10 picks
#7, 38, 71, 85ne/oak, 92nyj, 134tb, 146den/det, 160nyj, 177, 186car
Quarterback
Not much activity here right? Good grief. Usually it is nearly impossible to acquire talent, and one might argue the Browns have not exactly done that while shaking up the depth chart. President Mike Holmgren made a trade with his former team (Seattle) as I expected him to do, and he shipped out Brady Quinn as I also anticipated. I thought he would make both moves together though and get Hasselbeck. Instead he traded for Wallace, giving up only a 2011 draft pick. Then he cut Derek Anderson, signed Jake Delhomme (Panthers) and basically gave away Quinn to the Broncos. After all of this activity he has not ruled out drafting a quarterback and I can see why. Delhomme is a veteran at the end of his career. Wallace is a steady backup who will get the job done starting for a few games at a time. Unless the lone holdover Brett Ratliff (an exclusive rights free agent) is held in high regard by Holmgren, something only he knows, then there is still no quarterback of the future. They do have plenty of ammunition for trading up should they covet another Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen, and possibly even a blockbuster for Oklahoma's Sam Bradford. Oh, and they also signed Tyler Palko who is best known for pushing Joe Flacco to Delaware by beating him out for the starting job at Pittsburgh when both were in college.
Cornerback
From the outset of the mock draft season many were projecting top corner Joe Haden (Florida) to them in the first round, which is an indication just how badly they need another starter. Brandon McDonald kept getting yanked out of the lineup in favor of safety Mike Adams, only to get put back in. Next year McDonald, and their top corner Eric Wright, will hit free agency next year which puts an exclamation point on the need. Hank Poteat departs as a free agent this year. It's no loss, as he was best known for being flagged to lose the Detroit game. I said a few weeks ago they would add two new corners, and the first has come in via trade. Philadelphia's Sheldon Brown has been unhappy in his role for a while. He will definitely be a starter on this team, but that does not mean the Browns will not aggressively seek another starter caliber player in the draft.
Safety
Their free safety Pool was lost in free agency (Jets) and concussion issues clouded his future anyway. At strong safety Elam is a restricted free agent hit with a second round tender. He was the team leader in tackles, usually a title held by a linebacker, but had no interceptions and broke up only 2 passes. What that tells me is that he showed up too late to make the play. Mike Furrey, an unrestricted free agency, got a bit of his Troy Brown on by starting twice at free safety. Once upon a time, well 2006 if you really need to know, he caught 98 passes for the Lions and it seems like a good idea to retain a guy with such skills especially considering his high character off the field. Ventrone was retained to contribute on special teams. Have you figured out yet the team does not have very much talent here? If Tennessee's Eric Berry is around when they pick in the first round it would be a very defensible choice and multiple additions is a possibility for the NFL's fourth worst pass defense.
Offensive Line
Several players were lost for very different reasons. Center Hank Fraley was cut, and signed with the Rams. The response was inking veteran Eric Ghiaciuc who made 42 starts at center for Cincinnati including the entire 2008 season before bouncing to Kansas City and San Diego last year. Starting right guard Rex Hadnot also left (Cardinals) as an unrestricted free agent, a significant loss for their improved running game. Ryan Tucker retired and was facing an 8 game suspension this year. Billy Yates, mostly inactive this year, is currently an unrestricted free agent. It seems like a lot of bad news, but one hole was filled already in free agency. After losing a pair to the NFC West they gained one in Tony Pashos (49ers) who will likely start. Mack, who started as a rookie, is the answer at center. The long term question mark is right guard and a solid upgrade puts their offensive line is pretty good shape.
Wide Receiver
It is safe to say this team has not been successful with early round draft picks at the receiver position. The first four years after rejoining the NFL as an "expansion" team in 1999 they made an addition in the second round, with a third, fifth and seventh mixed in over that stretch. Afer putting so much early attention on it, from 2003-2008 they only made two additions in the rounds first five rounds - #3 overall pick Braylon Edwards in 2005 and third round pick Travis Wilson in 2008. Then the strategy resurfaced last year with a pair of second round choices. It is too early to see what Robiskie and Massaquoi, who led the team in yards (624) and receptions (34), can do but they are still dying for someone to catch some passes. I would say 11 touchdown receptions as a team says it all. All of this draft history was under another regime, but fan sentiment is against another high profile receiver addition. It makes sense for them to go bargain hunting in the draft though.
Tight End
There are probably some people who think signing Benjamin Watson (Patriots) is all they need here. In the past three years, playing with one of the NFL's best quarterbacks in a pass happy offense, he has averaged 334 yards receiving although his touchdown total (13) was good over that span. How are things going to go for him in this system? I would be worried. Estandia was retained as an exclusive rights free agent, but Gaines is still free to sign elsewhere. This is a position I expect them to address in the draft.
Defensive End
I don't have too much to say here other than pointing out injuries were tough on them in 2009. They also traded Corey Williams to the Lions. There are so many teams shifting to a 3-4, and the end position is becoming harder and harder to fill. Another rugged addition is something for them to ponder.
Special Teams
The major moving was keeping Josh Cribbs happy for three years. He is an electric kick returner. Of course, the shelf life of players dominating in that specialty is usually pretty short. Perhaps after getting paid some guys are a little less interested in sprinting recklessly down the field towards people running full speed trying to take their head off. We'll see how Cribbs plays this season, and his size does make him a unique case which is a good thing for Cleveland fans. The other long term concern is their kicker/punter combo of Dawson and Zastudil hitting free agency next year. This is nothing to worry about too much, and even with a lot of picks I don't expect them to draft any competition. Special teams is by far the strength of this team.
Running Back
I want to caution fantasy football players ready to spend a first round pick on James Harrison. He terrorized the NFL at the end of the season in record breaking fashion. This is a fact. He also did it against tired defenses worn down by the grind of a long year and quite frankly not strong run defenses (Chiefs, Raiders, Jaguars) in the first place. He has been tendered (second round) as a restricted free agent. Rookie James Davis, who garnered attention for possibly busting his shoulder by practicing without pads which landed him on IR, could provide another option now that Jamal Lewis is out. Chris Jennings also saw action as a rookie, most notably sparking a huge upset of Pittsburgh. The final option is newly acquired Peyton Hillis, the bounty from the Quinn trade, who lists as a fullback but can definitely carry the ball. We'll see how the carries are distributed, but it appears they have enough here to work with.
Linebacker
When I started preparing this a couple weeks ago the only major need was another playmaker inside. Signing a Super Bowl champion in Scott Fujita (Saints) resolves that. The team put a second round tender on a trio of restricted free agents - Jackson, Roth and Trusnik. Jackson led them in tackles in 2008, but suffered a pectoral tear ending his season after six games. Roth was a savvy waiver pickup in late November and started six games to boost the pass rush. Trusnik, part of the Braylon Edwards trade, has some versatility and signed a one-year deal. Benard was retained as an exclusive rights free agent coming off a promising end to his rookie (undrafted) season, logging 3 1/2 sacks in the final four games. Still, giving up on Kamerion Wimbley, traded to the Raiders for a third round pick, opens up the possibility of adding someone outside. The most active front office struck again though, trading with Philadelphia for Chris Gocong. It is always tricky when a linebacker switches from a 4-3 to a 3-4, but obviously their brain trust feels he can be more effective in their system than he was with the Eagles who had lost faith in him.
