Please Browns: Don't Do It!

 

The NFL mock drafts are starting to come out and the so called draftniks are starting to assign college players to NFL teams as if they were the general managers and/or player personnel directors for each of the pro teams.  Here’s hoping none of these guys ever work for the Browns.  Most have the brown and orange picking either a quarterback or wide receiver with the first pick in this year’s "selection meeting".  If that happens, I may drive my car into the Browns’ headquarters in Berea.

 

The biggest hype in the draft is going to LSU QB JaMarcus Russell, who is big, strong, and has a powerful arm.  However, his performance against good teams (no, Notre Dame doesn’t qualify) has been spotty.  The Sporting News says he is overrated.  Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn is another mentionned as a possible pick for the Browns, especially since he wants to play here, which makes all the insecure fans in Cleveland happy.  I would stay away from both players.

 

When you are picking 3rd or 4th in the draft, you MUST pick someone who is going to be a Pro Bowl player.  I’m not convinced that either one of these players is going to be that type of player.  There is too much risk associated with both players.  Quinn might be a product of Charlie Weis’ offense scheme, could he be effective in another system?  Russell has had one excellent season.  So did Akili Smith, remember him?  Plus, taking a quarterback means you are picking a player who either will not contribute this year or will play, but will go through all the negatives that go with gaining experience.  After a 4-12 season, fans cannot be expected to go through another season where winning isn’t the goal.

 

Another player mentionned as a possible pick is Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson.  Johnson may very well be the best player in the draft, but he isn’t the correct pick for Cleveland.  The team has spent two of the last three years drafting receivers, albeit one of them being a tight end.  It’s time to stop taking the dessert, and pick the meat and potatoes of football.  As good as Johnson may be, he will only handle the ball at the most 100 times a season.  And he’s dependent on someone getting the ball to him. 

 

Although I wouldn’t be unhappy if the Browns took an offensive lineman, I would take Adrian Peterson, the running back from Oklahoma.  Peterson is a better bet to be a star than either of the quarterbacks.  Yes, he has had some bumps and bruises, but he would touch the ball at least 20 times per game.  Couple that with getting an offensive lineman in free agency, and suddenly you might have an effective ground game.  This means throwing the ball when you want to, not because you have to.  It would take pressure off the linemen in pass protection, and would take some of whoever the quarterback would be as well.

 

If either Russell or Quinn is still available when the Browns’ turn comes up, I would be contacting every team who picks from 5-10 in the first round to see if I can extract another pick to move down in the draft.  Maybe you can find another Butch Davis, who will give you a 2nd round pick to move up one or two slots.  That would be a smarter move than draft one of these signal callers. 

 

The Cleveland Browns have many needs, quarterback among them.  I’m not sure that the position is their biggest need.  Help in the running game, and on the offensive and defensive lines are much more critical, and filling those needs will help improve the team’s record quicker.  Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel need to see some progress in the won-lost record too.  Drafting a quarterback or a wide receiver won’t help them in that area.

 

JD