I keep going back to Heckert's mantra that, when picking so high, he targets 3 positions - DE, CB, and LT.  Those three positions (outside of QB) carry the most value in the draft because it is hard to find good prospects later on.  If they stay at 4, I would be surprised if the pick is not Mo Claiborne.

Expect the riots shortly thereafter.

Haha, Phil Taylor is a funny guy. Moral of the story is don't text about the guy sitting next to you on a plane, he might just see it....

 

 

http://afactoryofsadness.com/?p=54

1) How could anyone guestimate Phil at 260 lbs?

 

2) Stop being cheap and get yourself in first class Mr. First Round Draft Pick!

Yeah, the guy wasn't really good at numbers... I noticed that too. PT is listed at 335lb on SI.com

 

But it was an escape row, extra legroom...

Final predictions

 

Trent is the pick if he is there at #4

If someone jumps us to take him at #3 (Bucs, Rams), then we take MoClay

 

#22 depends a lot on what we do at #4, so it is harder to predict

 

If Trent goes to us at #4 and we stay at #22, I will go with Kendall Wright, Rueben Randle or Coby Fleener (although I don't think the latter will be there at #22)

 

If Claiborne is the pick at #4, then I would look for either Doug Martin or David Wilson to go to us at #22

What about Lamar Miller?  I don't know much about him but he sounds like a Ray Rice type RB.  Is he definitively a step below Martin and Wilson?

Oh Brownies, yes I have been following this much more than I should.  Still frustrated that we won enough games that we were not at the 2 spot for RG3.  That being said we probably would of had to give up too much to get him.

 

Now it is happening again as Richardson is such a stud and someone is probably going to leap frog us and get him at 3.

 

I am OK with Claiborn at 4 but a little disappointing.

 

Slight chance they trade down from here but not likely.  More likely trade up which I do not like as should be a bunch of talent at 22 and 37.  Sit still and take the best player to come to you as we have multiple holes and will probably win 6 or less games next year regardless.

 

Richardson is my preferred choice, but I'm not going to cry about any of the potential choices we could get. Kalil, Richardson, Blackmon, they all fill a void. Heck, even Claiborne wouldn't make me sad. That would be a shut down pass defense (which we'd need, given our average of something like 13 points a game last year!)

Is the season over yet?

4:  Trent Richardson - ALABAMA

22: Jonathan Martin -STANFORD

37: Alshon Jeffrey - SOUTH CAROLINA (the dude was a stud last year but was really hurt by a bum QB that got kicked off the team and a beast RB that went down with a torn ACL)

Richardson, Wright, Weeden

I am painfully indifferent right now. I will just be glad to not have to hear endless speculation on the radio. We need everything basically, how can we go wrong? Plus I don't watch a lot of college ball so  I only get to see the highlight reels.

 

That being said I will be watching on Sundays.

My sleeper (I pick one every year) pick is Eric Paige out of Toledo.  I saw a handful of his games last year (including the one against OSU) and he stood out to me as the best player on the field in each of those games.

 

 

What about Lamar Miller?  I don't know much about him but he sounds like a Ray Rice type RB.  Is he definitively a step below Martin and Wilson?

 

Ray Rice is a stumpy power back who compares more to Richardson than Miller.  Miller does not have the thick frame of those other two and excels more in open space, not between the tackles.  I still like him, but not in the first round.  I probably also hold Wilson in higher regard than where he is currently valued.  I would have no issues with the Browns taking him at #22.  Kid is a player.

 

 

4:  Trent Richardson - ALABAMA

22: Jonathan Martin -STANFORD

37: Alshon Jeffrey - SOUTH CAROLINA (the dude was a stud last year but was really hurt by a bum QB that got kicked off the team and a beast RB that went down with a torn ACL)

 

Martin is too finesse to play on the right side.  He is not particularly strong for his position and, let's face it, teams were not exactly brining the heat against Stanford the last few years knowing Luck would just burn them on a hot read.

