neosapien23 said:
Cleveland will take either Bunkly or Ngata.
Lawson could flip the switch for Browns
Monday, April 10, 2006 [FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Steve Doerschuk REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]
LAWSON
Frank Beamer sounded surprised after Manny Lawson blew Virginia Tech’s lights out that Saturday.
“I never thought they would handle us that way,” Beamer said after his Techies got tripped by Lawson’s North Carolina State team during a September 2004 game. “Never, never, never.”
Lawson, who had been switched from linebacker to end, predicted more of the same after delivering three of his team’s 10 sacks.
“Hold on to your seat and clench your teeth,” he said.
Now, as Browns fans edge up on their chairs for the April 29-30 draft, Lawson might be coming up on the outside. He is a strong option to flesh out Cleveland’s linebacker corp.
Lawson is seen as a late first-round type, but teams are antsy about missing the next breakout front-seven player. Dwight Freeney and Shawne Merriman are examples of such stars who were undervalued at draft time.
At the NFL Combine, Lawson was measured at 6-foot-5, 241 pounds. He runs the 40 faster than most running backs and did a 39 1/2-inch vertical leap.
Some scout-informed commercial analysis sees him as an obvious target for Cleveland, including this from “War Room scouts” of The Sporting News: “Look for Lawson to go higher than expected, especially with so many teams switching to a 3-4 scheme and desperately in search of outside linebackers who can rush. Cleveland, New England and Pittsburgh are always searching for guys like him.
“He is an explosive tackler and flies off the edge as a pass rusher. He must polish his game but has unlimited potential.”
Lawson has been compared to recent Browns pickup Willie McGinest, 34, who says he would gladly mentor a young protégé.
“I don’t know what to say about the comparison,” Lawson said at the Combine. “He’s done things I haven’t done.”
At N.C. State, Lawson played end opposite Mario Williams, a certified beast who is supposed to be long gone before the Browns pick at No. 12, partly because of his speed.
Asked at the combine if he is faster than Williams, Lawson said yes, adding, “It’s not even close ... not even.”
Lawson, not Williams, was voted N.C. State’s MVP.
“We complemented each other,” Lawson said. “The vote could have gone either way.”
The 6-7, 295-pound Williams is Mel Kiper Jr.’s No. 3 player in the draft based on a big body and some off-the-charts games. In a regular-season finale against North Carolina, Williams had four sacks and forced a fumble. Lawson had a tackle for loss, a sack and two quarterback knockdowns.
“I fed off Manny all season,” Williams said. “Me and him were like, ‘Meet me at the quarterback.’ ”
The Dolphins, who have the 16th pick, are among teams hot on Lawson’s trail.
Lawson thinks he can bulk up and play end in a 4-3 or rush and drop into pass coverage as a 3-4 linebacker. “A guy I look up to, Jason Taylor, is about my size and height,” Lawson said. “Another guy is Dwight Freeney. I wish I had his spin move.” ’Tis the season for draft spin. Somewhere on the Browns’ radar is a man named Manny.
