Cleveland Browns Draft- Day 3-the Pierre Desir story

The Cleveland Browns entered day three of the NFL draft with just two draft picks-the Colts 4th rounder from a 2013 draft-day trade and their own 7th rounder.

They ended it with a small school superstar in round four and peddling the seventh-rounder to Baltimore for the Ravens sixth-rounder in the 2015 draft.
I spent the 4th round waiting for the Browns to grab a receiver in the round and entering the day, I had four pass catchers that I thought the Browns might be able to find a contributor if they were around.

Had the Browns kept their own pick in the round, rather than the Colts, all four of them would have been available to Cleveland, but instead three of them went off the board before the Browns stepped up.
I was hoping that the Browns would take the final one that was left in Wisconsin's Jared Abbrederis but instead opted for Lindenwood corner Pierre Desir.
I was disappointed that the Browns passed on Abbrederis, but Desir looks like the real deal and adds depth to one of the most important positions in the Mike Pettine defense.
Desir is big (6'1) and speedy, but will need to work on his technique coming from a Division II school will be taking a huge leap in competition, so Desir will have a learning curve.

The Browns have managed to bolster a position of weakness at the corner and with the selections of Justin Gilbert and Pierre Desir to add to Joe Haden and Buster Skrine and turned it into a strength.
Cleveland may still have weaknesses at wide receiver that weren't addressed, but otherwise have added help at every other position of need in the draft and might have added four starters and a valuable player in multiple defensive back formations.

I think Justin Gilbert will start at corner, Joel Bitonio will start at either tackle or guard, Christian Kirksey has a good chance to start at inside linebacker and Johnny Manziel will be the long-term answer (I hope) at quarterback.
Not a bad haul.
I will take a longer look at the draft one day next week...

Cleveland Browns Day Two

The Cleveland Browns fans were on top of the world after round one.
That lasted 24 hours as word began to spread of a possible one-year suspension of star wide receiver Josh Gordon for smoking marijuana.

Before I get to the day two selections of the Browns, I might as well address the big dog in the room-Josh Gordon.
If this is true and his agent says it is not ( we all know agents never lie, right?),the Browns will be going into the season with their outside starters being the oft-injured Nate Burleson and the drop-prone Greg Little-more on why that is in a bit.
Frankly, I don't care if the passer is Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel, or anyone else you can name, if they have those guys catching the football, it's going to be tough to move the chains.
I'll be writing the good and bad next week in the draft review, but I feel pretty safe in saying that the Cleveland Browns are in trouble for 2014, if the Gordon suspension rumors turn out to be true and Gordon would lose a possible appeal.

Now, I'll never understand why a joint is worth tossing away millions of dollars for and I sure don't get why it is worth losing the ability to make money playing a game, but I'll say this-Marijuana is slowly becoming legal in our country in some states and the NFL is going to face the question sooner or later (and it may be on this case) on suspending players for something that is some times legal.
I'm for legalizing marijuana (and taxing heavily) and I hope the Browns keep Josh Gordon for this season, but the facts remain-its the NFL's league and whether or not, you agree with the rules, they are theirs to make and Josh Gordon may have violated them.
Tough to argue any other result.

The real point of this show-football and the Cleveland Browns on day two.
I really liked day one and I'm not as pleased with the second day.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Browns addressed a huge need in Nevada guard/tackle Joel Bitonio, who will step right in and either start a right guard or push Mitchell Schwartz there.
The Browns have had right offensive line side issues for years and Bitonio will help there, but I thought wide receiver was a bigger issue anyway before this Josh Gordon affair and the Browns could have landed either Marquis Lee (Jacksonville) or Jordan Matthews (Philadelphia).
Bitonio was the fastest-rising offensive lineman just before the draft and I think he will help, but considering the overall picture-I would have went wideout here.
Like the player, just not as much as another position...

The Browns hopefully filled another need at inside linebacker in round three in Iowa linebacker Christian Kirksey.
Kirksey can play either outside or inside linebacker, but in Cleveland, he almost certainly will be used inside.
I've seen a lot of Kirksey at Iowa and he is a high effort player that doesn't take plays off.
Kirksey might wind up in the best-case scenario to be a three-down linebacker and those are always in high demand.
I didn't like Kirksey as much as Wisconsin's Chris Borland, who went to the 49ers later in the third round, but I like this pick too.

The Browns then leaped back into the third round as they made a trade with San Francisco to land Towson running back Terrence West.
I have never seen West play, but Ourlads reports him to be a hard-nosed power back that looks to be a good compliment to Ben Tate.
You gotta like the highlights below (if not the music) from West and I don't mind the 1-AA tag either, but I do have a few problems.

One-AGAIN no wideout?
Two-the cost of the team's fourth and sixth-round picks seems to be an excessive cost, but I'm open to that.
The Browns entered this draft with loads of picks and on the final day of the draft, Cleveland has the Indianapolis Colts 4th rounder and their own seventh-rounder and that's it.
I know later rounders aren't slam dunks, but quantity increases your chances of finding a diamond.
The day was disappointing to me not for what was selected as much as what was not.
I'll be back later with a look at the Browns 4th rounder and time permitting their seventh-rounder...

It's Johnny Cleveland!

The Cleveland Browns moved up from 26 to 22 at the cost of a third-round pick to deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and take the most polarizing player in the draft in Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

The Browns sent the third-rounder that they obtained from Pittsburgh during last year's draft to flip flop from 26 to 22, so they still have picks in the second and third rounds on Friday night.

I like the pick and the cost, but I have no qualms about making this statement-this could be the pick that returns the Cleveland Browns to prominence.
It could also be the pick that could be looked at in the rearview mirror as one that set the Browns back years in their attempt to return to the top.

Johnny Manziel has a huge upside and he also could be a huge bust.
I know you could say anything about any of these players picked in the draft, but looking at the entire package, Johnny Manziel comes to Cleveland with a tag of boom or bust that has not been seen in the NFL in many years.
Honestly, I cannot think offhand (Long day and I'm tired) of a player that exceeds Manziel in carrying that tag and I'm trying hard to come up with one!

I'll be reviewing the draft more as it moves on and time permitting, I might be doing another post on Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel later today, but for now. I'm pretty happy...

Browns trade down,take Justin Gilbert

The Cleveland Browns had their chance to take my guy in the draft in Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins.

In a stunner, they didn't as they shipped the 4th pick to Buffalo for the 9th pick and the Bills 1st and 4th rounders next season.

Cleveland then tossed Minnesota a fifth-rounder to move from 9th to 8th and then selected the best corner in the draft in Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State.

The six-foot Gilbert is the best cover guy in the draft and has a career of making interceptions as a Cowboy.
I have been pointing for years as corner as a huge need and I am happy to see Gilbert stay in orange.

I still wish Sammy Watkins would have been the choice at four and I think that the Browns didn't get enough help for 2014 by making the deal to drop five spots.

I'll be back later with more on my take on Justin Gilbert...