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Jones has passed him on the depth chart for now, but this battle is far from over. The young safeties will duke it out for a starting job all pre-season long and it will be a position battle worth watching.
The Browns need to pull back and give him a little time off to heal. With LeCharles Bentley out for the season and rookie Isaac Sowells out for a few weeks….the Browns can’t afford to lose any more O-Linemen.
1. Adam Vinatieri, Colts (6) Vinatieri is Mr.Clutch, and for that he becomes the kicker for the best offense in the NFL.
2. Jeff Wilkins, Rams (7) Wilkins is a dominant kicker every so often, and he will be one this season.
3. Shayne Graham, Bengals (5) Has increased his points scored 4 straight seasons, and scored 131 pts. last season.
4. Mike Vanderjagt, Cowboys (3) Is the most accurate kicker in NFL history. Should be a weapon for Cowboys.
5. Neil Rackers, Cardinals (9) Set NFL record last season making 40 FGs. Cards offense will score more TDs this season.
6. Jason Elam, Broncos (4) Mr. Reliable. He always puts up points, and gets a few long ones at Mile High.
7. David Akers, Eagles (9) Offense will need him more without a big-time receiver. He’s healthy and ready to rebound.
8. Nate Kaeding, Chargers (3) Has a strong leg and might need it with Rivers replacing Brees.
9. Matt Bryant, Buccaneers (4) He’s a sleeper here, as the Bucs offense should improve this year. He makes some long ones.
10. Jay Feely, Giants (4) Led the NFL in kicker points (148) last season, and it wasn’t a fluke.
11. Josh Brown, Seahawks (5) Brown is a solid kicker, with a solid offense.
12. Ryan Longwell, Vikings (6) Kicking inside should help him, and he hit alot of long field goals anyway.
13. Steve Gostkowski, Patriots (6) He’s a rookie, but he’s also on a good offensive team. Can he handle the pressure?
14. Sebastian Janikowski, Raiders (3) He has superb league strength and the Raiders should be a little better on offense.
15. Lester Tynes, Chiefs (3) Had a good season last year, but have to wait and see what Edwards’ offense looks like.
16. Olindo Mare, Dolphins (8) Marlins won’t make the playoffs, so he should be ok.
17. Matt Stover, Ravens (7) Getting a little long in tooth, but still accurate.
18. Rian Lindell, Bills (8) One of the best offensive weapons on the Bills, what does that tell you?
19. Jeff Reed, Steelers (4) Not very accurate, and questions all over the offense.
20. Jason Hanson, Lions (8) He could be a sleeper with Mike Martz running the offense in Detroit.
21. Mike Nugent, Jets (9) The Jets offense could be bad, real bad.
22. John Hall, Redskins (8) Could shoot up the list if he could stay healthy….hasn’t been for two years in a row.
23. John Kasay, Panthers (9) Getting a little old and has had some injuries recently.
24. Josh Scobee, Jaguars (6) Can hit the long one, but isn’t an accurate kicker overall.
25. Rob Bironas, Titans (7) Is a good kicker that will improve as much as the Titans offense improves.
26. John Carney, Saints (7) Still accurate at 42 years old, but can’t hit the deep ones anymore.
27. Phil Dawson, Browns (6) A good kicker that would move up this list if the offense improves.
28. Kris Brown, Texans (5) Brown is not very accurate, and the Texans have not been very good on offense.
29. Joe Nedney, 49ers (7) Only missed two kicks all of last season…..needs more opportunities.
30. Robbie Gould, Bears (7) Not very accurate and currently in a battle for his job.
31. Billy Cundiff, Packers (6) Has been bouncing around for a while. Not much upside here.
32. Tony Yelk, Falcons (5) Rookie trying to win a job on an offense that doesn’t light up the scoreboard.
1. Peyton Manning, Colts. (6) This is a no-brainer. The greatest fantasy QB of his time.
2. Tom Brady, Patriots (6) The greatest QB of his time. Spreads the ball around, and always puts up numbers.
3. Trent Green, Chiefs (3) Green has put up three straight 4,000 yards passing season together. Under-rated.
4. Carson Palmer, Bengals (5) Knee is a huge question mark. Has alot of weapons in the passing game.
5. Eli Manning, Giants (4) Manning started to emerge from brothers’ shadow. Has a good supporting cast.
6. Marc Bulger, Rams (7) Only needs to stay healthy to lead the greatest show on turf.
7. Duante Culpepper, Dolphins (8) Huge risk/reward pick. Has a huge arm, but can Chambers imitate Moss?
8. Donovan McNabb, Eagles (9) Probably would have ranked higher if he had at least one good receiver.
9. Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks (5) Injury to Darrell Jackson hurts. Plus Shaun Alexander will get his carries.
