Armchair General Manager

Well, it's pretty obvious by now that the Browns plan to sit back and watch other teams get better in free agency while they sit back and relax. When you're a 4-12 team, there's not much to improve on in the offseason, right?

The Browns, following the model George Kokinis used in Baltimore, instead look to the NFL Draft as the way to improve. Currently, they have three of the top fifty picks (Shaun Rodgers and Derek Anderson, among others, could be shipped away for more draft picks) in this upcoming draft.

At number five, the Browns should get an impact player that will contribute from day one. However, a look at recent second round picks where the Browns are selecting suggest that those picks won't be overnight sensations:


2008 NFL Draft
5th overall: Glenn Dorsey
36th overall: Jordy Nelson
50th overall: Calais Campbell

2007 NFL Draft
5th overall: Levi Brown
36th overall: Kevin Kolb
50th overall: Chris Henry

2006 NFL Draft
5th overall: A.J. Hawk
36th overall: Chad Jackson
50th overall: Marcus McNeill

2005 NFL Draft
5th overall: Carnell Williams
36th overall: Barrett Ruud
50th overall: Ronald Bartell

2004 NFL Draft
5th overall: Sean Taylor
36th overall: Junior Siavii
50th overall: Devery Henderson

2003 NFL Draft
5th overall: Terence Newman
36th overall: Eugene Wilson
50th overall: Bruce Nelson

2002 NFL Draft
5th overall: Quentin Jammer
36th overall: Josh Reed
50th overall: Chester Pitts

2001 NFL Draft
5th overall: LaDanian Tomlinson
36th overall: Chad Johnson
50th overall: Dominic Raiola

2000 NFL Draft
5th overall: Jamal Lewis
36th overall: Todd Pinkston
50th overall: Barrett Green

1999 NFL Draft
5th overall: Ricky Williams
36th overall: Mike Peterson
50th overall: Shaun King

The point is, the Browns have a chance to get a very good player in April. But with where they are as a franchise right now, one player probably won't make too big of a difference. Unlike most of the second round picks listed above, the Browns need to hit on both of them in order to succeed in 2009-10.

I'm going on the record almost two months before the NFL Draft to throw in my two cents as to who I think the Browns should draft. I went to three credible websites and took a look at their draft projections.

WalterFootball.com and TheFootballExpert.com had the Browns taking University of Texas defensive end/linebacker Brian Orakpo with the fifth overall pick. DraftCountdown.com had the club staying in the Buckeye State and selecting Ohio State's cornerback/safety Malcolm Jenkins.
(Projections correct as of March 1)

If it came down to these two, I'd lean towards Orakpo. However, I want the Browns to draft a natural linebacker: Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry or USC linebacker Rey Maualuga.

I know most experts have Curry being selected before the Browns get on the clock with the fifth pick, and the consensus seems to be that Maualuga will go in the middle of the first round. I'm certainly no expert and I've never seen Curry play (and I question whether anyone really watches Wake Forest football games) but everyone raves about this guy as a player.

Just watching Maualuga play on television you can see that this guy is a mugger. In terms of combine numbers, he might not jump off the page but he's a football player.

Curry had three seasons of 81+ tackles, while Maualuga never had more than 80 tackles in a season. I think you have to keep in mind that Maualuga was part of a linebacking core at USC that will produce two other first/second round draft picks (Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews III) in April's draft. Those guys are getting their fair share of tackles too. How many times does a ball-carrier even get past the line of scrimmage agaisnt the vaunted Trojan defensive line? Maualuga had fewer tackles, but I would argue he had less opportunities.

I certainly could be wrong ... and I would undoubtedly be happy with Curry ... but I think Maualuga is going to make fans in an NFL city very happy for years to come. I hope it's here in Cleveland.

Heading to the second round, both WalterFootball and TheFootballExpert have the Browns grabbing Pittsburgh running back LaSean McCoy at #36 overall. DraftCountdown has the good guys selecting outside linebacker Paul Kruger from the undefeated Utah Utes.

I think McCoy's a good player. He scored 35 touchdowns in his two years as a Panther and he is only 20 years old. But is he that much better than Jerome Harrison? We have so many other needs than a running back, in my opinion.

At #36, you hope one of those first round talents slips to you in the early part of the second round. If someone like Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew or the before-mentioned Matthews from USC is still around, you'd have to give them a hard look.

Being more realistic based off the early projections, I like Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson. Early mock drafts (before the 2008-09 college season) had Johnson as a top-five pick. All he did was go out and register nine sacks. It wasn't like he did it against nobody, racking up eight of those nine sacks against opponents from the SEC or ACC.

DraftCountdown has him going 34th overall, while TheFootballExpert projects him to go 38th. It's a real possibility he could be around when the Browns make their first pick of the second round. He's 6'7 and weighs 266 pounds and still ran a 4.75 at the combine. He could be a playmaker the Browns so desperately need on defense.

Both of my earlier picks would surely improve the Browns front seven. But if your a Browns fan you know the secondary needs help, too. That's why I want someone in the secondary with the third pick.

DraftCountdown has Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith going 26th overall (their draft was last updated February 5), but the other two mock drafts have him going 62nd (WalterFootball) and 39th (TheFootballExpert). I did some quick math and 62+39=101. That averages out to an average of the 50.5 pick. The Browns pick at #50. If Smith is on the board, I'd love to see the Browns grab the 2008 first team All-American.

Of course, it's only March 1st and so much is subject to change. The Browns could add more picks and the stock of many of these prospects is sure to change. But on March 1, 56 days before the Lions go on the clock, it's not too early to start looking ahead. If the Browns were able to come away with Maualuga, Johnson and Smith they would have a much improved defense heading into the 2009-10 season and beyond.