Your first day draft grade

[SoundBreaker]

I'll reserve judgement until we see these cats on the field.


Remember, who thought James Harrison would be the player he is now for the Steelers?


Who thought Bart Scott would be a beast?

T.O. was a late late pick out of Tennessee-Chattanoga and now he is one of the best WR talents in the league.



Sometimes you have to wait and see, and what we've done the last 10 years (listening to the fanbase) hasn't worked.


GO BROWNS

 

[Chris]

I like that description posted of Veikune (shit I dont even know if that's the guy's name, he's a nobody) and Mossaquoi, if they are accurate.

 

[Smooth]

I don't like passing out grades for various reasons but I'll just offer my opinion on the draft in general..

What we saw is what types of players we will be bringng into this team and what ManKok like to do on draft day...

It looks like these guys are really focused in bringing in pure "football players"; guys that can play the game of football and aren't simply just athletes that play the sport... They're all smart, competitive, hard-working, great characters, tough, gritty, experienced, give 100%, etc... All these guys seemed to be safe picks (with the exception of Veikune) that the Browns saw as low risk/high reward type players...

These guys will probably be ready to contribute right away because of those reasons... Not to mention, all of them played at least 3 years in college and were productive... It looks like the Browns really like to see them sustain their play all throughout the college game...

The other thing people must, must, must keep in mind is that a lot of time a draft success is determined not how talented a guy is, where he's ranked, who he is, what college he went to, or any of that.. It's all determined on how the guy fits in the system and how bad the guy wants it..

Put a guy in a bad system with bad coaches, and terrible instruction and you're not going to get a good result... But a guy into the Patriots system, with the Patriots coaches and the Patriots infrastructure and they're more than likely going to be able to contribute... Our last regime was terrible at developing young talent---terrible... I really think we'll see a regime that will develop young talent, something Mangini was noted being able to do in NY..

The other thing that determines success in the pro's is how hard the guy is willing to work... I don't who the guy is but whoever he is, must put football first, have a passion for the game, and want to be the best player he can be... All 4 of these players seem to have that fire, passion, determination, etc., which really makes me hopeful.. These guys may not be the most talented but it does seem they'll get the most out of their talent..

Listen this may not be the big name, highly talented, high risk guys we're used to taking but this isn't the Phil Savage regime where we make splashes with big trades and big names... This new regime is intent on building a good football team that has a solid foundation and is littered with good, smart, tough, guys...

This is the start of it and I really hope it pans out...

I just ask you guys wait and reserve judgment... A draft really needs at least 3 years before properly evaluating it...

 

[Chris]

The Bill Belichick treatment is what the Browns are getting...will it work in Cleveland like it does in NE?

 

[Ajak0410]

The Bill Belichick treatment is what the Browns are getting

They waived DA and Brady?!?!

 

[JayDub]

Which people?

Considering Eric Wood was taken maybe 4 picks or more later, I'd say he was picked right where he should have been. Everyone I've seen said Mack was the best C by far.

Kiper had Unger higher. Its reach for wood and Mack. The last center taken in top 21 in recent history was jeff faine...the only center in the last 10 years drafted in the 1st round that made pro bowl was Nick Mangold..a reach is a reach.

 

[col63onel]

People have thought we needed more "football players" in the sense of tough, knowledgeable, solid guys as opposed to more gifted athletes who were also somewhat lacking in the brains department. Mack, Robo and Veikune fit that bill. To boot, all three will very likely be starters.

We also got 2 more guys that understand how Mangini runs a defense in Elam and Coleman.

The only negatives were that we couldn't unload Braylon or one of the QBs.

 

[Damage]

Mack - B+. Hated the pick at the time but C is a true need. JT/Steinbach/Mack = greatness
Robiskie - B+. Was a little shocked we took him here, but he's the type of guy that could have gone @36 or could have been taken @ 50. Not sure who would have taken him. Glad we did
Massaquoi - C. I gave this a C not because of Massaquoi but because of where we took him. I actually really like him as a player. Just wanted someone else. Doesn't hurt to have depth at the WR position. Massaquoi has the potential to be a sick WR
Veikune - C-. Didn't know shit about him until I read his bio. Sounds like an intriguing prospect that could develop into a starter. Not exactly what you look for with a 2nd round pick. But he has a non-stop motor and will strive to get better from day one. Not a bad pick, but save those picks for day 2

Overall - A very solid B. When you add Coleman/Ebram/Ratliff into the equation, we got 4 immediate starters(Mack/Robiskie) and a back up QB who really turned heads least season.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

Kiper had Unger higher. Its reach for wood and Mack. The last center taken in top 21 in recent history was jeff faine...the only center in the last 10 years drafted in the 1st round that made pro bowl was Nick Mangold..a reach is a reach.

