Sports fans, the NFL Draft has come and gone. Thanks to the legal process, the NFL is back on a lockout with no activity scheduled for the immediate future. Free agents are left on their own, even moreso with rookie free agents who cannot contact prospective teams. The NFL Draft took on a different role for teams and players who were involved. Teams who usually look to free agency to fill a hole or two before the draft no longer had that luxury. Players who were marginal 7th round picks and would normally be signed as a free agent right after the draft were left in the cold. That being said, let's take a quick look at the Browns draft:
First Round - 21st Overall Pick
Phil Taylor from Baylor - Defensive Tackle. Big fan of this pick. We need defensive linemen to field the four down linemen front that D Coordinator Dick Jauron will employ. Phil Taylor from Baylor will team up with Athyba Rubin to plug the holes and shore up the run defense.
Second Round - 37th Overall Pick
Jaball Sheard from Pittsburgh - Defensive End. I'll say this was a safer pick than Da'Quan Bowers from Clemson because Sheard is healthy. Sheard was the Big East Defensive Player of the year as a pass-rushing, agile, and quick DE. Another linemen and another need filled by the Browns. Look for Sheard to make an immediate impact.
Second Round - 59th Overall Pick
Greg Little from North Carolina - Wide Receiver. Little is extremely athletic and has a tremendous upside. Sat out last season due to team violations. He's a big physical receiver who can break tackles after the catch, which is imperative in the West Coast Offense the Browns are going to employ. I'm keeping a close eye on him in training camp to see how he adjusts to the speed of the game after being out a season.
Fourth Round - 102nd Overall Pick
Jordan Cameron from USC - Tight End. Basketball player turned tight end, following the Tony Gonzalez and former Kent State basketball star Antonio Gates into the NFL. He had only 16 catches last season, but was seen as another player with a great upside. He'll have Ben Watson and Evan Moore to mentor him. I see him being about a year out before making a big splash.
Fourth Round - 124th Overall Pick
Owen Marecic from Stanford - Fullback/Linebacker. That's right, a full-time two way player at the D1 Level. He once scored an offensive TD on a carry, then intercepted a pass on the next play from scrimmage and scored a defensive TD. Two TDs on two sides of the ball in 13 seconds. Starting out, this guy has special teams written all over him with his offensive and defensive acumen. He doesn't come off the field and can understand two different gameplans. I like this pick because he is a true ironman and a pure football player.
Fifth Round - 137th Overall Pick
Buster Skrine from UT-Chattanooga - Cornerback. Fast as lightning, he clocked a 4.22 40-yrd dash. He can contribute right away on special teams, but he'll be a year away from contributing defensively. His lack of height (5' 9'') could be a concern, but his speed can cover for his mishaps.
Fifth Round - 150th Overall Pick
Jason Pinkston from Pittsburgh - Offensive Tackle. He'll compete for a spot on the right side of the line with Tony Pashos, Floyd Womack and Shaun Lauvao. Reports on him stay he's got an abundance of athleticism, but may lack in work ethic and effort. Here's hoping that's not the case.
Seventh Round - 248th Overall Pick
Eric Haag from Nebraska - Safety. A ball-hawk, he can come in and challenge for the free safety position, possibly freeing up TJ Ward to take the strong saftey. Haag is good in coverage and above-average athletically. Here's hoping he sticks, as I don't want to see us draft two low-round safeties from Nebraska who don't pan out.
Overall, a pretty good draft. We have an extra two picks in next year's draft, including a first rounder. We filled some needs on the defensive line. I would have like us to take a pure linebacker (not that Owen Marecic can't play there) , but we can address that through free agency when it returns. I thought it was a bit of a reach for Jordan Cameron as a TE because the Browns already have two good platers. But with Evan Moore's health questions, this may turn out to be a steal. I'm looking real forward to seeing how Greg Little will mesh with the current QB/WR corps, and seeing how he recovers from a full year off. Anything we can get out of the 5th through 7th picks is a bonus, and if they can make the team and ride out this year maybe we'll see them in a more involved capacity next season.
Lastly, I'd say this this year's draft was a hybrid of 2009 and 2010, with the Browns giving up picks to move down. The 2010 picks are doing well through the first year. Hopefully that can carry that over into this season and beyond. We will be able to get a better measurement of last year and this year's draft in a few seasons.
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