 

If we can get Jeffrey at 37, I'm on board.  Otherwise, I would be real hesitant.  He has some weight issues and there are many other reasons he is dropping from being a sure-fire top 10 pick entering the season to where he is valued now.  He and Mike Adams are the two prospects who have ridiculously high ceilings I doubt they ever come close to reaching. 

I know the front office knows a lot that I don't, but I don't see for the life of me how the Weeden pick works out.  Dude's going to take his first NFL snap at almost 30?  I think this pick screws us up about as badly as a pick could.  We almost have to play him, he doesn't have time to develop.  Bye McCoy.  And if he doesn't pick it up immediately, then that's 2 more turns on the QB carousel.

 

edit- he is one year younger than I thought, which helps when his expected career is pretty short.

His age is good reason to temper enthusiasm, but if Weeden were 22yo he would likely have been a top 10 pick.  Unlike Tannenhill though, he is ready to play right now.  I'm not sure whether he will be a star, but he has all of the tools, measurables, and intangibles.  You will be hard pressed to find an overly critical scouting report on him.  And keep in mind that he beat Luck, Griffin, and Tannenhill.

 

I suppose the writing has been on the wall for Colt ever since they made a play for RGIII.  Couple that with the fact that they didn't even make a play for Matt Flynn and we should have known they had identified a QB in the draft they were going to get.

 

Our draft strategy this year is obviously to identify our guy and then make certain we get him.  Lots of good prospects left.  Either Coby Fleener (TE Stanford), Ruben Randle (WR LSU), Stephen Hill (WR GTech), Alshon Jeffery (WR S. Carolina) or one of the OL who slipped - Jonathan Martin (Stanford), Cordy Glenn (UGa), and Bob Massie (Miss.) - would be a nice Welcome to Cleveland gift for our new QB.  But Courtney Upshaw (DE/OLB Bama) is the highest rated player left on my board.  I'm also like the potential of Lavonte David (OLB Nebraska), Zach Brown (OLB UNC), Jerel Worthy (DT Mich. St.), Jared Crick (DT/DE Nebraska), Janoris Jenkins (N. Alabama), and Devon Still (PSU).

 

 

I can't believe how much flak the Browns are taking for the Weeden pick.  You'd think the city was burning to the ground.  Don't lynch the front office until we see how the kid does.

 

This notion that he'll only be a started for 5 or 6 years.... the Browns have NEVER had that much consistency at QB since they returned!!! 

 

2011 Colt McCoy (13) / Seneca Wallace (3)

2010 Colt McCoy ( 8 ) / Jake Delhomme (4) / Seneca Wallace (4)

2009 Brady Quinn (9) / Derek Anderson (7)

2008 Derek Anderson (9) / Brady Quinn (3) / Ken Dorsey (3) / Bruce Gradkowski (1)

2007 Derek Anderson (15) / Charlie Frye (1)

2006 Charlie Frye (13) / Derek Anderson (3)

2005 Trent Dilfer (11) / Charlie Frye (5)

2004 Jeff Garcia (10) / Kelly Holcomb (2) / Luke McCown (4)

2003 Kelly Holcomb ( 8 ) / Tim Couch ( 8 )

2002 Tim Couch (14) / Kelly Holcomb (2)

2001 Tim Couch (16)

2000 Doug Pederson ( 8 ) / Tim Couch (7) / Spergon Wynn (1)

1999 Tim Couch (14) / Ty Detmer (2)

 

Ugly, ugly, ugly.  I'm excited for the prospect.  Now grab a WR today and a value RT tomorrow and see a completely different offense next year.

 

FWIW... Age at first NFL season: Kurt Warner - 28, Roger Staubach - 27.  Just sayin'.

Although he started about 20 games very early in his career with Tampa, Steve Young did not become a full time starter with the 49ers until he was 30.

 

I wouldn't say the entire town is in an uproar.  It's just the haters are being the most vocal right now.

