If It's Brown, Flush It Down

The Cleveland Browns have done it again. They have managed to absolutely screw up the draft and do very little to improve themselves. This fiasco known as the Cleveland Browns draft made me remember one of Ryan Parker's songs which I have added at the end of this post. The title of that song is the same as the title of this post. Cleveland really messed up this weekend.

The Browns had a great pick with their first pick, selecting the best runningback in the draft. I really like Trent Richardson and think he will be a fantastic pro, but what were they doing trading up to get him. Every indication was that the Vikings were going to select Matt Kalil at #3 so what do the Browns do? They trade up with the Vikings so the Vikings can select Kalil at 4 and pick up some extra picks. What?

Then the Browns selected a 28 year old QB in the first round. There was absolutely no reason to make this guy a 1st round pick. He is a nice guy, but come on here. The guy has pretty limited upside. Before someone says this situation is the same as Weinke, Weinke was dominant in college and was picked in the 4th round. That is where Weeden should have been selected. Poor decision.

Mitchell Schwartz was one of their better picks, but he seemed to go a little too early. This pick was not actually that bad.

John Hughes is a lazy defensive tackle that was not very impressive in the Big East. Good luck in the NFL with this guy.

Travis Benjamin is fast, but he is also 5'10 172lbs. He also does not have the best hands and comes from Thug U.

James Michael Johnson is a solid zone linebacker who is not capable of playing man fronts. He is also slow. Call me crazy, but I don't want slow linebackers.

Ryan Miller was also a good pick.

Emmanuel Acho is undersized, but considering the rest of their draft they should be excited.

Billy Winn is considered great value at his spot, but how many guys with suspect work ethics do you want to put on the same team.

The Browns drafted another guy with work ethic and consistency issues in Wade.

So the Browns drafted a stud runningback and surrounded him with a bunch of guys that take plays off and have suspect work ethics. Sounds like an idea that can't possibly backfire (sarcasm). Browns will be back in the top 5 picks again next season.

-Noland

Charley Casserly's Mock Draft (2 Rounds)

Charley Casserly released his mock draft on April 13th and it has some very interesting predictions on it. I will post some of the more interesting picks, but you can get the full mock here.

First Round
2) Robert Griffin III. No surprise here from Casserly, but my cousin Adam thinks RG3 is the greatest. I am not entirely convinced, but I like RG3. I do not think the Redskins should have given up so much to get him though.'

3) Minnesota Vikings select Matt Kalil (USC). I will go on record in saying that Kalil will be an all-pro within 5 seasons.

5) Tampa selects Morris Claiborne (LSU). Help with the aging secondary, let's see if this is the way the Bucs actually go.

6) St. Louis selects Justin Blackmon (OK St). I am a big Justin Blackmon fan and think he and Sam Bradford will do big things over their careers. Great pick if it happens.

9) Carolina selects Fletcher Cox (Miss St). Cox is an animal and will do big things in the pros. If Carolina gets him it will be a great selection. This guy will be a stud.

11) Chiefs select Luke Kuechly (BC). Kuechly is an awesome linebacker. He is my personal favorite player in this draft, even more than the Seminoles. I just love the way he plays. His grit and effort will make up for what he lacks in physical ability. I do not think he is the best player in this draft, but I think he will do great. There will be another post on Kuechly in the near future.

14) Dallas selects Mark Barron (Bama). Casserly thinks the world of Barron. He has the safety rated 7th overall and wrote an article about how great Barron is. The former GM even had Barron rated ahead of former great Sean Taylor.

29) Ravens select Peter Konz (Wisconsin). He would serve as Birk's eventual replacement, possibly playing at guard right away.

2nd round
36) Tampa selects David Wilson (VT). Wilson would be help for a weak Tampa Bay backfield. Wilson is the 3rd rated back on most boards. I think the Hokie has a pretty good chance at being a solid back on most teams.


47) Jets select Andre Branch (Clemson). This would be tremendous value with the 47th pick. Branch can play.

55) Atlanta selects Zebrie Sanders (FSU). Sanders will be the first Seminole off the board without a doubt. The question is when Sanders will be selected. I must say that as a Seminoles fan I think Sanders is overrated, but he can be a solid pro. Needs to control the penalties.

60) Baltimore selects Chris Givens (Wake). Givens is fast and would give the Ravens one of the fastest receiving cores in football. Givens would be a huge upgrade over the mess that is Lee Evans. Givens, Boldin, and Smith is a great receiving group. Lets see if this actually happens. Joe Flacco would be one happy man with this.

We are getting close. Should be interesting.

-Noland