There is no way that any legitimate sportscaster can look back on Day 1 without proclaiming that the Cleveland Browns had the best day in the NFL Draft. For the first time since 1986, Cleveland pulled off an amazing draft (and in 1986, it was the supplemental draft that was so incredible, when Bernie Kosar came to us via a trade with Minnesota).
I was dead-set AGAINST taking anybody except Joe Thomas or Adrian Peterson with the third pick in the draft. Our needs for an offensive line are too deep, and Thomas fills a HUGE void….and Peterson is just too good of an athlete to pass up.
The third pick is WAY too valuable, and I did not want to see us waste it. Fortunately, the Browns did not waste that pick when they grabbed Thomas.
As the day wore on, and teams went for their most pressing needs, the buzz around the NFL was growing about where Brady Quinn would end up. When he fell out of the Top 15, people began to look at upcoming teams and who they had at QB already.
Pittsburgh has Big Ben
Green Bay has Brett Favre
Denver has Jay Cutler
Cincinnati has Carson Palmer
Tennessee has Vince Young
The Giants have Eli Manning
It was VERY easy to see now how Quinn could drop into the deepest region of the first round. So when Dallas was on the board, many people wondered how much faith the Cowboys had in Tony Romo. Hell, even if they stayed with Romo as their future, Kansas City is next, and they were not going to pass on this.
And then it happened….NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the trade. The Browns were now on the clock.
I was in a sports bar when the announcement was made. The place went from semi-quiet to an intense buzz in seconds. It only took another two minutes for Goodell to return to the podium with the announcement that Brady Quinn was the new Browns quarterback (and the place erupted, by the way).
Somehow Cleveland ended up taking two of the top 4 players in the draft (accoring to pre-draft predictions).
And while I did NOT want to use the third pick on Quinn, I cannot possibly see how taking him with our second pick is anything but bad. We got a QB and saved MILLIONS to get him.
With their third pick, the Browns took a chance. Eric Wright is a great athlete and a potential star at cornerback. He’s got speed and a big vertical leap, and could become a starter right away. But he’s got problems.
Two years ago, while playing for USC, he was arrested on suspicion of rape, and when the police searched his apartment, they found a nice big bag of ecstasy. No evidence of rape was ever brought forth, and all charges were dropped. He transferred to UNLV, sat out a year, and had an amazing year last season, helping take his team to a bowl game.
You might not have heard about Wright’s problems at USC because….well, he played for USC. When a Buckeye gets a parking ticket, ESPN camps out on the 50-yard-line demanding the football program gets declared ineligible for bowl games. But USC doesn’t get that kind of coverage, no sir.
Wright’s got potential and all the talent in the world. But only if he gets ahold of his personal life. I’ve got faith in the kid, let’s just hope he has faith in himself.
Draft Day 1 – my grade – a solid A. Way to go, Phil Savage. Thanks for pulling all the right moves. And thanks for NOT getting us the “mad dog in a meathouse”.
Oh, and one more thing….I think I might become a Colts fan. They took Anthony Gonzalez AND Quinn Pitcock. Damn.
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