 

 

I'm very happy so far.  My philosophy on QBs is to keep taking big strong ones till we get it right.  So we got that, and we got the best offensive player who wasn't already spoken for.  And what some have called desperation I would call a welcome sense of urgency. 

Would love Stephen Hill now.  Play action Trent with 8 in the box, fade to Hill. Touchdown Browns!!!

 

Go get him!

Weeden was a wasted pick.  If you stack McCoy's stats up against the first 2 years of all of next years likely starters he comes out average to above average in almost every category even with an offense that is totally stacked against him (no weapons, no line, no time to learn a new scheme).  Weeden has to come in and be significantly better than McCoy immediately (we can't afford a slight improvement with the 22nd pick) for this to be a good pick, and I don't see that happening. Add on the fact that he'll get so physically abused we'll have to replace him in 3-4 years instead of the 5-6 that he might last on a better team.

 

IMO we should have spent this year and next building up the rest of the team, then, if McCoy isn't up to snuff, start snagging QBs.

Well, according to the radio, the Browns are looking to deal McCoy today (potentially to Green Bay). This team is a revolving door for QB's. Forgive me, Mr. Weeden, if I don't buy your jersey just yet.

He'll be at least as good as Andy Dalton was as a rookie last year.  I'm sticking with that.

 

Hopefully, he can read a hot route better than McCoy (which most HS varsity QBs can).  That and the addition of TRich should stop teams from stacking 8 or 9 in the box with their ears pinned back and their knuckles turning white.

I'm a little bummed, mostly because I was curious to see if McCoy could be better this year.  I'm really glad they took Richardson... I'm surprised no one has mentioned what Hardesty's future could be.... bleak, I assume.

 

Looks like the Steelers did well, unfortunately.  The highlight reel for DeCastro was devastating.

I was bothered about the Weeden pick because my heart was set on a WR. But then I realized that with Kendall Wright gone to the Titans, Weeden was the best player available. Plus Rueben Randle and Stephen Hill are still on the board. I think Hill has more potential because of his speed and he a great sophomore year, but his body of work is limited. Randle has a lot more experience as he played three years in a sophisticated NFL-style office at LSU and he improved by 20 catches each year he played. His 40-yard speed isn't anywhere as good as Randle's, but his yards per catch (17) was pretty good, thanks to a good burst off the line, deceptive moves and yards after catch.

 

So to me the safe pick is Randle. The sexy pick is Hill. As long as one of these guys can stretch the field and make good use of Weeden's arm strength, then I'm good with that. But please don't draft a right tackle in the second round. You can get a good one in the third or through free agency.

I love the Weeden pick.  A starting quarterback that easily has 8 years left in his career is absoultely worth the 22 pick if he ends up working out and I think he will.  The offensive line wasn't amazing last year but they weren't that bad, Colt would leave the pocket prematurely because he either couldn't see or was too flighty.  Weeden gets rid of the ball quickly and if we get a decent righ tackle in the next few picks (a necessity, they absoultely need a right tackle)  I think Weeden will be fine.  He will have richardson blocking out of the backfield too. 

 

I think Randle is a better pick than Hill.  He actually ran faster at his pro day so I don't think speed is a concern.  He is better at getting separation and is a more complete receiver than Hill.  I think that should be the Brown's pick at 5 in the second round and then they might have to move back up into the lower part of the round to get their tackle. 

I'm glad they actual went and did something.  Traded to get their guy in Trent and the bold (ballsy?) pick in Weeden.

 

Colt had plenty of time to prove himself here.  I actually think he got worse in his time here.  And it's not like teams are falling over themselves to pick him up to be their BACKUP quarterback.  He's a backup on 30 of 32 teams in the league.

 

The Browns are much better today vs 24 hrs ago.

And Hill vs. Randle... I just want a guy to burn down the middle of the field past the coverage like Mike Wallace.  If they both can (Hill ran a better 40 than Randle at the combine), I'm fine with either.

 

I think the Browns are sitting pretty to start the 2nd round to fill the WR or OT need.

