential at last month’s Combine with his striking ability and coverage skills that are reminiscent of a defensive back.
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“I love his play-making ability, and you just don’t see linebackers who can cover like he can,” one veteran NFL personnel guy told FOX Sports after the Combine. “He’s confident with a high level of football knowledge. I was a little skeptical of him before the Combine, but he was a great kid to be around.
“He’s special. I really like Darron Lee. I love Myles Jack. He will strike you. He is a way more complete linebacker. He’s played nickel and safety, and I’ve seen him 14 yards deep in the post and make plays.”
Yes, the offense will still struggle without a long-term answer at quarterback, but the Browns can take Jack this year and come back in the 2017 NFL Draft where they’ll likely have a top-three pick to take Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson.
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Watson will enter the Draft with Jameis Winston and Andrew Luck–level hype and could finally solve the Browns’ ongoing quarterback issues since Vinny Testaverde moved on.
With Jack and Watson, the Browns would have cornerstones on both sides of the ball and the pieces in place to legitimately end their run of irrelevance and (gasp!) have a winning record.