Cleveland Browns 7-round mock draft

Round 7: Connor McGovern, Offensive Guard, Missouri

All fans, and teams, hold out hope that the next improbable success story will be a seventh-round pick. While there have been a slew of phenomenally talented and productive athletes to come out of later rounds (and even undrafted), the final round of the draft is not the time to count on your team’s savior.

That said, the Browns are quite hapless when it comes to the draft, and given their bad luck (or ineptitude) with higher-round picks, it is not unreasonable to hold out hope that their seventh-round pick could be a sleeper.

Guard Connor McGovern out of Missouri is freakishly strong. Over the summer, he broke a school record, squatting 690 pounds five times. Incidentally, his max squat is 785.

The downside of being freakishly strong is that McGovern has taken things too far, once tearing a pectoral muscle trying to bench press 515 pounds.

Bad judgment aside, the man is fierce. While he is listed as a guard, it is not uncommon for college players to transition into other spots on the offensive line when they start their professional careers. McGovern has already played both guard and left tackle. Many big-name players have also switched positions upon entering the NFL. Redskins guard Brandon Scherff, for example, played left tackle at Iowa.

The Cleveland Browns have some talented players on their line, including Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. Still, McGovern seems to have the raw talent, versatility, and potential to morph into an NFL-caliber player. He is definitely worth strong consideration in the seventh round.

Browns fans are bitter, discouraged, and tired of losing. Exhausted is probably a more apt term. It will take many years for the Browns to reverse their fortunes, and the 2016 draft could be a starting point for that transition. Though the Browns have drafted poorly and had a wide-range of personnel issues in the past, many other losing teams have gradually rebuilt and ended up strong contenders.

The draft won’t turn the Browns into Super Bowl Champions overnight, but there is reason to hope for improvement, some of which could be sparked by new talent joining the team through the draft.