I don't like the pick of Schwartz in the second round. I guess we're going to run it a lot this year and dump off passes to the backs. Wait, isn't this what we tried to do the last two years with some of the worst offensive production to show for it??

The Browns are great at making it hard to be excited.

Especially now that WR Reuben Randle got picked by the Giants with just three more picks to go before the Browns' turn. I'm sorry, but we should have picked Randle in the second round and I'll bet Schwartz would have still been around by our turn in the third, as many had predicted. I like Schwartz and we need a good run blocker like him to open holes for Richardson. I just don't think think he was worth a second-round pick. I don't know of any other quality WRs left on the board. So we may have to wait until next year -- just to get a quality wideout.

 

EDIT: with Randle gone, it looks the Browns have given up trying to fill needs. They just traded their 3rd round pick for Denver's (20 places farther down), plus Denver's 4th. At this stage, teams are just looking for best available players left.

 

As much as I liked round one, Day Two is a huge disappointment for me and it even weakens round one, IMHO. How is Richardson supposed to gain yards with defenses crowding the line because they don't respect the downfield pass because we lack a deep threat?

 

EDIT2: C'mon -- someone cheer me up. Give me a reason why I shouldn't be disappointed about the second round! The notes at http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/04/cleveland_brownsnfl_draft_2012_1.html have helped. But I need more convincing!

Steve Doerschuks's "Fresh Brownies" articles usually talk me off the ledge.  I think he is a great writer.  He wrote about Mitchell Schwartz a while back.  According to Nolan Nawrocki, he is a "plug and play" right tackle.... and "dumpy looking".

 

http://www.cantonrep.com/browns

C'mon -- someone cheer me up.

 

C'mon -- someone cheer me up.

 

 

Nice!

 

This is what I posted on C-bomb.... So how will I evaluate this year's draft? In about 2-3 years I'll look at their won-loss record. If the Browns are still racking up sub-.500 records, then people need to be fired. That's assuming there's any Browns fans left in Cleveland who will notice, after a quarter-century of losing football, not including the 3-year absence. I don't care about the Browns like I used to in the 70s and 80s, and my interest level continues to fade away with each new losing season....

 

So I know the Browns won't go after a WR in free agency, but just for shits and giggles, this is who's available:

 

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2012/fa/wr.html

In all of their interviews, Heckert and Holmgren appear to love our receiving core and dont think any change is needed. While every Browns fan on the planet is screaming the exact opposite.

I try my best to stay positive with Browns.  I was fine trading up for Trent and grabbing Wedden.  I was good with getting Schwartz to fille a major need at RT.

 

But John Hughes, the DT from Cincinnati is mind-boggling.  I was just looking around and saw him the 38th ranked DT and 534th overall.  Wait, what?

 

But we draft at 87.  The front office just thinks they are so much smarter than 31 other teams in the league sometimes.  It's very irritating.

^Don't get too upset by evaluating the Hughes pick based on where the Mel Kiper's of the world had him ranked.  Fact is, you have absolutely no idea where the other 31 teams had Hughes ranked.  For years, the Pats were selecting those "what, what?" guys.  I remember them taking Logan Mankins at the end of the first round when he was rated a 5th round pick at best and the draft "gurus" were laughing.  But Mankins has turned into one of the best interior OL over the past decade.  NFL GMs don't share their big boards which are composed after actual scouting.  The draft gurus all share their big boards which results in a lot of group think and is also influenced by a lot of misinformation.  If you are an NFL GM and absolutely love a "5th round prospect", would you tell Todd McShay that he is a first round talent, or would you not want the hype build up around the kid when McShay tweets about him being a "fast riser"?

 

Just ignore the mock drafts.  Most of the gurus don't even come close to getting half of the first round correct.

