My pick for the draft. In the first round the Browns select....
Broderick Bunkley. Savage mentioned that Bunkley projects to a 3-4 DE more than a nosetackle. I think that's the clue that Savage probably prefers Bunkley if he's available at #12 because Bunkley could immediately rotate in and might even win the starting job now held by Alvin McKinley. Will he still be on the board at #12? Buffalo at #8 is the team most frequently mentioned to be hot after him. But I think we should expect the unexpected at the top of the draft, and Buffalo may find themselves picking with an unexpected player or two still on the board. And I'm an optimist.
Thoughts on other possibilities...
Kamerion Wimbley. I am intrigued, and I love the fact that by all accounts he's a hard worker and a high character guy. I'll make no bones about the fact that I'd pick a good, high character player over a great player who's a jackass. My concerns with Wimbley have to do with good-not-great college production and some injuries. He seems to me to be a very promising speed rusher but the kind of guy who is going to get nicked up quite a bit. In that sense, yeah, he could be the next Dwight Freeney. Freeney is a great player but I guess I'm not partial to a "speed rusher" if it means being one-dimensional. As usual (and because we fans have no choice), I'll have to defer to the FO on this one.
Haloti Ngata. It's looking more and more like Ngata will be there at 12. And while Bunkley has been a late riser up draft boards, Ngata is the guy if you want a dominating nosetackle for years to come. The question to me is how he fits into the plan on this Browns team. Ted Washington is obviously not the guy for more than a couple years, so iin some ways selecting Ngata is perfect. But if you look at Savage's history with the Ravens I don't recall the Ravens selecting many guys to sit and be groomed for a year ot two.
Manny Lawson. It sounds like Lawson is the best bet for a 3-4 OLB, particularly if you want production right away. Lawson might also be the Browns' likely target if they manage to trade down a few spots. I've been swayed by all that I've read that Lawson is the safer pick than Wimbley. And of all the guys who might be a reach at twelve, this is the guy that it will pain me to see go to another team.
Chad Greenway. A month or two back Greenway was a popular pick for the Browns in mock drafts. After a lackluster combine effort he really fell off the map. But we've now heard Savage talk for a year about valuing on-the-field production more than anything else. And Greenway was undoubtedly a great on-the-field talent at Iowa.
Rounds 1 through 3 the Browns will get three of these four positons: DL, OLB, ILB, OG. I guess they could opt for a wide receiver but it just seems like Savage and Crennel are intent on strengthening the non-skill positions and getting the team better at the line of scrimmage.
Later rounds, a running back, some 3-4 guys, maybe another tight end. But it's hardly worth trying to predict what will happen here cause it all depends on who's caught the scouts eye. And while we need to get the safety position figured out, we've gotten basically no clues as to how the FO and coaches feel about the guys currently on the roster and where they might be on the depth chart in '06.
Other misc draft thoughts:
- I'm happy to hear N'gata slipping in a lot of mocks even as I'm dismayed when I see a place like OurLads compare him to Gerard Warren. I don't care, I still would like to see him be the Browns' pick. I mean, it isn't like Warren could never play football and had no talent, so _some_ comparison to Warren isn't entirely bad. And somehow I think things are going to work out differently than 5 years ago.
- I'm still not partial to selecting an OLB in the first, but it sure sounds like Manny Lawson is a surer thing that Kamerion Wimbley. If the Browns select Lawson I could careless if people say we "reached." Give me a break. At #12 you pick the player that will help the team the most. The difference in money between picks 12 and 20 is unimportant.
- The top of this draft should be very entertaining. There's obviously more uncertainty than most years about where the top players will land, and it will be very interesting to see who slides.
- If I am Tennessee I take Vince Young. There's a lot to worry about with a guy like that, but I think it won't take more than a couple years to see if Young will be a good NFL QB. And c'mon, did no one watch the Rose Bowl? I think scouts around the league are overthinking this guy way too much, and a fear of failure is permeating front office's in the top half of this draft. Young is the most dynamic quarterback prospect since Michael Vick except he's a better thrower and he's bigger. If I was at the top of the draft a few years ago I probably wouldn't have pursued Vick. But this year I'd take Young unless I was truly already set at QB. The draft is all about making educated gambles. Young is not going to be a tease. And if you pick a QB early, a tease is the worst possible type of quarterback. I'm happy to read that the Titans appear serious about picking Young cause it should be a good situation for that sort of QB.
- I hope I never again hear the phrase that a defensive back is an "intriguing guy because he can play safety and corner." So what? As far as I know there is no DB who can play both at the same time. And besides, wouldn't just about every such player opt to play corner and get the big money? Ask freaking Gary Baxter.
- It sure looks like Bobby Carpenter is now a concensus first rounder, and probably not late first round either. I can't dispute everyone's opinion of AJ Hawk, but personally I never quite saw what the big difference was between Hawk and Carpenter. In some ways it seemed like Carpenter was a better pro prospect because he seemed to play a little lower to the ground than Hawk. But maybe I don't watch enough of the Buckeyes.
- I don't see how Sinorice Moss is a first round pick. Usually you have to be _good_ in college to be a first round pick. It does entertain me to see some mocks select him to go to the Steelers though...
- Hopefully the Giants signing of Arrington will prevent them from picking a lineback in the late first round. And thus leaving one ore potential guy for the Browns to select in the second round.
- The ESPN mock draft today had the Jets picking Ferguson at #4 and OG Joseph late in the first. That would be too smart for the Jets to do. I'm kind of hoping Joseph slides into the second. I'm still a believer that the Browns can make a big impact on their long-term offensive line play by having some good young talent at guard, and that good guard play is just as important as having a great left tackle.
- While LenDale White to the Steelers would be great for the Steelers, I can't imagine the rest of the NFL basically ignoring his on-the-field college performance and not picking him before the Steelers are on the board.