Browns' Veterans In Free Agent Limbo - What Will Team Need?

An appeals court ruling is expected today or tomorrow on whether to maintain or lift a stay on the NFL lockout.  If the stay is lifted, that means free agency must begin - but what will it look like and what will the rules be?  Now that there is no Players Union, some of the old free agency rules might be challenged by the Players Association as violations of anti-trust laws, such as franchise tags and free agent tenders.  The most likely route for the NFL to take is to keep the same rules that were in effect in 2010: no salary cap, no salary floor and unrestricted free agency after six years of service instead of four.

Those rules put a whole lot of players with 3, 4, or 5 years of service in a potentially bad position.  Apparently, for those players whose contracts have expired with their current team, but who have yet to reach 6 years of service, the team still retains their contract rights - or the right of first refusal if another team wants to sign the player. 

Get To Know Wide Receiver Greg Little

Greg Little was the Browns' second pick in the second round, #59 overall.  Little played college football at North Carolina as both a running back and wide receiver before being suspended for all of the 2010 season for accepting improper gifts from an agent.  At 6'3" and 230 pounds, Little is a beast who can catch like a wide out and runs like a 230 pound running back once he has the ball.  He also blocks like a tight end.  With first round talent, Little fell into the 2nd round because he missed all of last season and has a "diva" label, though he recently claimed missing a whole season humbled him.

Get To Know Defensive End Jabaal Sheard

Jabaal Sheard, a defensive end from Pittsburgh, was the Browns' second round pick at #37 overall.  Below are scouting reports and highlight videos.  As you'll see, Sheard is very good with his hands and lives in the backfield.

Thoughts on the Browns Wide Receiver Need:

The Browns passed on Alabama's Julio Jones in the first round.  They have picks number 37 and 59 tonight in round 2.  They gave up their third round pick to Kansas City to jump from 27 to 21 for Phil Taylor.  Most Browns/AFC North beat writers have identified a pass rushing defensive end and a game breaking wide receiver as the two highest needs for the Browns.  GM Tom Heckert publicly disagreed about the team's dire need for a wide out:

''I heard this conversation every day in Philadelphia about how our wide receivers weren't good enough,'' he said. ''We went to five NFC Championships; obviously we didn't win the Super Bowl, and that's what we are looking for. It's not overrated, but it's not as bleak as people think. We'll see. Trust me, we are not against having other receivers here. The more competition the better, but we do like our guys.''

Doesn't exactly make you think they are taking any wide outs tonight, right?  The Browns had pre-draft visits with wide receivers Edmund Gates (Abilene Christian), Jerrel Jernigan (Troy), and Greg Salas (Hawaii) in addition to A.J. Green and Julio Jones.  The first 3 guys are rated anywhere from 3rd to 5th round talents. Some scouts have Jernigan as high as a late 2nd rounder. 

Since the Browns have not yet addressed defensive end, they likely will spend at least one of their 2nd round picks on that position.  It's tough to project what 2nd round rated receivers they like and would be available at #59.  If they still had a 3rd rounder, I would be more confident they could find a guy they like at WR there - but that's gone now.  Perhaps they will package both 4th round picks in a trade to get back into round 3 tonight if a WR falls that they like.

The other possibility is that the team will seek out a veteran wide receiver with experience in a west coast offense.  There are currently no receivers on the roster with that experience.  During transitions to new offensive or defensive schemes, new coaches often bring in some veterans familiar with the system to help teach the younger guys.  That is a very logical possibility for the Browns new offense. 

Currently, the Browns have Massiquoa, Robiskie, Carlton Mitchell, and Josh Cribbs as likely contributors  Stuckey's contract is up and he is likely not being brought back (remember the Jets game?)  There are some young guys on the depth chart, like Jordan Norwood, but are still unknown at this point.  The Browns have room on the roster for 2 more wide outs.  We predict they'll bring in at least one veteran and one rookie to round out the WR corps. 