 

What I know about Hughes, other than the fact he coined the phrase "does Barry Manilow know you invaded his wardrobe?", is that he is a wide body who should be able to hold his ground in the league.  A good run-stuffer who will get the occasional pressure on the QB.  Stock was hurt because of hamstring injury at the combine and all he did was bench press (28 reps, which didn't blow anyone away).  He is a rotational player.  Here's a question..... name our third DT from last year.  Point being, we needed another DT to rotate with Rubin and Taylor to keep them fresh.  If he adequately fills that role as our 3rd DT, he was worth a late 3rd rounder.  It's a crapshoot at this point.

In all of their interviews, Heckert and Holmgren appear to love our receiving core and dont think any change is needed. While every Browns fan on the planet is screaming the exact opposite.

 

If that's what they believe about our receiving corps, then we fans will suffer for it. They may be able to get a 7-9 to 9-7 record with a good running game and a dink-n-dunk passing game. But that's about it. One year of improvement to a near-.500 record will let them keep their jobs for a year or two. But without field-stretching wide receivers, a .500 team is all they will be. If that's the case, then H&H won't last more than a few more years.

 

See the 1985 Browns for an example of this, when the Browns had two 1,000-yard rushers -- Mack and Byner. But it was Kosar who complained publicly about the unsophisticated passing game. So they got offensive coordinator Lindy Infante and implemented a complicated, sight-adjustment passing game. They drafted speedy WR Webster Slaughter in the second round in 1986, got burner WR Gerald "The Ice Cube" McNeil from the USFL, kept burner Clarence Weathers, moved Reggie Langhorne off special teams and gave him a chance, and used WR Brian Brennan and TE Ozzie Newsome for underneath/possession routes. RB Herman Fontenot was used for down-the-middle routes as Kosar's dump-off guy to beat blitzes and often racked up big gainers. That's when the Browns could stretch the field and made their offense explosive. Oh, and they could throw to Byner and Mack a lot, too. But that's about all the current Browns can do today.

 

And after typing in all those offensive weapons, with each one able to do something different or be a back-up for someone else when they were injured, makes me realize how untalented and non-threatening our current offense really is.

This week there was a quote going around to the effect of "We're happy with our guys" and it was stated that it was them saying they're happy with the WRs they have.  Some of the local sports media types came back later to clarify that they were talking about the guys they drafted up to that point.  Even if they did it's all just lip service until the opportunity for a guy they want comes along.

Finally, a wide receiver. Miami's Travis Benjamin. He'll stretch the field, but unless he can jump like a grasshopper, the 5-10 WR may not catch many passes. With his 40 speed as fast as 4.26, I suspect he'll be put in as Cribbs' replacement in the return game. Cribbs has lost a step in the last couple of years, but then again haven't we all!

^ He can jump like a grasshopper.  Only 1 1/2 " less the the freak that is Stephen Hill.  But it sounds like he's brought in exclusively to burn down the middle of the field.  Has a tough time getting off the line when being bumped and working in the middle of the field, since he's all of 170 lbs.

FWIW...

Steve Smith -      4.39 40/38.5" vertical/ 5'9"/185lbs.

Travis Benjamin - 4.36 40/38" vertical/5'10"/172lbs

 

Maybe he can bulk to 180lbs.  Go Browns!

 

I try my best to stay positive with Browns.  I was fine trading up for Trent and grabbing Wedden.  I was good with getting Schwartz to fille a major need at RT.

 

But John Hughes, the DT from Cincinnati is mind-boggling.  I was just looking around and saw him the 38th ranked DT and 534th overall.  Wait, what?

 

But we draft at 87.  The front office just thinks they are so much smarter than 31 other teams in the league sometimes.  It's very irritating.

 

The other Cinci DT also got picked up way ahead of where he was graded. Not sure what the deal there was, but he (Wolfe) went in the early 2nd. Maybe there's something up with Cinci.

Wolfe was underrated, so that's what's up with him.

My biggest complaint about this draft is not grabbing Stephen Hill (or even Reuben Randle) with the 37th pick and grabbing Schwartz with the 67th.  Even if Schwartz were gone by then, I have a hard time believing that there wasn't another tackle to be had.

