The NFL Draft is over, and what a weird and unexpected draft for the Browns. With tons of cap space, needs on the roster, and a new administration to shake things up, the Browns made less moves than everyone thought they would...in the draft. Grading just the draft, they get a C-. But throw in free agency with the draft (add in the extra picks for next year, a deeper draft than this year as most expect) and the Bess trade, and they get a B+. They did some really good things this year, FINALLY! This is a sign of things to come for this franchise. Let's break it down.
Draft Picks (5)
Round 1 - Barkevious Mingo
Round 3 - Leon McFadden
Round 6 - Jamoris Slaughter
Round 7 - Armonty Bryant
Round 7 - Garrett Gilkey
During the draft, the Browns made three trades. First, they sent the Steelers their fourth-round pick this year for the Steelers third-round pick in 2014. Second, they traded their fifth-round pick to the Colts for their 2014 fourth-round pick. So come 2014, we have a first-round, second-round, two third-rounds, two-fourth rounds, a fifth, sixth, seventh, and any compensatory picks minus any picks taken in the supplemental draft (last year we got Josh Gordon in round 2). I like those moves. The third was with Miami, swapping picks and adding Davone Bess. More on him later.
- Barkevious Mingo was a really good pick. He fits the 3-4 scheme better and is very talented DE. I like taking players who are a little bit more raw than not, because to me that means even though they're good, they can STILL improve. What will it look like when that happens?! This gives the Browns the option to shop Jabaal Sheard they got last year since he's more of a 4-3 guy. Great pick here, even if Dee Milliner was on the board.
- Leon McFadden was the Browns filling their need at CB. I'm guessing he'll get the starting job, but I just don't know how good he'll be in the NFL. He has potential to be really good. His awareness is top-notch, but his speed and size are not (5'9"). Maybe with a much-improved pass rush, it'll take some pressure off the corners anyway. Someone like Bradley Roby may be a better pickup next year from Ohio State, but in the meantime, I think he'll do better than penalty-plagued Buster Skrine at starting CB.
- Jamoris Slaughter is an awesome name for a safety! He is probably the Browns best value pick. This guy was a third-rounder until he got injured last year. He's still recovering, so to get him in the third round probably wasn't a good idea. Getting him in the sixth round was a GREAT idea! With T.J Ward being really the only true starting safety for the Browns, Slaughter has a chance to come in and take the other starting safety spot.
- Armonty Bryant is known as a character risk since getting busted for selling dope last year. He's a DE on a team now stacked with DE's. If he proves to be a head-case, Cleveland can ship him off. He's a seventh-rounder so it won't hurt much. If he can get his act together, he can provide even more depth to the attacking defense the Browns want to run. I don't love this pick, but I don't hate it, either.
- I really like the addition of Garrett Gilkey. He played tackle at his time at Chadron State, a division 2 program. However, the Browns will be playing him at guard. Tackles are typically the best offensive linemen on the team, so by taking one of the best division 2 linemen and putting him in a position to do less than he was asked at Chadron helps fill the Browns need at guard. This guy may win out a starting spot, or at least the #2 guy for the guard-rotation.
Okay, so those are the draft picks that we got. Love Mingo, like McFadden, love Slaughter, not high on Bryant, and really like Gilkey. For a draft, this gets about a C-. Throw in the fact that the Browns basically upgraded their draft picks next year AND that they got Davone Bess. Davone Bess is a proven NFL wide receiver. Not only that, he's a great character guy. The Browns need both of these and got them in the same person for close to nothing! This may be the move that Cleveland fans realize later and say, "Wow! Glad we did that!" Bess has been ranked 2nd in the NFL over the past five years in 3rd down receptions. That means when teams really need a play, this has been the second-best guy to go to. Josh Gordon is becoming a really good receiver, but he's NOT a #1 guy. Davone Bess helps take some of the pressure of Gordon as well as mentoring him. Throw in Travis Benjamin, an under-sized but lighting quick receiver, David Nelson who the Browns picked up in free agency, and Greg Little as another option, and the Browns receiving corp, while not close to elite, became a lot better than what it was. And with Bess, we have a veteran among young players. This was probably the best move they made all week.
