Browns Fan in Colts Land
December 14, 2009While We’re Waiting… Suns Minus Shaq, Mangini’s Timing, and Ndesiring Ndomukong
December 15, 2009So we are 2-11 and that means it’s time to talk about draft position. Go ahead and read the article from No Logo Needed this morning about why we should be focusing more about winning. It doesn’t matter worth anything in the future since there is no way this team is going to be winning any playoff games as it stands right now. Turnover always occurs from year to year and with 11 draft picks this coming April along with a top ten selection, this could be the most important draft for the team since the selection Tim Couch back in 1999.
Over a month ago, I wrote an article talking mostly about Mike Holmgren coming over to Cleveland, but at the end mentioned some resourceful NFL Draft Web sites. Although Cleveland’s win over Pittsburgh coupled with the continued losses for 1-12 St. Louis and Tampa Bay hurt the team’s current draft status, it is intriguing to look at what players the team could get toward the top of the board. When looking at four of the blogs I mentioned in that story, the main theme for this franchise was whether or not they take a brand new franchise QB at the top of the draft.
Overall, I am highlighting 11 different players that probably encompasses all the possible selections for the Browns at the top end of the first round in the draft. The main theme that divides these players is whether or not they are a quarterback, as four such individuals play that particular position. The majority of these college football players are draft-eligible juniors that are likely to declare for the draft, and time will tell if all are available at our slot.
The QB candidates are simple and easy as Jake Locker, Jimmy Clausen, Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow will all be drafted in some order during the first round of the draft. There are multiple reports on all of these players, but none of them will be playing in this year’s BCS National Championship. In fact, only the lower-rated Tebow will actually be playing in a bowl game as Notre Dame elected not to play in a game while Bradford is hurt and Locker’s Washington team struggled all season. So the opportunities to watch these players are now limited, but the question holds ground for the franchise moving forward.
Is Brady Quinn the future? I am sure that all of us will hear this question hundreds of times between now and anytime before the start of next season, but that main question will dictate how this draft goes. The Browns and whoever is the GM or “Czar” will need to decide somehow if Quinn has taken advantage of his recent opportunities and proven he can be a legitimate NFL starting quarterback. If he has not shown enough yet, the team will also need to figure out some sort of plan for action in determining when the time is right to finally acquire a quarterback that can lead this team to a winning season.
Five other individuals that will assuredly go at the top end of the first round are Gerald McCoy, Ndamukong Suh, Joe Haden, Taylor Mays and Eric Berry. With Suh or McCoy, the Browns could possibly have the most dominant line in the NFL alongside Shaun Rogers and up-and-coming Ahtyba Rubin, but the secondary was definitely been the weak point all year. Mays and Berry both have play making skills as safeties that remind me of Ed Reed back when he played for The U, and could make a huge difference from game one as a Brown. The corner back Haden and line backer McClain on the other hand, were two of the biggest difference makers on the top two teams in the SEC all season.
The final two people that possibly could be mentioned for the Browns are C.J. Spiller out of Clemson and Dez Bryant, the ineligible receiver who used to play for Oklahoma State. Both would add fire power to the offense that respectfully uhh, has no real exciting option for the future. From this list of 11 players total now, I excluded all offensive lineman since the team will probably look in the second or third round for such players.
Here once again are the stats for those 11 players this season, their current schools and where they are current slotted in ESPN’s Scouts Inc. Big Board:
1. S Eric Berry, Tennessee, 83 tackles and two INT’s
2. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, 82 tackles, 12 sacks and one INT
3. DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma, 29 tackles and five sacks
4. CB Joe Haden, Florida, 57 tackles, three sacks and four INT’s
7. LB Rolando McClain, Alabama, 101 tackles, four sacks and three INT’s
9. QB Jake Locker, Wash., 2,800 pass (58.2%) 21 TD/11 INT, 388 rush and 7 TD’s
10. RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 201 carries, 1,148 rush, 11 TD’s, 448 rec and 4 TD’s
11. QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, 4,720 pass (67.9%) 50 TD/8 INT (from 2008)
13. WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma St., 87 catch, 1,480 rec and 19 TD’s (from 2008)
18. S Taylor Mays, Southern Cal, 88 tackles and one INT
28. QB Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame, 3,720 pass (68.0%) 28 TD/4 INT
XX. QB Tim Tebow, Florida, 2,413 pass (65.2%) 18 TD/5 INT, 859 rush and 13 TD’s
What all do you say out there? Is BQ the kid for sure the answer and/or will the final three games tell us something different about his future? Should we try to draft a safety or is it necessary for the team to bulk up the defensive line or look for a skill player on offense? Share your family-appropriate comments down below.
