NFL Draft Review

Boy was I wrong. None of the guys I listed in my last draft were drafted by the Browns. Neither Brady Quinn and Braylon were traded. GM George Kokinis and Head Coach Eric Mangini made a flurry of moves during draft day. We traded our 5th overall pick to the NY Jets for the 17th overall pick, their 2nd round pick, and 3 reserves from the NY Jets. We then traded down two more times to the 21st pick. I was initially shocked and mildly disappointed with our selection of C Alex Mack of California. I thought the Browns should have taken LB Rey Meualuga or LB Clay Matthews, because of our need of LB. The Browns thought otherwise, and all in all I am starting to make some sense of what the Browns did.

1st Round- Alex Mack, C, California- This was a tough pick to understand at first, but it makes some sense. Mack was the best rated C in the draft, he broke his right wrist during the season, and he continued playing with his left hand. He is nasty, tough, strong, hard working, and he is great at anchoring the line. He is a safe pick and can contribute immediately.

2nd Round- Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State- This was another head scratching move to me when it initially occurred. With Rey still on the board I thought we should have taken him, but we went with the OSU wideout. I think Robiskie can be a very solid #2 WR in the NFL. He is smart, has great hands, has some speed, and can run routes very well. This means he can contribute immediately and fill our need for a possession receiver. He can fill the role that Joe Jurevicius had (3rd down receiver, reliable hands).

2nd Round- Mohammed Massaqoui, WR, Georgia- By this time, I started to see what the Browns were trying to do. They were concerned about the depth at WR, and they wanted to get 2 good WR's who could contribute quickly. Massaqoui has great height (6'1), great speed, improving hands, a hard worker, elusive, and can go across the middle. He sounds like a good slot reciever, and he will complement the deep threat of Braylon, and the sure hands of Robiskie. He played with #1 overall pick Matt Stafford at Georgia, and he has a lot of experience. I like this pick a lot.

2nd Round- David Veikune, DE, Hawaii- Finnally, the Browns take a DE that they will convert to LB. I liked this pick because Veikune offers good size (6'2 260 lbs.), is a hard worker, has a nasty streak, has quickness, and great strength. He can compete for a LB position in our 3-4 defense. He sounds a little like Rey, which I like...

4th Round- Kaluka Maiava, LB, USC- We took a USC LB, just not one of the ones I listed! Maiava is tough, strong, and fast. His weakness is his lack of height (5'11), and his short arms. Maiava seems like a good candidate to be on our special teams and could see some time on defense during the game.

6th Round- Don Carey, CB, Norfolk State- After addressing our LB and WR problems, we went to shore up our secondary. He is a smart, somewhat quick, and solid tackler in the secondary. He saw time at both S and CB, and he could serve that purpose with the Browns. The only problem I have is his lack of height (5'11), and average leaping ability. He seems like a solid backup for our secondary and could see some time with Mike Adams at S.

6th Round- Coye Francies, CB, San Jose State- Here is an extremely quick athlete, who has pretty good cover skills, but he struggles against the run. He is not that aggressive, and has some character problems (he was kicked off Oregon St. and was arrested on weapons charges in 2007 but they were later dropped). Francies will probably serve as a solid backup, and he adds youth to our secondary.

6th Round- James Davis, RB, Clemson- The Browns decided to go back to offense, and they used their last pick on Davis. I thought getting a RB was important, and good RB's can be found late in the draft. Davis has good vision, good blocker, and hit the hole with authority. His weakness is that he does not have great speed, and he isn't that elusive. Davis sounds like a good workhorse, 3rd down back, and maybe he could develop into a guy who can take 10-12 carries a game. With the aging Jamal Lewis, and the unproven James Harrison, the pick of Davis makes a lot of sense.

The right side of our offensive line is in some trouble with the underachievement of G Rex Hadnot, and the injury problem of T Ryan Tucker. With Mack as our starting C, Hadnot and Hank Fraley can battle for the RG position, and Tucker can play RT (he started one game at RT last year versus the New York Giants, we all know how well that went). John St. Clair and Floyd Womack will provide depth for the line as well. We solidified our line, found an anchor, and we saw how important a good offensive line was to an offense (anyone remember 2007?)

When I actually sit down and think about this draft, it might not have sexy names, but they filled a lot of holes on the roster. We acquired DE Kenyon Coleman, and S Abram Elam, in trading the 5th pick, and both will provide solid depth, as they are familiar with Eric Mangini (they played for him last year). We saved a lot of money by not selecting at the 5th pick, and I didn't feel that there was anyone we could use at the 5th spot. We got an extra 2nd rounder, and we began to use it on our defense.

The 2 LB's we got are quick, strong, tough, and good workers. We got rid of our two slowest LB's (McGinest and Andra Davis), and we are replacing them with strong and fast players. We still have LB's Leon Williams, and Beau Bell to work with, free agent Eric Barton (played with Mangini), along with stud D'Qwell Jackson. If our coaches can develop more moves from Kamerion Wimbley, we could really have an improved LB's corps.

Now I know I spoke highly of Rey Meauluga, but after thinking about it long and reading more scouting reports, I came to notice that he has 3 red flags. Durability, character issues, and inability to drop back in coverage. Rey does not change directions quickly enough, and is not fluid in his movements. He has faced disciplinary action more than once at his time at USC, and he was once arrested on suspicion of battery. He did have a calf and leg problems that he dealt with this past year as well. While I love his "kill em all" attitude, he could be a real wild child, and pose problems for the team. Also, the New England Patriots worked him out numerous times, and they passed on him twice. Remember the Patriots lost Mike Vrabel in the offseason, and they could have used a LB....

Before Saturday could you name our #2 WR? Syndric Steptoe. That scares me a lot right there. I think our need for LB was magnified by the fact that Aaron Curry was in our reach, and we really didn't concentrate on the fact that we needed to replenish the depth at WR after cutting Joe Jurevicius, and the impending legal problems of Donte Stallworth. We added a potential possession and a slot receiver which compliments the vertical threat of Braylon, and our short passing game very well. Both receivers that we drafted are experienced, hard working kids, who can contribute pretty quickly.

The last three picks of the draft addressed our needs at S, RB, and CB, and they will provide good depth for us. All three guys are pretty durable, and have a lot of experience. These guys might not pan out to be Pro Bowlers, but if they serve as solid backups/special teamers, then we will have found good value.

We had 8 draft picks in this draft, and we added a lot of young talent to our team. We won't know how well we did, but I am content with our draft. We filled our needs of LB, WR, CB/S, most of our picks are smart, tough kids, and none of these guys have character concerns except Francies. 2-3 of our picks could be starting for the Browns this year. If I had to grade our draft I would give it a solid B. These guys are starting to sound like "football players"......

Thanks for reading and go Cleveland!

-Raz