Vice President of Player Personnel Glenn Cook (5.1.21)
Opening statement:
“Really excited to get (T) James (Hudson) where we got him. I think we went to bed last night hoping that he would be there at this spot. A kid from right up the road. Just in terms of speaking to the position, you can never have enough big dudes who can move and can fit in the scheme. Just a really good fit and really good value for where we got him.”
On what makes Hudson a good fit for the Browns offense:
“A couple of things that stick out are No. 1 just extremely athletic. His movements, his twitch, really his feet and just a combination of all of those things really blend well with our wide-zone scheme. Just the versatility he will bring, we will cross-train him a little bit – obviously, work him in slowly – but his ability to play multiple positions was just another thing that we really liked.”
On at which position Hudson will begin his development:
“He will start at tackle. He will start at tackle and will cross-train inside, but he is a tackle in terms of the depth chart.”
On why Hudson moved to T from DL at Cincinnati and how that benefits Hudson:
“I am really not exactly sure why they moved him, but you definitely see the defensive movement skills in how he plays at O line. I think that gives him an advantage. He is still developing, which is also intriguing for us. Just the natural movements and just some of his innate foot speed and agility and given his ability, it is going to be exciting to see how he progresses over the next couple of years.”
On Hudson’s limited experience on the OL and his upside to develop more and how that factored into his projections:
“A lot of what we do is projections. We have to take that into account when we are making these decisions. Really just speaking to his traits and even in the limited time that he did play, the performance and production, all of those things spoke well to someone we would like to add to our team. Like I said, when you have one of the best O line coaches (Bill Callahan) and arguably the best O line coach in the NFL, that only adds to the intrigue trying to find guys like this.”
On the Browns’ other picks thus far, particularly adding CB Greg Newsome II and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on defense:
“I think we just really set out this offseason to not only improve our team but really attack that side of the ball. Guys like Greg and JOK add a ton of athleticism and versatility. I think you will hear that over and over again. Just the versatility that those guys add to this defense, it is really exciting. (WR) Anthony (Schwartz), not only his speed but again his ability to line up in multiple spots and give (Head Coach) Kevin (Stefanski) another weapon to use, we are really excited about those three.”
On if acquiring versatile players was a point of emphasis for the Browns this offseason:
“I think just as the game evolves and has changed a little bit, you need guys who can do a bunch of things and have a ton of skillsets that translate to both the pass and run game. I would not say we sat down and said we need to be versatile, but I think it is just something that correlates to those types of guys where the more you can do, the more value it adds to the roster and the more value it adds to the coaching staff and their ability to call the game a little bit differently. I think they kind of just naturally go hand in hand and work together. We are happy it is working out that way.”
On if defensive coordinator Joe Woods has been the happiest person in the Browns office this weekend:
“He was pretty psyched after the first pick, and then after the second pick, I do not know if we could keep him together. Yeah, he is pretty excited. I think we are all excited about those guys.”
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