And Mack is compared to Nick Mangold.

I don't care if he was a reach or not, he was a player I really wanted and he will be a stud in the middle for years.

We have a franchise LT and a stud Center for the next 10 years. That is fantastic.

 

[Damage]

And Mack is compared to Nick Mangold.

I don't care if he was a reach or not, he was a player I really wanted and he will be a stud in the middle for years.

We have a franchise LT and a stud Center for the next 10 years. That is fantastic.

Agreed 100%. And was it a reach? Perhaps. Maybe. But you know what? The Bills took Wood with their 1st round, so you know he wasn't going to be there @36. And with Pittsburgh looming, we would all be cursing if Pitt took him #32, saying shit, typical Steelers, always getting the player they need.

Side note: The Bengals, as of right now, have the biggest boom/bust draft. 2 high ceiling players but very questionable backgrounds. Typical Bengals players. We'll see how it pans out. They ahve no leadership at all.

 

[bob2the2nd]

Kiper had Unger higher. Its reach for wood and Mack. The last center taken in top 21 in recent history was jeff faine...the only center in the last 10 years drafted in the 1st round that made pro bowl was Nick Mangold..a reach is a reach.

so you mention faine but then conveniently forget he too was a pro-bowler.

 

[Lee]

so you mention faine but then conveniently forget he too was a pro-bowler.

So as it turns out, faine was a good pick, just a bad coach/system here in cleveland. We need bodies who can play at the nfl level. We have a qb in my opinion, we need to protect that qb. Not sure what they expect to do with the running game, but maybe they think harrison can contribute. One thing for sure, we should be a better running team with mack in there. Think of how denver does it....with the line not the backs, as they seem to be able to turn anyone into a 1000 yard back.

 

[Smooth]

so you mention faine but then conveniently forget he too was a pro-bowler.

Not to mention Unger cannot handle 34 NTs and Mack and Wood are best suited for our division and our scheme.

Unger is a zone-blocking scheme center. Mack and Wood are guys that do well in this system.

 

[JayDub]

so you mention faine but then conveniently forget he too was a pro-bowler.

When he was a Saint...His career with the browns was ok.

The fact is we had more pressing needs. We had the 5th pick in the draft and we traded down 16 spots. A pressing need wasn't center and i feel like the gap between this guy and someone taken @ 49 is marginal. I'm not saying he's bad i'm saying we had other choices that i felt would have been better to take care of.

At the end of the day i felt like the value we got out of our picks wasn't equal to what was on the board and our needs. At the beginning of the draft nobody was talking about trading out of the top 20 and getting a center and drafting two receivers in the 2nd round. It just doesn't make sense. how it played out. It looked like they had this great plan and nothing went our way oustide of the fifth pick trade.

My main beef is that we had the chance to add someone who could have possible filled a glaring need.

We didn't solve that with any of the jets guys we got. They seems like filler players not impact players.

Mort and Clayton were wondering with how much the Jets coveted Sanchez we failed to get anything more than few randoms and only a second round and not a 1st round next year. I think that's a very vaild question. When we traded to get Brady we gave up our next year 1st rounder for a player that fell to 22. The cowboys in return picked up Felix Jones the next year.

The questions i have are will Robo and these 3 guys equal the options or the talent that the first rounder next year could have possibly given us? that remains to be seen and i'm not very optimistic about this.

Robo or Massaqoui will fill needs but we neglected other needs by getting both of them. One is fine. Both makes it seem like there's some uncertainty attached to one of the players. I tend to think it's Massaqoui more than Robo.

After the draft i felt like we date raped ourselves and let everyone take advantage us.

 

[JayDub]

Not to mention Unger cannot handle 34 NTs and Mack and Wood are best suited for our division and our scheme.

Unger is a zone-blocking scheme center. Mack and Wood are guys that do well in this system.

Unger is also a more versatile player though. He's able to play multiple positions on the line. 3-4 Nts get doubled almost every play as it is. Thats why good ones are so coveted. You will rarely see a NT one on one with center lest it be on blitzes or anytime the guard can't help.