INDIANAPOLIS -- Stroll around the wonderful state capital of Indiana this week and ask an NFL Combine-goer where the 2019 NFL Draft's strength lies.
There's a strong chance you'll receive the same answer: defensive line.
Browns general manager John Dorsey said it twice himself Thursday, first while at the podium in the Indiana Convention Center, and again in a scrum off to the side with local media members. It's no secret.
But what was a bit of a revelation was how Dorsey views the class as a whole.
"It's defensive line. We all know that," Dorsey said. "But if you really look in the draft at different positions along the draft, there's some really nice depth in Day 2 and the early part of Day 3. I think overall this draft class is a pretty good draft class. I think the defensive line really helps that."
We have some history to rely on as we approach this draft. In 2016, when Dorsey was the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, his first-round pick landed at No. 28. Dorsey eventually traded out of the first round entirely, sending No. 28 and a seventh-rounder to San Francisco for three picks: Nos. 37, 105 and 178.
Where did Dorsey turn with his first pick of that draft (No. 37), on Day 2? Defensive line.
With Dontari Poe headed to free agency (he eventually signed with Atlanta), Dorsey selected defensive tackle Chris Jones. In his third season, Jones blossomed into a beautiful menace on the defensive line, earning second-team All-Pro honors.
With the Browns in the market for a difference-maker to line up next to Larry Ogunjobi, and the strength of the class being defensive line, this might be in the cards again for Dorsey and his staff.
And for those anguished by the prospect of spending a first-round pick on the defensive line, let's return to that 2016 draft for just one more moment. A few rounds later, Dorsey also selected another key contributor for the Chiefs: a guy named Tyreek Hill.
