The NFL Draft is over two months away, yet there are all sorts of mock drafts for fans to peruse. Of course, the draft is the Cleveland Browns’ fan’s Super Bowl, as it is holds the promise of future success for the team. It’s the one day they can look forward to how their team can become a winner.
There is no telling whom the team will draft because the Browns have needs at virtually every position except left tackle. Most current mock drafts have them drafting Florida CB Joe Haden, which wouldn’t be a bad pick considering the state of the secondary.
Really though, any pick would help this football team. Any pick except for a quarterback.
This is not to say the brown and orange don’t need a new signal caller, based on last year’s performance they most certainly do. However, there doesn’t seem to be anyone available at the 7th pick who could step right in and play a major role for the 2010 Browns.
Sam Bradford? Injury problems.
Colt McCoy? Questions about arm strength.
Tim Tebow? Check out the Senior Bowl.
At this point, Mike Holmgren cannot take someone in the first round that will not contribute to the success of this football team immediately. As previously stated, there are too many holes in other areas to fill for the Holmgren and new GM Tom Heckert to take a quarterback.
That’s not to say the Browns will not draft a quarterback sometime during the draft. When Ron Wolf was running the Green Bay Packers, with Holmgren as the coach, he always drafted at least one QB per year. It led to the Packers having Mark Brunell, Aaron Brooks, and Matt Hasselbeck as part of the organization.
It’s likely Holmgren will take a quarterback later in the draft to groom as a possible starter down the road.
If you examine the young quarterbacks who have come into the NFL in recent years and been successful right away, such as Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, and the Jets’ Mark Sanchez, they were all put in situations where the surrounding cast was pretty good to begin with, and the quarterback was the last piece of the puzzle.
Therefore, those guys weren’t expected to come in and carry a team right away. And despite Cleveland’s success late in the season without decent quarterback play, that wouldn’t be the case here.
If Holmgren and the coaching staff do not think either Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson is the answer, and my guess is they don’t, they need to bring in an established veteran to take the controls, and then find a young passer in the draft, perhaps as early as next year’s draft.
There is a trust in Holmgren and Heckert, and it says here they will make the right decision and concentrate on the other needs of this football team. Drafting a quarterback can wait at least one more season, or until this team is ready to take the next step into a playoff contender.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 