Saturday, April 28, 2012

Browns disappoint and then enrage in Draft day two

I have to admit it.
I was excited for the Cleveland Browns in day two of the NFL Draft.
I thought that Trent Richardson was a terrific addition and despite some clumsy treatment of Colt McCoy and some lack of judgement on value on the selection of Brandon Weeden,that the Browns were going to add a solid starter in round two.

After all,the Browns had the fifth pick and with three top receivers and three more excellent offensive tackles,the Browns could not screw this up,right?
Well,they managed to pass on ALL of them to select a good tackle in California's Mitchell Schwartz in the second round.
I liked Schwartz,but not as much as Ole Miss tackle Bobby Massie and not nearly as much as projected first rounders Jonathan Martin of Stanford and Cordy Glenn of Georgia.
However,I am not slamming Schwartz as I do believe that he will help the Browns line and should be an instant starter.
Schwartz is noted as especially strong as a run blocker and I certainly think highly of his ability to plug a hole and help the Browns get the most out of Trent Richardson.

However,the selection of Schwartz broke the cardinal rule of ours about drafting anything-It is just as important WHEN you pick someone as who you pick!
Shortly after the selection of Schwartz,two of the three pass catchers went off the board as did the two of the three tackles in Martin and Glenn,but Bobby Massie is still available going into day three.
Massie could have been drafted at the Browns pick in the third round (or Schwartz if the Browns loved him so much) and Cleveland could have landed the receiver that the team needs so badly,even if the law firm of Holmgren,Heckert and Shurmur seem to deny.
Anytime that you fall in love with a player so much that you have to have him and take him too soon,it affects the rest of your draft and the Browns would befuddle me with more of this in round three.
The saying that patience is a virtue could come from strong drafters....

So following the final receiver to go off the board in LSU's Reuben Randle at the final pick of round two to the Giants,Tom Heckert then traded the Browns third rounder to Denver to drop twenty spots to Denver's third round spot and add the Broncos fourth rounder to again give Cleveland two picks in the fourth round.
So using the TRS theory,the Browns could have had any of three WR's and Bobby Massie (or possibly Schwartz) and instead settled for Schwartz and then because none of the wideouts were available in the third,traded down.
The Browns third rounder is on the clock and I figured well,this will be either a mild reach at wide receiver or maybe the linebacker or corner that is needed.
Nope,Heckert takes a defensive tackle from Cincinnati in John Hughes,who I thought made 80's teen movies.
Hughes was rated by most as a day three pick at best and as a free agent at worst.
Hughes is noted as "big,strong and capable of beating his man to enter the backfield,but doesn't finish the tackle well and can be lazy".
So a lazy day three player is a third rounder?
Well,it gets better as Tom Heckert commented that they loved Hughes and almost took him in Round two!
Again,breaking the rule,taking a player too early because you love him keeps a team from adding another player to help the team.
Hughes might have been overdrafted if taken in the fourth,was taken in the third and was a serious consideration in the second!

I must admit that my optimism took a huge hit tonight.
Mitchell Schwartz will help,but I think the Browns could have used the system more to their advantage and gained even more help and I am very underwhelmed with the selection of John Hughes.
The Hughes pick might have made sense had he been a young defensive end,but a tackle on a team with Ahtyba Rubin and Phil Taylor?
That selection in particular has me just speechless....
Cleveland has seven picks tomorrow,here is hoping that the Browns can add some more talent to the team and use these picks in a better manner than it appears that they did on the drafts second day....



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