69 Comments
Agree with Denny and Jack. I’m getting a either a Berry or a Suh jersey if he comes here, but if we can trade out and get more picks, that works too.
What round do you guys think Dan LeFevour goes? I say trade down with the first pick, adding to our plethora of picks, then take a stab at LeFevour with one of the freebies…then you have options if Quinn really does suck…
A dominant running back is the key to building a great team and Spiller or Royster can be just that. Manning got James in his second year, but the Browns have failed to provide a franchise running back in over a decade. Their Drafts have been erratic and have no direction by getting a big time back that will help the growth of their young and talented offense plus it will help improve the defense that needs to spend less time on the field. They should commit their first 3 picks to the same side of the ball and get the best players that work for the type of offense they are trying to run. It is a fact that there is an uncap year coming up but the Browns still need to make the right moves for the team to win. Browns would be best served to look at picking up free Agents: OG) Max Jean-Giles, RT ) Jeremy Trueblood, NT) Ryan Pickett, WR) Maurice Stovall, LB) Rashad Jeanty, and OLB) Tully Banta-Cain.
Scooter,
I don’t think LeFevour has been under center his entire career. Shotgun offense does not work well in December in Cleveland. I would hope during the combine they would make him prove he can make reads while dropping back before selecting him.
Ramdac, I think we have bigger needs than o-line and RB right now, though.
To say we have a hole in the secondary would imply that we actually have a secondary. We currently have 1 starting-caliber corner in Wright and 1 active player whose natural position is safety (Elam). And Elam isn’t that good of a safety. Outside of that we have McDonald, Adams and Hand Poteat at corner, and Adams and Furrey at safety – neither of whom naturally play starting safety.
Aside from that, I can’t think of a single RB in this draft that’s worth taking in the top 5, when we will be selecting. If Berry is available at our pick we must take him.
The Ravens have managed to create a credible running attack with the remains of McGahee (23rd pick) and Ray Rice (55th pick) and Pittsburgh (last year) had a good running game with Rashard Mendenhall (23rd pick) and Willie Parker (undrafted).
I think we’ve got at least one more win in us between KC, Oakland and an inconsistent Jaguars team. That will put us around 4th or 5th in the draft, presumably too late for Berry and Suh unless there’s a small run on QB’s. If that’s the case, I would love to take Haden and within a few games have him as our #1 CB, Wright as our #2 – where he won’t get pushed around all over the field by bigger top-tier receivers – and McDonald back to his natural nickelback position. A single pick that results in a significant upgrade at 3 defensive positions and gets Poteat out of a Browns uniform.
The Browns should not draft a quaterback if they keep their top five first
round pick. They should should go defense – linebacker, defensive line or
defensive back. I would consider a running back in round 2. Stay away
from wide receiver for the first two rounds. They shouldn’t draft a player
for example defensive end and try to have him become a linebacker.
Tired of “rebuilding” and that is what will happen if we go the QB draft route. Quinn will work. Maybe he won’t be pro-bowl caliber, or hall of fame material, but he won’t be a detriment either. Better to draft those other position you talk about.
If we draft a QB, ughhh, I don’t even want to expound on that. It would be another rebuilding year, no matter the coach.
If Mangini stays, I wish he would just declare Quinn the starter and silence this. Realize his mistake from this past off-season. Move on to new news we need to hear about the Browns becoming competitive again…
Oh, and I forgot to mention; no matter our selection in the draft, I would trade down again. Get a later 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick for it. You can find just as good of players without the high expense and false sense of hope. I would not trade for 5th-6th round picks in any rounds like Mangini did this year. Those are hard-pressed to pan out in most cases.
