The Cleveland Browns have been very active this offseason plugging holes like a mason on both sides of the ball. Now team officials are turning attention toward the draft and narrowing down their choices of potential prospects they would like to see available for the picking on draft day.

Members of the Browns organization are scheduled to be at Purdue University today, March 24 for a private workout with a prospect that the team holds in high regard, Boilermaker outside LB Stanford Keglar.

Keglar is soaring up the charts after catching NFL coaches and scouts off guard with his performance at the Combine last month. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker tested No. 1 in four of the seven events in the class of linebackers leaving spectators in shock. After turning it out in Indy, Keglar improved on his numbers in the 40-yard dash and vertical jump at the school’s pro day earlier this month.

Opening some eyes

Keglar set out to prove to coaches and scouts that he’s no average Joe.

“They probably thought I might come into the Combine and be just another guy,” Keglar said. “I knew the abilities that I possessed and the people training with me knew, but I guess everyone from around the nation didn’t really know. I feel like I opened up some eyes and shocked a lot of people.”

That he did.

The numbers from the two workouts are some of the best put up by any linebacker entering this year’s draft. Keglar did 29 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, and turned in times of 6.70 seconds in the 3-cone drill, 3.98 in the 20-yard shuttle and 11.43 in the 60-yard shuttle. He ran a 4.58 in the 40-yard dash and had a 34-inch vertical jump.

Johnson helps

Keglar worked out with former Purdue and Cincinnati Bengals LB Landon Johnson in preparation for the pre-draft events and talked about the value of learning from the veteran linebacker.

“Landon actually coached me up a little bit when I was at Purdue. He taught me some of the fundamentals and things to look for on the field. Just to work out with him was a good thing for me. Being able to get that insight from him since he’s already in the league will help me a lot. It’s just really good to be able to take in everything he has given me as far as his knowledge of the game,” Keglar said.

Like Johnson, Keglar has the same type of demeanor, going about his business quietly and is a high character guy. All the hard work and training put in with Johnson and others at Ignitions Athletics Group appears to be paying off.

Several show interest

According to Keglar’s agent, Jeff Chilcoat, several teams have inquired about the linebacker since the Combine and school workout. The New England Patriots were the first team to come calling expressing their interest.

The Pats sent three staff members to Purdue’s campus last week for a private session with Keglar. The Patriots linebackers coach came away quite impressed and is believed to be enamored with the outside backer.

The Browns are the second team scheduled to take Keglar through a rigorous workout.

Keglar is an ideal player for the Browns 3-4 defense due to his on-the-field prowess. He’s very smart, has good explosion, savvy in run support, shows outstanding sideline-to-sideline speed, and has the athletic ability to drop back into coverage. He does a good job reading and reacting to plays, but will need to work on his overall consistency in that area at the next level.

Bottom line Keglar is a student of the game with a great work-ethic and a linebacker who brings it on every play. He leaves everything out there on the field.

If the Browns are to have any shot at nabbing Keglar, they may have to do some maneuvering to get in position to draft him since they don’t have a selection until the 23rd pick of the fourth-round. Keglar has caught fire and is not likely to make it past the third-round of the draft.

To be continued!