| | By John Clayton
ESPN.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Adam Meadows didn't read the hype. He lined up
his 6-foot-5, 295-pound body against Browns defensive end Courtney
Brown and took his chances for this Saturday one-on-one drill in a
scrimmage.
Brown drove one of the league's best young right tackles backward and
delivered a quick swim move with his long arms. Down went Meadows,
only to rise for the rest of the day and realize he had to play his best to stop
the Browns' first-round draft choice.
"Good move," Meadows told Brown.
Later, Meadows had the best of Brown, pushing him to the outside.
Suddenly, Brown spun 360 degree and had his feet in position to run toward
the quarterback. Meadows recovered to slow down Brown, but Brown
tipped off he has the Bruce Smith spin move in his pass-rushing arsenal.
"He probably has more tools for a young guy that I've seen in a while,"
Meadows said. "I've seen the older defensive ends play. He's got speed,
quickness and strength. He's got all the ability. As long as he keeps
working, it's scary how good he's going to be."
What is even scarier is that Meadows believes Brown's best strength his
humility.
"He's going to keep working and never think he's attained his goals,"
Meadows said. "I think eventually his best move is going to be his bull-rush
because he's so strong. If he gets the reputation of being a bull-rusher and
then he starts hitting guys in the chest, he's so strong he's going to knock
blockers back into the quarterback."
Unlike LaVar Arrington, who is a rushing sound bite, Brown is polite and
quiet.
"I've got to keep working hard," Brown said after making his impressive
NFL debut. "I'm going to work hard and do the best I can."
Already, Brown has attained one goal. He's bigger than scouts expected.
Through hard work in the weight room, Brown weighs 279 pounds.
Remember those draft critics who said the one knock against Brown is that
he may have trouble holding up as a 270-pound lineman. Defensive
coaches at Penn State told Browns officials that he would eventually be
285 to 290 pounds and still keep his 4.53-second 40-yard speed.
During agility drills before camp, Brown didn't perform like the linemen.
His times tested out with the skill position players, the receivers and the
backs.
"I've got a lot of things to work on," the humble Brown said.
So do all the tackles in the NFL on the Browns' schedule.
John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
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