Grade the Browns 2012 Draft

• Mulva

  

  *** Disclaimer: I'm fully aware that you can't judge a draft class before they've played any games. If you're too stupid to realize that 5 years down the road everyone will be able to tell whether something panned out or not, rendering a prediction entirely useless, this thread isn't for you ***
  
  For me:
  
  Richardson: B+
  
  Great player, position of need. But RB doesn't put anyone over the top these days, and trading picks to move up 1 spot to do it results in points off too.
  
  Weeden: D
  
  Upgrade from McCoy? I think so. Elite QB/good enough to win a Super Bowl? I don't think so. The goal is a championship, not a watchable offense. You don't take a 28 year old QB in the first round unless you think he can win it all. You don't take a QB in the first round period unless you think they're a franchise guy.
  
  Schwartz: C+
  
  Decent player, position of need. I think there were better options available at RT, and much better receivers available. Slightly above average, but could have done much more.
  
  John Hughes: F
  
  One of the worst picks of the draft. I expect Billy Wynn to be ahead of him on the depth chart.
  
  Travis Benjamin: D
  
  Track star with very limited receiver skills. Not an F because we needed someone to stretch the field, but he is aversive to contact (so not an ideal slot/over the middle guy) and there were just better options available at receiver.
  
  James-Michael Johnson: B+
  
  Good athlete and good against the run, which was sorely needed. Not sure he's a starter, but he can be good depth.
  
  Ryan Miller: B-
  
  I don't think he's even good enough to start over Lauvao or Pinkston, but worth a shot because he's huge.
  
  Emmanuel Acho: A-
  
  He's a guy I mentioned I'd like the Browns to target in round 5 before the draft. Getting him in round 6 is even better. Just a solid football player.
  
  Billy Winn: A
  
  Browns best value pick of the draft. Makes the Hughes pick look even worse, but I love this pick.
  
  Trevin Wade: A
  
  Great value in the 7th. I think he might be able to win the #2 corner job from Skrine and Patterson, but at worst he's a roster player, which is great for a 7th rounder.
  
  Brad Smelley: C
  
  Meh. He won't have an impact, but I wouldn't expect him to.
  
  Overall: C
  
  Thursday was below average, Friday was awful, but I think the Browns had one of the better Saturdays of anyone in the draft. Unfortunately that's the opposite of the order you would prefer. They may have found 4-5 starters, but I'm skeptical that they found more than 2 real impact players. I don't get impressed by upgrading a shitty starter with a bad but not quite as shitty starter.
• sleeper

  

  C-: Only because of Richardson. The only picks I like are Richardson, Schwartz and Benjamin.
• Rotinaj

  

  Ehh I'll give it a B- with the long term possibility of being an A- or an F. I love the T Rich pick but the rest of the earlier round picks were reaches.
• wes_mantooth

  

  sleeper;1156493 wrote:C-: Only because of Richardson. The only picks I like are Richardson, Schwartz and Benjamin.

  
  Same.
  
  Passing on decastro and the Hughes pick kind of ruined it for me.
• lhslep134

  

  For me:
  
  Richardson: A-
  
  Ray Rice hasn't hurt the Ravens, and I don't think having an every down back is going to hurt us either.
  
  Weeden: C-
  
  Ugh. Upgrade over McCoy, but that doesn't mean we had to draft him, and I said before the draft I didn't want him. Let's hope he pans out
  
  Schwartz: B-
  
  Very solid player, doubt he would have been around next time around, but I think there were other positions we could have gone here
  
  John Hughes: C-
  
  Provides run stuffing depth. Could probably have been had in later rounds, but I don't have a problem with adding depth. Rubin and Taylor aren't playing every down.
  
  Travis Benjamin: C+
  
  At worst he only contributes on special teams, which allows Cribbs to focus more on WR. He's a burner so I guess we'll find out what he's got
  
  James-Michael Johnson: A-
  
  Athletic and versatile, any LB who can play inside and outside equally well is fine by me late in the draft
  
  Ryan Miller: A
  
  He can back up every position except C. Will probably take some time to develop but he was very good at CU.
  
  Emmanuel Acho: A-
  
  Good instinctual player with above average lateral speed
  
  Billy Winn: A
  
  Browns best value pick of the draft. Makes the Hughes pick look even worse, but I love this pick. ---had to steal your analysis Mulva
  
  Trevin Wade: A
  
  Watched him closely this year, very fluid but made some mistakes from time to time. Was spectacular earlier in his UofA career (so my friend Taylor says) so the potential is there.
  
  Brad Smelley: B-
  
  So we got T-Rich's leading blocker. I guess he serves as competition for Marecic. In the 7th round, it is what it is.
  
  Overall: B-
  
  We got 3 starters for sure (Richardson, Weeden, Schwartz) and a couple other guys who will compete for starting spots as well as adding much needed depth to the D-line. I would have preferred a couple other picks, but overall I'm happy with the draft, just not the decision to oust McCoy (but I have to separate that decision from the draft grade).
• DeadliestWarrior34

  

  Threeve
• IggyPride00

  

  If Weeden solves the QB problem the draft was an A+ no matter what anyone else does.
  
