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Cleveland Browns Draft 2007
by CSF
Staff
04-29-2007
It's been a while since the
Cleveland Browns have been worth writing about. Regardless of
how the shenanigans that went on in the rest of this draft turn
out, the Browns have for the first time in about 30+ years done
the right thing with a top pick - draft a premier offensive
lineman.
Joe Thomas, Left Tackle from
Wisconsin, was the Brown's #3 overall pick in the first round of
this draft. It does not even matter at this point if he becomes
a perennial Pro Bowler at the position. He is instantly the best
talent the Browns have had there since Doug Dieken. And, no
offense to Dieken, Thomas is a bit more talented.
Phil Savage has to be credited
with rightly putting a major emphasis on improved offensive line
play. Joe Thomas is not his first stab at this. He really
started on this track last year, his second year of talent
acquisition for the Browns, with the acquisition of LeCharles
Bentley (center). Bentley unfortunately went down early with a
major injury but it was a hopeful sign that the organization was
finally going to address it's most major need.
He followed this up with the
major acquisition of Eric Steinbach in free agency this year.
Now that the Browns have a legitimate left tackle option in
Thomas, Steinbach can move into the position that is his
strength - left guard. And if Bentley can come back for the 2007
season, this offensive line has a chance to be above average
this year. Look for Kevin Schaeffer to be moved to his strong
spot - right tackle as well.
The domino effect of Thomas'
addition to the offensive line will not only help whatever
quarterback is the starter stay upright. It instantly upgrades
the running game, which in turn, also helps the quarterback.
Much easier to complete 3rd and short than 3rd and 15+ most of
the time. It will also help the major talent in Browns'
receivers - Winslow, Jurevicious, & Edwards not be smothered
with coverage all of the time because no linebacker or safety
has to concern himself with the running game.
Brady Quinn - First off, I'm of
the opinion that John Elway would put up Tim Couch numbers
behind the lines the Cleveland Browns have put on the field
these last 8 years. It is so obvious what the problem has been.
Jeff Garcia goes from Pro Bowler to looking washed up behind the
Brown's line to playoff starter in Philadelphia in the span in
three years. Couch took a 3rd year expansion team to the
playoffs with just a whisper of a running game. All of the
greatly skilled players - Couch, Garcia, William Green, Winslow,
etc. - every one of them has morphed into a bust in Cleveland.
And the reason why every single time is because of the horrid
offensive line play. Which leads me to Charlie Frye - I'll get
to Quinn in a second.
I'm not sold on Frye and I'm also
not sold that he's a bust. There are a lot of things skill wise
I like about him. He's got excellent accuracy, which I think is
the most important quality of a quarterback. He's not a statue,
runs well, and has good escapism. If he were shorter he'd have
Fran Tarkenton like skills in that respect. He also has what I
consider the most important intangibles for a QB - moxie and
toughness. His most obvious weakness is that he doesn't have a
very good arm. The jury is out on his ability to read defenses &
thrive in whatever offensive system is in place, just like it
will be for any quarterback in Cleveland until they get a
certain minimum amount of protection, decent running game, and
have 3-4 years in the same system.
So, after the first draft pick,
I'm thinking the Joe Thomas domino effect is a great thing for
Charlie Frye. We may get more of a true read on him now,
possibly this very year.
And then the Browns trade their
2nd round pick + the 2008 1st rounder with Dallas for their 22nd
overall this year and select Brady Quinn - QB Notre Dame.
Quinn's obvious strengths are
that he is more polished, working in a pro type system at ND
under Charlie Weiss. The logical conclusion would be he would
need less time to adjust to the offensive system the Browns put
in place and might be quicker with his reads. Quinn also has a
stronger arm than Frye. I still would not consider it a great
one though. Possible weaknesses - I am not certain his accuracy
is as good as Frye's and there is no doubt Charlie moves around
better. As far as mental toughness goes, Quinn has handled the
hype/backlash that goes with the territory of playing for Notre
Dame. He's also handled the unsaid backlash that goes with being
a 'pretty boy' QB type. I'm not going to explain this, just know
it exists. It's why certain people took such glee in his
embarrassing wait in New York yesterday.
Brady Quinn also has a wildcard
going for him that has nothing to do with his football ability.
He is a celebrity type of player (whether to love or hate) and
will create buzz & sell a lot of jerseys and other merchandise
for owner Lerner. I will always wonder, no matter how many times
it is denied, if Randy Lerner influenced this pick. Which really
isn't fair to Brady Quinn or Charlie Frye. Frye does not deserve
to be dumped for PR reasons. And Quinn doesn't deserve people
questioning his talent for the same reasons. I truly believe
both Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage or good football personnel
and will do their best to put the best team on the field each
year. I've got to wonder though if they can withstand the
pressure that will come say if Frye is deemed better for 2007.
Will they actually sit the new face of the Cleveland Browns?
The most ideal scenario would be
that this is exactly what happens and in a couple of years one
of these two is auctioned off, ala Drew Brees, with the Browns
left with a good and popular homeboy either way.
The last pick for the Browns in
the 2007 draft was spent on Eric Wright - CB from UNLV. The
Browns traded again with Dallas here, giving up their 3rd & 4th
to move up into the 2nd round to grab him. Talent wise, Wright
was considered the best cornerback in the draft. He has major
character issues though. He had to transfer from USC to UNLV
because of rape and drug charges. These were later dropped but
the fact he had to transfer tells you what USC thought of the
situation. I love the young man's talent but hate the pick
anyway. Maybe if the Browns were an established team with
multiple playoff appearances under their belt, they could afford
to play lottery once in a while with their top picks. As we have
seen recently - William Green, Gerard Warren, it has not paid
off to take any chances whatsoever with top picks like this.
Both of the latter guys had rinky dink type character issues in
comparison to Wright and each turned out to be the major factors
in neither making it with the Browns.
Regardless of what happens with
Quinn or Wright, I give this draft an A just for the Browns
selecting Joe Thomas. If Thomas goes on to be the Cleveland
Browns starting left tackle for the next 10 years, anything else
gained from this 2007 draft is gravy. And who knows? Maybe
keeping the owner happy with the Quinn selection has the
indirect positive effect of keeping good football people (Crennel
& Savage) in place for a longer period of time.
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