10. Drew Bledsoe, Cowboys (3) If T.O. behaves, this is too low for Bledsoe. T.O. always makes his QB better.
11. Brett Favre, Packers (6) Running backs look healthy, which will put less pressure on him to win game himself.
12. Kurt Warner, Cardinals (9) Warner would be higher on this list if he weren’t so brittle. Risk/Reward pick.
13. Drew Brees, Saints (7) Always scared of injured throwing shoulders, but he has a good supporting cast.
14. Aaron Brooks, Raiders (3) Hard to hold last season against any Saint. Will thrive throwing ball to Randy Moss.
15. Jake Delhomme, Panthers (9) Better in real football than fantasy football.
16. Jake Plummer, Broncos (4) Will he feel the heat with Jay Cutler around? If not he’ll be ok.
17. David Carr, Texans (5) Has shown improvement the last two seasons, and now he has Eric Moulds.
18. Billy Volek, Titans (7) Volek has been a superb back-up, and now he gets the keys to the car for a season.
19. Steve McNair, Ravens (7) McNair is only this far down the list because he’s brittle. Reunited with Mason will help.
20. Philip Rivers, Chargers (3) Risk/Reward pick. Not much experience, but a very good supporting cast.
21. Mark Brunell, Redskins (8) Nice supporting group, but injury prone and old.
22. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (4) Lots of questions. Will he be ok or gun shy? Steelers run alot and that hurts him.
23. Jon Kitna, Lions (8) If he wins the job, he could put up huge numbers with Mike Martz calling the plays.
24. Chris Simms, Buccaneers (4) For first time since high-school, he’s the best QB on his team.
25. Brad Johnson, Vikings (6) 38 year old QB that likes the short pass. Will he last a whole season?
26. Michael Vick, Falcons (5) Vick is the most electrifying QB in the league. But his 150 yards passing won’t help you.
27. Byron Leftwich, Jaguars (6) He has never played a complete season, and his receiving corps is downright awful.
28. Chad Pennington, Jets (9) Pennington is a good QB when he plays….which isn’t very often.
29. Charlie Frye, Browns (6) Looked ok in his brief trial at the end of the season. Having Edwards and Winslow will help.
30. Kelly Holcomb, Bills (8) He should win the job, but if you draft a Bills QB…you need your head examined.
31. Rex Grossman, Bears (7) Look up the word “brittle” in the dictionary and you’ll see Rex Grossman’s face.
32. Alex Smith, 49ers (7) He’s got a long way to go to be an average QB.
33. Brian Griese, Bears (7) Sure to start some games, the only question is when.
34. Matt Leinhart, Cardinals (9) Leinhart probably will get the keys to the explosive offense at some point.
35. Gus Frerotte, Rams (7) Follows head-coach Scott Linehan around like a puppy. Could see some time.
36. Josh McCown, Lions (8) Back-up to Kitna to start the season. Lions QB of near future.
37. Matt Schaub, Falcons (5) Better throwing QB than starter Michael Vick.
38. David Garrard, Jaguars (6) Plays well every season after Leftwich gets hurt.
39. Jeff Garcia, Eagles (9) Still has a little left in the tank if McNabb goes down.
40. Patrick Ramsey, Jets (9) QB in waiting behind Pennington. Only a matter of time until he plays.
41. Trent Dilfer, 49ers (7) Coach Nolan won’t let his team’s season go to waste if Smith is over-matched again.
42. Jim Sorgi, Colts (6) Played well in limited action. Has a super supporting cast if forced into action.
43. JP Losman, Bills (8) Good athlete for a QB, but not a good passer.
44. Kyle Boller, Ravens (7) Behind McNair, so he could get a chance. Played well last December.
45. Joey Harrington, Dolphins (8) Could get playing time in Miami, but that was never an issue in Detroit.
46. Anthony Wright, Bengals (5) Wright is a good athlete and the Bengals have good receivers…but, Wright is not a good passer.
