Cleveland Browns Draft Review

Better late than never, but here are some thoughts on the Cleveland Browns draft.
Hard to believe that the training camp starts in just six weeks or so away.

The Cleveland Browns were a team with plenty of needs to fill and after this draft, they remain a team with plenty of needs to fill.
However, the draft addressed some of them, ignored others and made a gamble that might be the key to not only the Browns future but that of Mike Holmgren, Tom Heckert, and Pat Shurmur.

The Browns traded up one slot to make sure that they landed the player that they wanted in Alabama running back Trent Richardson at the third spot in the first round through a trade with the Minnesota Vikings.
Richardson instantly becomes the star of the Cleveland offense as a back that can run between the tackles and has the burst to get around the corner.
Richardson also is not a back that needs to leave the field as he catches the ball well and is not a liability as a blocker.
Some have compared Richardson to Adrian Peterson and rate him as the best back to enter the league since Peterson's arrival.
I agree with the latter, but not the former as I don't remember seeing Peterson sit behind backs at Oklahoma like Richardson did at Alabama, but I still think Richardson can be an impact selection on a team that was screaming for one...

The Brown then took the gamble that will define this management group with the selection of Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden.
I like Weeden's arm and accuracy and he appears to be the best total passer that Cleveland has had since the teams return to the NFL, but he is 28 years old, so there is little time to be wasted.
Weeden was drafted to be the starter, so the learning curve will have to be minimal.
This pick also means the Browns are invested in Weeden in the next seasons draft as drafting a Matt Barkley would be seen as admitting this selection would be a bust after just one season.
I like Weeden, but this selection is somewhat worrisome to me with the questions involved.

The selection of Cal tackle Mitchell Schwartz addresses a need at right tackle and solidifies a line that should be together for quite a while considering the age of the group.
I had other tackles rated ahead of Schwartz and I would have rather seen a wide receiver taken here and Schwartz or another tackle in the third, but I am still fine with the pick, even though other considerations might have worked out better in my opinion.

The Browns traded down in round three and added a fourth-rounder to replace the one traded to Minnesota in the Trent Richardson deal and their pick was the one that had most scratching their draft guides in wonder.
Cincinnati defensive tackle John Hughes was not even the top lineman on the Bearcats and most thought he was a late rounder at best.
Hughes is supposedly great against the run and with the injury to Phil Taylor, Hughes will get his chance early in his career.
This is part of a trend that I will address later in the post.

The Browns finally picked a wideout in the fourth round in diminutive and speedy Travis Benjamin.
To me, this is a pick that will help more in situations than a player that will be a full-time impact player.
This one is a pick at a need, but not one that will provide the type of production that the Browns need.
Benjamin looks to me to be a player that might be decent in the slot in five receiver formations, but not one that will be able to get off the line outside the hashmarks...

Nevada linebacker John-Michael Johnson looks to be a possible starter at linebacker with Scott Fujita's suspension and could fit into a position in the long term.
Johnson can run from sideline to sideline and is the type of speedy linebacker that the Browns are lacking in on the roster.

Fifth-round guard Ryan Miller of Colorado has the type of size that you usually see at tackle but will be an NFL guard. Miller will be a project, but his size makes me think that if he can play guard, he might be a solid contributor in a year or two if he can be agile enough to play the interior.

I really liked the sixth rounders in linebacker Emmanuel Acho of Texas and defensive lineman Billy Winn of Boise State.
Acho's brother Sam was a middle-round steal for the Cardinals a year or so back and Emmanuel might be the same type of steal.
At a minimum, Acho will be a special teams standout and maybe a situational rusher.
I would be not surprised to see Acho start eventually.
Winn was thought to be a second or third-round pick but fell through the draft and at the point that Winn was picked at, he rates as a high reward low-risk selection. Winn is not a run stuffer but has above average pass rushing skills from the defensive tackle slots.
If the Browns can keep Winn motivated, Winn can also be a nice addition to the defensive line rotation for the next few years...

Cleveland took two compensation seventh rounders with corner Trevin Wade of Arizona and tight end Brad Smelley of Alabama.
Wade is a bit undersized and his last two years were not a strong as his first, but might fit as a nickel type.
Smelley catches the ball well, but on a team with four tight ends ahead of him (Ben Watson, Alex Smith, Evan Moore, and Jordan Cameron), he might have to show that he can block well enough to fit as a fullback as well as a tight end...

My biggest issue with this draft was that it smelled of panic.
It is always conjecture to say someone would have fallen, but I think that Weeden might have fallen to the second round, Schwartz would have likely been available in the third and for John Hughes, well he would have almost definitely been available in the fourth and likely lower.
Take that with the fourth-rounder that was given away to the Vikings for Trent Richardson, which did not have to happen as the Vikings were not taking Richardson and the Browns seemingly could have done so much better.
I really liked the later round picks and I think Tom Heckert might have found some contributors with Johnson and Acho along with the potential of Winn and if Travis Benjamin can provide any help at wideout, the third day could be an excellent haul for the Browns.....