  Aside from him, it seems like a C. Lots of reaching, little attention paid to our dire need for a receiver. T-Rich will be a stud, but the problem with this regime thus far hasn't been how the first rounders perform, but the lack of draft performance past the 2nd round as far as finding guys who were overlooked.
• Mulva

  

  NFL Network:
  
  Bengals: A
  Steelers: A
  Ravens: C
  Browns: C
  
  http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d828b8f6d/2012-NFL-Draft-grades-AFC-North
  
  I think the Ravens draft really fell off after the first 2 picks. Steelers and Bengals both killed it though.
• sleeper

  

  I think we did have a better draft than the Ravens, but you'd be kidding yourself if this draft put us above the Bengals or Steelers. It's going to be a long season next year.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  If Weeden turns out to be a great QB, this draft is an A. We got a starting RT, we got a dynamic RB, we got a fast mother fucking WR, and we got a few peices of depth for the DL. If Weeden pans out, this draft is the regime's defining point.
• Midstate01

  

  Other then Hughes who shouldn't have even been drafted, I'm pretty happy.
• Zombaypirate

  C- Very disappointing draft IMO when they had so many picks which could have solidified the team and put actually talent out there. I am starting to think Holmgren and Heckart are not very good at their positions.
• Zombaypirate

  sleeper;1156543 wrote:I think we did have a better draft than the Ravens, but you'd be kidding yourself if this draft put us above the Bengals or Steelers. It's going to be a long season next year.

  4-12 at the very best and a top ten draft position again.
• Mark Mack

  D
  
  2-14 or 3-13 at the very best.
• IggyPride00

  

  Zombaypirate;1156596 wrote:4-12 at the very best and a top ten draft position again.

  If that happens we will also have a new head coach/gm/team President.
  
  It won't be because Randy was impatient that they get fired if the record is that bad, but because of their incompetence.
  
  5/4/4 (or less) wins in 3 seasons is cause for termination. No excuses.
  
  Detroit was 0-16 in 2008, and by the 3rd year of their rebuild they were in the playoffs. Hard to find any rational why these guys should still have jobs if we don't win at least 6 games at a bare minimum this year 3 years into the rebuild.
  
  I think that message was conveyed from the owner, and it is why we saw some urgency from this regime for the first time in 3 years in this draft.
• Footwedge

  Browns will go 11-5 next year. Law of averages
• SportsAndLady

  

  F+
• DeyDurkie5

  

  SportsAndLady;1156815 wrote:F+

  you are crazy
• Pick6

  

  Worst in the divison.
  Doesn't matter what letter grade you want to give them. We lost ground to every team in the division, when in theory, with the higher draft picks and number of picks we had accumulated, we should have made up ground.
• derek bomar

  

  Pick6;1156819 wrote:Worst in the divison.
  Doesn't matter what letter grade you want to give them. We lost ground to every team in the division, when in theory, with the higher draft picks and number of picks we had accumulated, we should have made up ground.

  this
• Sykotyk

  

  B-. I didn't like the Weeden pick, but I guess H&H have decided McCoy is the problem, not the receivers. Which, may be true. A good QB can make any receiver look good. Plus, a deeper threat (Weeden's bigger arm combined with Little and this speedy little Benjamin), spreads the field and will make T-Rich look much better than he really is. Including the fact we will have one hell of an offensive line again.
  
  Our defense was great last year, and I don't see any fall off. If our offense can put up just 10 more points per game, we win most of our games. The issue is whether Weeden is the guy at QB, and whether Little, MoMass, Benjamin, and Cribbs are sufficient. I still think we need another top-of-the-line receiver to tag-team with Little.
• IggyPride00

  

  The other teams in the division all had their franchise QB's. Until we got ours, nothing we were doing was going to make any progress on them. So in that respect, we had to have a much different drafting philosophy than they had.
  
  Hopefully if Weeden fills the position for us we can focus more on other things moving forward as the others in our division have had the luxury to do.
• SportsAndLady

  

  IggyPride00;1156828 wrote:The other teams in the division all had their franchise QB's. Until we got ours, nothing we were doing was going to make any progress on them. So in that respect, we had to have a much different drafting philosophy than they had.

  SMH
  
  Only one pick was on a QB. You will literally spin anything.
  
  The Weeden pick was awful, but the other picks were just as bad for the most part...has nothing to do w/ a "drafting philosophy" because we don't have a franchise QB lol GTFOOHWTS
• like_that

  

  The draft was "meh" for me. Weeden really ruined it, but other than that pick and the hughes pick, I was ok with the picks. Still need a WR though, smh.
  
  Overall not what I expected at all coming into this draft with 13 picks. A little disappointed. Hopefully I'm wrong and these guys surprise me this season.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Round	Pick #	Player	Pos.
  1	3	Trent. Richardson	RB
  1	22	Brandon. Weeden	QB
  2	5	Mitchell. Schwartz	T
  3	25	John. Hughes	DT
  4	5	Travis. Benjamin	WR
  4	25	James-Michael. Johnson	LB
  5	25	Ryan. Miller	G
  6	35	Emmanuel. Acho	LB
  6	36	Billy. Winn	DT
  7	38	Trevin. Wade	CB
  7	40	Brad. Smelley	TE

  
  
  The only pick I didn't like in that was the Hughes pick. Other than that, we got a couple linemen that could potentially start, we got a RB, we got a QB, and to be honest I loved the Billy Winn pick. I watched his videos on youtube and he is a beast.
  
  Also, brad smelley was just an awful pick LOL