47. Vince Young, Titans (7) If the Titans throw him to the wolves, he will get chewed up and spit out.
48. Jay Cutler, Broncos (4) Cutler’s year will be next season.
49. Sage Rosenfels, Texans (5) Not very productive in limited chances.
50. Charlie Batch, Steelers (4) Running team, but if Big Ben’s head hurts he might get forced into action.
51. Chris Weinke, Panthers (9) Had his chance, and then the Panthers signed Delhomme.
52. Todd Collins, Redskins (8) Playing behind Brunell with a loaded supporting cast.
53. Damon Huard, Chiefs (3) Chiefs would probably run alot if he were forced into action.
54. Jamie Martin, Saints (7) Good completion % usually. A decent back-up.
55. Jay Fiedler, Buccaneers (4) Still hasn’t thrown a pass in camp. Game manager that wouldn’t put up big numbers.
56. Matt Cassel, Patriots (6) Hasn’t started a real game since high school.
57. A.J. Feeley, Chargers (3) If you have a penalty for pick-offs, don’t say this name.
58. Andrew Walter, Raiders (3) Hasn’t played a down, but has good receivers.
59. Aaron Rodgers, Packers (6) The fact that the Packers drafted a QB speaks volumes.
60. Tim Hasselbeck, Giants (4) Giants have a good supporting cast, but Hasselbeck hasn’t proved he could take advantage of that.
61. Ken Dorsey, Browns (6) Trying to hold off Derek Anderson for back-up job.
62. Seneca Wallace, Seahawks (5) Not a good passer.
63. Tony Romo, Cowboys (3) No experience…..scary.
64. Mike McMahon, Vikings (6) Good runner, but the worst throwing QB in the league.
Rookie third-round pick Travis Wilson is impressing the people he needs to in camp with a host of acrobatic catches. He’s pushing Dennis Northcutt for the #3 receiver job. This situation will bear watching in the pre-season.
Kellen Winslow is back! Finally getting to the field for the first time in almost two seasons, he’s showing the ability in Camp to line-up at tight end or wide receiver. Winslow has the hands and speed to be playing in Honolulu in February. Safeties beware….”The Soldier” is back! Winslow has only played in 2 games (2 starts) and has caught 5 passes for 50 yards (10.0 avg).
Steve Heiden is an excellent tight-end in his own right. Heiden took advantage of the injuries to Winslow and ran with his opportunity. Heiden is a good blocker and has good hands. Heiden has played in 95 games (54 starts) and has caught 120 passes for 1,014 yards (8.5 avg) and 11 TDs. The Browns will probably play Heiden and Winslow together in alot of formations.
Darnell Dinkins is the #3 TE. He is an excellent special teams player that could step in if an injury occured to one of the two guys ahead of him on the depth chart. Dinkins has played in 35 games (8 starts) and has caught 17 passes for 165 yards (9.7 avg) and a TD.
Braylon Edwards has returned to practice less than seven months after having surgery on his knee. Edwards is way ahead of schedule and is targeting Week #1 for his return. That would be an amazing recovery as it was thought he would be out until Week #7. Edwards is big and fast, and he can really jump. Edwards was starting to really develop after Charlie Frye took over as the starting QB. Edwards played in 10 games (7 starts) and caught 32 passes for 512 yards (16.0 avg) and 3 TDs.
Joe Jurevicius is returning to his hometown to start opposite Edwards. Jurevicius helped lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl appearance last season when he caught 10 TD passes. Jurevicius has real good hands, and is a big and tough receiver especially in the Red Zone. Jurevicius has played in 104 games (34 starts) and has caught 233 passes for 3,010 yards (12.9 avg) and 23 TDs.
Dennis Northcutt will try to keep hold of his job as #3 receiver, but Frisman Jackson and rookie Travis Wilson will be battling him in Camp. Northcutt is a fine punt returner, who has had some good moments as a receiver. He has played in 86 games (39 starts) and has caught 254 passes for 3,210 yards (12.6 avg) and 11 TDs. He also has run the ball 42 times for 298 yards (7.1 ypc) and a TD.
Frisman Jackson is a big receiver that is still learning the position after playing QB in college. Jackson could push Northcutt for his job. Jackson has played in 34 games (0 starts) and has caught 40 passes for 490 yards (12.3 avg) with a TD.
Travis Wilson was the Browns’ third round pick this season and is profiled on The Draft Report on this site. He also is in the mix for the #3 spot.
Joshua Cribbs is learning how to play receiver, while earning his money returning kick-offs. He only has one NFL reception for 7 yards.
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Phil Dawson has been a solid kicker for the Browns since their return to the NFL. Dawson hit 93.1% of his field goals last season, the problem was the Browns offense didn’t give him many chances. Dawson has been solid even though the weather gets a little scary on the banks of Lake Erie.
Dawson has hit 83.9% of his field goals for his career and has averaged 5.32 points per game.
Cornerback Daylon McCutcheon and OT Ryan Tucker need arthoscopic surgery on their knees and are questionable for the start of the season. If the Browns didn’t have bad luck, they would have no luck at all.