^Wolfe excelled in getting pressure.  Hughes was/is the superior run stuffer.  Wolfe is a 3 technique in a 4-3 and DE in a 3-4.  Hughes is a 1 technique in a 4-3 and a NT in a 3-4.  Different players.  Both have NFL potential.

 

Getting back to the point of not getting too wrapped up in the "rankings"...... according to those rankings, we got a 5th or 6th round DT (Hughes) in the 3rd round and a 2nd or 3rd round DT (Winn) in the 6th.  Cincinnati signed a LB as an undrafted FA who had been projected as a late 1st early 2nd round pick not too long ago.

 

I liked our Saturday more than our Friday.  Benjamin has truly elite speed.  We need that with a QB like Weeden to keep the defenses on their toes.  He can also catch the quick slant and exploit holes in the defense.  I expect him to do punt returns and let Cribbs focus solely on KR.

 

The LB from Nevada, James-Michael Johnson, is the type of guy you want on your team.  Lots of PT under his belt.  Loves the contact.  Special teams deamon at worst.

 

The DT from Boise mentioned above, Billy Winn, would have went much, much higher if not for concerns with injury and some debate as to whether he is better suited as a 4-3 DT or a 3-4 DE.  He gets after it.  Nice compliment to the Hughes pick.

 

The guard from Colorado, Miller, was an absolute stud coming out of HS and never quite lived up to expectations.  Although I believe he was a 3rd team All-American last year.  Started a lot of games and can play both guard and tackle.

 

Trevor Wade, cornerback from Arizona, could surprise.  Not blazing fast, but he is physical and a competitor on game day.  They might want to think about converting him to FS.

 

Brad Smelley, TE/FB hybrid, could have some Chris Cooley type potential.  He wasn't used probably as much as he should have been at Bama.  Should be a good special teams player if he makes the team.

 

For the OSU fans, the Browns signed Andrew Sweat and I would expect him to stick in the Blake Costanzo role.  They also signed JB Shugarts, although I think his ceiling for next year is the practice squad.

 

We also signed WRs Brett Reed from FSU and Jermaine Saffold from Mizzo St. and some LB who I can't remember.

 

But the UDFA which really intrigues is Josh Cooper, who was one of Weeden's favorite targets at OK St.  If you watch Weeden's highlights, you will see a lot of Cooper.

This makes it sound like the Browns' draft plans were thrown into total chaos after the Titans drafted WR Kendall Wright before they could. After Wright was gone, they didn't seem to have a clue what to do. It sure seemed that way to me....

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/57717/schefter-browns-liked-wright-over-weeden

Wow, so we don't need to draft any talent, we'll just BE better. Why didn't somebody think of this before?

 

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/04/cleveland_browns_add_speedy_tr.html

 

EDIT: my sister just sent this to me.....

 

This makes it sound like the Browns' draft plans were thrown into total chaos after the Titans drafted WR Kendall Wright before they could. After Wright was gone, they didn't seem to have a clue what to do. It sure seemed that way to me....

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/57717/schefter-browns-liked-wright-over-weeden

 

Shefter seems to like he is used by ESPN to go out on a limb and report every bit of scuttlebutt they hear, regardless of the source.  He has reported more BS through this draft than any other reporter.  I don't believe sh!t he writes.  That said, I do think the Browns liked Wright and the original plans were possibly to take him.  But this plan did not blow up when the Titans took him at 20.  I think they had plans to trade back up into the first round for yet another pick and then get both Wright AND Weeden.  That plan might have blown up when we had to spend the bargaining chips we were willing to part with on moving up to get TRich.  I am not buying in anyway that in a matter of 10 minutes the Browns resolved to completely remake their franchise simply because the Titans chose Kendall Wright.  Complete and utter BS, just like Shefter reporting that the Browns told McCoy they wouldn't be taking a QB.

I don't think the Browns know what they are doing. Why do I think such a draconian thought?

 

Their record.

 

Until their record improves over several seasons, I cannot change my thinking.