Cleveland.com
Terry Pluto
ABOUT THE BROWNS . . .
1. Trying to figure out what the Browns might do on draft day, let's look back to 2010, when they had the seventh overall pick. If former coach Eric Mangini had been running the draft last year, the Browns probably would have traded down. Like Bill Belichick and others from that NFL school of thought, they prefer to stay out of the top 10 -- where rookies receive salaries that chew up the salary cap and sometimes cause problems with veterans in the locker room. They also want a lot of picks low in the first round, and in other rounds.
2. The Browns didn't trade the pick. General Manager Tom Heckert was confident he'd find the right guy worth the money at No. 7.
3. A few months before the draft, many "experts" assumed the Browns would take defensive back Joe Haden. But Haden ran a relatively slow 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. That scared away some teams. It was rumored the Browns had backed off him, but Heckert never wavered. He thought Haden was a tremendous cover cornerback at Florida. He trusted his own eyes, the reports of the scouts, and production on the field over pure potential and what happens at the combine.
4. The drafting of Haden reveals that Heckert will probably stay at No. 6 this year. If he does trade down, it likely would be only a few picks. Also, there will be a rookie salary cap (finally!) in the new labor agreement -- another reason to keep high draft picks.
5. So this would indicate Heckert will probably want a player from a major program who has been producing -- probably not a one-year wonder. Yes, that does bring us back to Georgia's A.J. Green at wide receiver, although Heckert has been mentioning Alabama wideout Julio Jones. I do know this: If Heckert believes Jones is a better player than Green, he will skip the Green hype and take Jones.
6. No doubt, there will be lots of people in the Browns' draft room who will want a receiver. President Mike Holmgren loves offense. New coach Pat Shurmur told The Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi this about Green, "It's intoxicating to go after a playmaker."
7. But I go back to the basics, the basics being the Browns are switching to the 4-3 defense with just one starting lineman (Ahtyba Rubin) and two healthy starting linebackers (Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita). I go back to the 2010 draft, where Heckert's first two picks were defensive backs -- Haden and safety T.J. Ward. Then I think about how this draft is supposed to be rich with defensive linemen.
8. And that brings me to Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers. Many experts had him in the top three, certainly no lower than No. 5 right after the season. Then it was revealed that Bowers had a torn meniscus in his knee. His pro day is Friday, and his agent said Bowers will show everyone he's healthy.
9. Let's think about Haden, a very good college player whose stock dropped after the season -- when scouts began looking at things other than game tapes. But nothing had changed about Haden being a big-time defensive back. And nothing has changed about Bowers, assuming he shows this week that he is fully recovered from his knee surgery.
10. Bowers had a huge junior year at Clemson, leading the nation with 15.5 sacks. I like that he had sacks in 10 of his 13 games, meaning he was a factor each week. He also had 26 tackles for loss. At 6-4, 277 pounds, he is the ideal pass rusher for a 4-3 defense -- and guess which team is switching to a 4-3 defense and has no defensive ends on the roster who can rush the passer?
11. Does this mean the Browns will take Bowers? Of course not. But for all the talk about receivers, don't be surprised if Heckert takes what he considers a sure thing in Bowers and begins to build the defense.
12. Not much is said about the offensive line, but right tackle must be addressed at some point soon. The team can't keep going with veterans such as John St. Clair, Floyd Womack and Tony Pashos. While they talk about Pashos for 2012, it's hard to count on him. A middle-round pick on a right tackle might be wise.
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2011/03/terrys_talkin_cleveland_browns.html
link to complete article (includes cavs and indians)