This years draft should be 80% defense, but get a good offensive weapon early. Keep an eye on Quinn….if things arent working out I would NOT pass on Jake Locker next year if he’s available when the Browns pick. He’s going to be a great one.
I’ve already said no the Qb talk, like everyone else, but I think we also need to say no the RB/WR talk in the first round. The problem with taking any offensive playmaker, is that half our offensive line is, well, offensive. Until we shore up that right side, it doesn’t matter who’s in the backfiels or split out wide. Defense, defense, defense, in the first with a RT in the second or third. Jennings has been a pleasant suprise, plus we still have Harrison and Davis returning. If they also move forward with lining up Cribbs back there, our backfield is set. Get a blocker for the right side and then draft D with the rest of the picks.
Is it too late to trade for Clay Matthews Jr? I think it would be appropriate for father and son to play for the Browns.
I’d trade this year’s #1 pick for a dynamic LB… am I alone?
I think we can get a QB in another round other than the 1st.
Tony Pike of the University of Cincinnati is tall 6-6 225 lbs
and has a beast of an arm. The injury he had was to his non-throwing arm. look up his stats, he was a heisman candidate until he hurt his arm and had to sit out 3 games. UC has a great back up so they weren’t hurried to get Pike back until he was fully healed.
@ Sid – he’s also a bionic man, so when the NFL switches over to cyborgs we’ll have a head start. I like where you’re head’s at.
Quinn stays and plays — at least for another year. If Seattle is looking to trade up to get a QB — then their early No. 1, maybe their second No.1 but certainly a No. 2, should be part of the deal. Throw in a McDonald if you must to make it work. A guy like Toby Gerhart might still be around in the early part of round 2. DA is outright released or traded — maybe to Oakland, where Jamarcus Russell is looking like a Clevelandesque draft call. Get a 4th round pick for him — or anything, really. Get rid of the payroll load. St. Clair is most likely gone. Any way you look at it, this team is going to have at least 15-20 new faces next year. My guess is Mangini will still be here, unless this team implodes in weeks 15-17.
Even if we could get a “Jon Kitna” kinda guy that can help the team get going in the right direction but be willing to help a newbie QB mature to take the raines after a year or two. I don’t think BQ or DA are the answer (and I was a DA supporter) I don’t see any spark in either one as far as being the answer. I was a Bengals fan for years (got tired of Mike Brown) and I’ve seen my fair share of bad QB’s. Carson was given a chance to learn under a decent Head Coach and look where he is (if he isn’t injuried). We will just have to be patient and take some more lumps before the team gets turned around. It’s a crap shoot anytime you draft a QB, but if you look most of the good ones were not taken in the first rounds. There have been a few exceptions lately but the majority of the 1st rounders end up as backups or flops.
My two cents. # 1 pick for the Browns should be (if available) DT Ndamukong Suh. If they can trade smart and succeed in trading some second round picks for another top first round, try to get S Eric Berry. What a double threat that would be on ‘D’. Dream come true for all Browns fans…
The Browns O Line is starting to show signs of being something special (great Offensive Lines take about two/three years to really jell and think/move well together as a unit).
I think pick-up players like Matt Roth (LB) and Evan Moore (TE) are showing signs of possible greatness as well.
Brady Quinn should have had time on the field like Matt Schaub in Houston over the past 3 years, can’t learn without playing time. He show’s he has the brain and the desire to win. I think Quinn is the real thing. His timing needs to get ‘play’ on the field in real game conditions. I know Quinn can throw the long ball. I also know he can run. Massaquoi and Robiskie also need time, (on field with Quinn) I think they have the smarts and physical ability. Cribbs can do anything. Trade some lesser rounds and maybe see whats out there in free agency.
Running backs? Jerome Harrison deserves the opportunity to play as a starter and Jennings has also had some good moments since Lewis has left the building. Have yet to see Thomas Brown RB play. So what is available in later rounds of the draft will be up in the air and at this time guessing.
I didn’t like (early in the year) the coaching concept of designing plays based upon the playing style the coaches were trying to get the players to develop rather then utilizing the talents the players have. Time changes such things and while the Browns are now playing weaker teams, they are playing very well. A complete overhaul would be a very bad choice for 2010, just a lot more fine tuning (give these players some consistency on the field — together).
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