Joe Haden - Has all the potential to be one of the premiere corners in the NFL. He's still very raw, and as it's been noted, came to Florida as a quarterback. I think he's a very smart player, and playing quarterback has allowed him with route recognition. Like McCoy, he doesn't necessarily have to come into Cleveland and be an immediate starter. Having Eric Wright and Sheldon Brown, gives us experience and veteran leadership at the position.
T.J. Ward - I'm not sure how I feel about this pick. He seems to have injury problems, but I believe it's due to his style of play. I'm really hoping that he'll mature more as a player in the NFL. In other words, work on his coverage skills and play recognition as opposed to going for the big hit. Hopefully he can blend the two - his toughness and his cover skills - and be a complete player at this position.
Montario Hardesty - I believe Hardesty will ultimately be the starter in Cleveland. I think he's a wonderful compliment to Harrison. He has tremendous size and speed for a back of his size. He can also line up in the slot and has surprisingly great hands. I think he brings a sense of toughness to the position. Where Harrison is more of a finesse player, Hardesty isn't afraid to seek out a defender at the end of a run. I, personally, think he'll have a long fulfilling career in Cleveland if we can shore up our O Line just a tad. Coming into the draft, I told myself I'd be happy with either Hardesty or Ben Tate out of Auburn. Both I believe will have wonderful careers in the NFL.
Colt McCoy - He has the luxury of sitting behind Delhomme and Wallace for a year or two before he dives head first into a catastrophe. Our offense was dormant for 95% of the year last year. I truly feel that if that's the case this year, we'll see more of Holmgren's west coast offense than Mangini's style of play. Seneca Wallace will then be the most familiar with what Holmgren wants on offense, and Colt McCoy will benefit tremendously from this. You haven't really heard much about Wallace's veteran leadership, but Colt will have that in Jake Delhomme. McCoy is accurate as hell, and will eventually fit perfectly in the Brown's offense.
Shaun Lauvao - Is eventually going to be a starter on the Brown's O-Line. He's a big physical player, with a wide body and is an excellent drive blocker. What I like most about this pick is, while he needs experience to be truly great, he's rumored to have tremendous work ethic. I think he'll make the transition from tackle, to guard with no problem in the NFL. I'm really excited about the things they're at least trying to do with out O-Line in Cleveland, and drafting Lauvao was an awesome decision and proves the smash mouth running game the Browns are trying to install to be competitive.
Larry Asante - This is personally my favorite pick. Asante, like Ward, is a physical player. I think Asante's overall coverage skills are a little better than Ward's, but they are almost identical in their style of play. Larry Asante brings another physical persona to our secondary. I really like what we've built in our secondary - young (outside of Brown) and talented. Asante can play up in the box, to support the run and is athletic enough to make an impact in our overall pass defense.
Carlton Mitchell - He's been compared to Brandon Marshall, which, if he's half the player Marshall is - Cleveland got a steal. He's big and almost freakishly fast. He, like most of the players Cleveland drafted, is still very raw. Cleveland can thrive off of Mitchell's athleticism if he's used right. (I say that because I believe the Browns can use Cribbs a little more, and I feel he's under utilized in the Browns' offense.) With a better quarterback this year in Delhomme, I truly feel our wide receiver core will benefit greatly from this. Mitchell has all the potential to be an elite #1 receiver in the NFL. Mitchell, coupled with MoMass and company - the Browns have the potential to have a solid receiving corp in the NFL. I'd still like to see them bring in a veteran receiver, (.i.e. Crayton or Williams from Dallas) but if our quarterback play is at least consistent, we'll be fine at WR.
Clifton Geathers - I honestly don't know much about Geathers. However, everything I've read about Ceathers points to his potential as maybe the biggest steal of the draft. He's said to be a freak of an athlete, and can be a terror for opposing offenses with his combination of, not only athleticism, but size and strength as well. He's got a 7'2" wingspan, has a 36 vertical, and stands at 6'8", 302. He has the drive to be the best player in the league, but is smart enough to know that he still needs work and coaching.
That's just my opinion obviously. I've seen almost all these players play at least once while they were in college. If I had to give the Browns a grade on the draft, I'd go with a solid B. Do I think there could have been better picks? Yes. I didn't think it was quite necessary to trade for the Hardesty pick, but if the rumors are true about other teams looking at him, I'm glad they made the jump especially with my other favorite pick, Ben Tate was taken in the second round. I think this draft class is going to be the first of many great drafts with Holmgren at the helm. What I like, is that they had a plan for the draft - and they stuck to it. Just my opinion.