I want to believe in Tom Heckert, but the two picks that will make or break this draft are Brandon Weeden and Mitchell Schwartz.
Weeden has to start and be the foundation QB that Cleveland has not seen since Bernie Kosar along with getting up to speed and be able to lower the learning curve that comes with the NFL.
Schwartz has to live up to his selection with a pick that could have landed a strong pass catcher in either Stephen Hill or Alshon Jeffery or a more highly regarded tackle that was still on the board in Cordy Glenn (Bills) or Jonathan Martin (Dolphins).
If Schwartz starts for the next ten years, all will be forgotten, if not this draft will be what could have been...

Our grade: B

Richardson,Weedon and Day Two

Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert made some big moves on the first day of the NFL draft and those moves just might decide one or both of their futures in Cleveland.

The Browns traded excess picks in the fourth, fifth, and seventh rounds to move up one spot to land Alabama's Trent Richardson to be the workhorse running back that the team badly needed.
If Richardson pans out, you could make a real case that Richardson would give the Browns the best running back in his prime in the last 25 years as I don't count the one-year blips of Jamal Lewis and Peyton Hillis.
Backs that can catch the ball and play all three downs are rare indeed and if Richardson is able to do that, the small price that the Browns paid to move up will be well worth the cost.
My only small concern about Richardson is this-If Richardson was such a dominant back, why could he not beat out Mark Ingram for Ingram's term with the Crimson Tide?
All and all I believe Richardson has a good chance to be exactly the type of back that is going to thrive in the cold weather climate of the AFC North and he has the low to the ground body type that I think is going to dish out as much punishment as he takes.

Brandon Weeden was taken with the 22nd pick and even though I think that I would have passed and hoped that he would make it through to the Browns' second-rounder on day two.
However, three very good receivers are still on the board at the end of day one, and considering that the Browns hold the fifth pick in the round and two very good offensive linemen have slid out of the first round that was expected to be first-rounders (Stanford's Jonathan Martin and Georgia's Cordy Glenn), one of the three pass catchers should be Cleveland bound.

If one of the three (Georgia Tech's Stephen Hill, South Carolina's Alshon Jeffrey, who would be my choice, and LSU's Reuben Randle) is selected by the Browns, then the Weeden selection will not bother me as much as I would have picked one of those players possibly anyway, although I seriously winced when Iowa's powerhouse tackle Riley Reiff was available to be selected.
Reiff went to Detroit with the following pick and would have been a perfect fit at the gaping hole that is right tackle.
On one hand, Weeden is quite a gamble considering his age, but considering his strong arm and ability to make all the throws, if Weeden was 24 instead of 29, he never would have fallen to the 22nd spot in the first round.

The Browns did not draft a 29-year-old quarterback in the first round for him to sit behind Colt McCoy, so I would bet that Weeden will be the starting quarterback when the season starts.
I might even wager a nickel or two that Colt McCoy might not even be a Brown by the end of this draft.
Considering the lack of confidence that the Browns seem to have in McCoy at this time, I'd bet that if a team offered the Browns a day three draft pick that team just might land McCoy for a backup job elsewhere.

 
My biggest concern with Weeden is the age and that relates to the former baseball player issue.
So many of these types have entered the league and only Jay Schroeder had any kind of success at all and Schroeder was not exactly Johnny Unitas.
Chris Weinke, Josh Booty, Chad Hutchinson, Drew Henson, etc all came from similar backgrounds and none hit it big in the league, so Weeden would be the first to have real success after all the time spent elsewhere.
As noted, if the Browns can grab a needed player at 37 at wide receiver or tackle, then all is forgiven, and looking at the players on the board, I think that is a pretty safe bet to make.....

So looking at day two, Cleveland has their own second and third to use and I would be stunned if those two picks were not used on a receiver and a tackle.
But in the event that they pass on one of those two positions, I would love to see a linebacker, especially if that backer was Demario Davis of Arkansas State.

I listed three pass catchers above that all would look very nice opposite Greg Little and if the Browns are not able to land someone to take the pressure off Little,I believe that it will be difficult for Brandon Weeden, Colt McCoy, or anyone else to move the football effectively.

There are a few tackles that slipped from beyond round one and would be instant starters, but to take one of them means that none of the wide receivers could be taken and I think that the receiver would be a better pick in round two.
Jonathan Martin, Cordy Glenn, and Bobby Massie will likely be taken by the time round three rolls around, although if one of them does last that long then the decision would be pretty easy for the Browns.
Ohio State's massive Mike Adams has similar talents to the mentioned players, but failed a drug test at the combine and could slide to round three because of that reason alone.
Adams could provide the value that the Browns need if they are willing to take a chance.

The Browns could have a chance to have a vastly improved offense depending on the results on day two of the draft.
Brandon Weeden is under center, a durable, a high floor back in Trent Richardson, another receiver to add to Greg Little, and the only weak spot of the line addressed-now I am not saying the Browns become a playoff team, but they could take a large leap forward.
That is the optimistic view.
If Brandon Weedon is unable to make the transition, if the Browns miss on the second-round receiver etc, the Browns could be in a further hole as they will have spent a first-round pick on a passer that did not pan out.

Time will tell.
Back tomorrow with a look at day two.