So where does this leave the Browns? Well, there are still some holes, but at least they're not as many nor as deep. Let's start on offense. Quarterback will be the next big position to be debated unless Weeden or Campbell does really well this year. The backfield held down by Richardson is fine. He's going to be an elite RB barring injury but the FB Marecic needs to be upgraded. O-line has been upgraded with the addition of Gilkey at guard. Tackles and center are fine. Two are pro-bowl type players in Thomas (LT) and Mack (C). The TE position changed dramatically with the departure of Benjamin Watson. The Browns believe that they have a really good TE in Jordan Cameron but got some insurance in Kellen Davis and Gary Barnidge during free agency. Receivers have been upgraded.
Defensively is where the biggest strides were made. The D-line may be the best in the division, one of the best in the AFC. Rubin, Desmond Bryant, and Phil Taylor will hold down the tackle positions. With Rubin and Bryant in there for nickel and dime packages, it gives the Browns a great run-stopping tandem. On the outside, we have several guys to choose from including Desmond Bryant (he can play both), Jabaal Sheard, Barkevious Mingo, Armonty Bryant, and even Paul Kruger. This position will be intermingled with OLB, from which the Browns will probably start Kruger and Mingo if he makes it. There's also Quentin Groves, Ryan Rau, and Jabaal Sheard who they're trying to convert to OLB. So really, between DE and OLB, there are seven guys to rotate through who are or may be starting-caliber players.
The rest of the defense is really half-set. Inside linebacker is half-set with D'Qwell Jackson. Craig Robertson's spot will probably be on the table for next years' draft (assuming he gets re-signed). Corner is half-set with Joe Haden though Leon McFadden may prove he's the guy to match with Haden. Look for this to possibly be addressed in next years' draft also. Saftey is half-set with T.J Ward being a proven starter. Slaughter or one of the CB's acquired in free agency may win that spot. With a better pass-rush on the outisde, the DB's may not have as much to worry about this year.
So there you have it. The Browns still have a lot of cap room so I wouldn't be surprised if they made a play for guys like Nick Barnett (LB), Daryl Smith (LB), Winston Justice (T), Quentin Jammer (CB), John Abraham (DE), Kerry Rhodes (S), or Sam Shields (CB). It sucks that the Browns play in arguably the toughest division in football, so if Cleveland can pull out 7 or 8 wins, it will have been a really good year. Their schedule isn't easy but it has some very winnable games on the schedule: at home against Miami, Cincy, Buffalo, Detroit, Jacksonville and on the road against Kansas City, Cincy, and the Jets. These aren't elite, untouchable teams. The Browns for a few years always beat the defending super bowl champions the next year, too (New England, Giants, Saints), so anything's possible.
There's just one thing I would've done differently: I wouldn't have made the Pittsburgh trade. With that pick, the Steelers took Shamarko Thomas (S). He's probably Pittsburgh's second-best draft pick despite being their fourth overall. Since the Browns needed a safety, I would've gone for Thomas here. I still would've used my sixth-rounder on Slaughter as the value was so good. It'll be hard to argue this if Slaughter turns out to be a really good starter. Hopefully we get a really good third-rounder next year to help justify this trade.
What we can take from this off-season so far, and any more additions would make the case even stronger, is that the Browns have finally gotten better in several different ways. We've addressed some needs, have a new enthusiasm among players, and (I can't emphasize this enough) an owner who cares. This is what happens when owners want to win: their team gets better (unless you're Jerry Jones; different topic, different day).
If you're looking to become a season-ticket holder, this may be a good year to get in. The team still isn't great, but in five years if we can find a franchise QB, the Browns may be the new team atop the AFC North.
Offense