Analyzing Browns' First Round:

Last night the Browns traded out of the #6 overall pick with Julio Jones' bow tie staring them in the face.  Atlanta offered the Browns their 27th overall pick, this year's 2nd round pick (#59 overall), this year's 4th round pick (#124 overall) and next year's first and fourth round picks.  Ultimately, the four extra picks were just too much for the Browns to pass up and it was a wise move - initially. 

Obviously, the Browns' brain trust of Heckert, Holmgren, and Shurmur felt that one play-making wide receiver wasn't going to change their fortunes this year - and they are probably right.  As much as we would've loved to have seen an exciting playmaker added to help Colt McCoy this year - we can't argue with adding more picks, even if Atlanta's picks are at the end of each round this year and likely next year as well. Perhaps the Browns will add a playmaking receiver in the 2nd or 3rd rounds tonight.

The Browns were then sitting at #27 last night waiting.  Earlier in the day, Holmgren had said this about trading down:

All About Phil Taylor

We've collected as many scouting reports and highlight videos as we could find to give you an in-depth knowledge of the Browns' first round pick:

PHIL TAYLOR - Nose Tackle from Baylor
6'3", 334 pounds, 5.21 - 40 yard dash. 34" arms, 10 3/4th inch hands
31 - reps of 225 on bench.

Mock Draft 1.0

Here at Orange, Brown, and Down, we see through the hype.  And we don't just follow the pack (Mel Kiper, Jr., Mike Mayock, Todd McShay, etc.).  In formulating our mock draft, we focus on the team's needs, its current roster and free agents, its offensive or defensive scheme, coaching philosophy, and recent draft history in making our picks.  And we don't try to envision trade scenarios - that's impossible.  


This year, there are 8 defensive ends with first round grades and 3 to 4 defensive tackles. Even though up to 12 defensive lineman have first round grades, we don't see 12 teams with enough need at those positions for them all to go in round one. Instead (and lucky for the Browns) some of those first round defensive linemen are going to slip into the top of round 2. This year there are a lot of teams with quarterback needs, but not many premier QB's to meet the demand. Many playoff teams are aging at left tackle, so we envision a run on the top 5 tackles in bottom of round one.


At the beginning of the draft season, defense ruled the top of the player rankings - and in the end, nothing changes.  This is a special defensive class and no overrated QB's are going to change that.  So without further ado.... 

Browns' Free Agent Situation To Shape Draft Strategy?

Entering the off season, the Browns had 22 free unsigned free agents.  That's almost half of the 53 man roster. The Browns cut DT Shawn Rogers, DE Kenyon Coleman, LB David Bowens, LB Eric Barton, TE Robert Royal, and OT John St. Clair.  Prior to the expiration of the CBA, the Browns re-signed QB Seneca Wallace and MLB D'Qwell Jackson.  They later gave 2nd round tenders to CB Eric Wright and TE Evan Moore. The legitimacy of those tenders is unknown until a new CBA is reached.  Kicker Phil Dawson was franchised. These five players were obviously made a priority by the team, but what can we glean from the players they did not re-sign or tender?  A look at the Browns remaining free agents and the depth chart may give us some insight into the Browns' 2011 draft strategy.

Wondering about the Wonderlic....

Nolan Nawrocki from Pro Football Weekly posted a recent article chock full of some eyebrow-raising Wonderlic scores of recent draft picks.  From the article:

"Two of the NFL's brightest future stars, LSU CB Patrick Peterson and Georgia WR A.J. Green, registered among the five lowest Wonderlic scores of the 330 participants at this year’s NFL scouting combine.

Peterson was one of four prospects who recorded a dreaded single-digit score, which NFL teams often equate with getting their name right, tying with South Carolina's Chris Culliver for the lowest mark among all defensive backs as both correctly answered only nine questions on the 12-minute, 50-question test.

Green registered the lowest score of all receivers, answering 10 questions correctly."

What History Tells Us About Drafting Wide Receivers

As mock drafts continue to pour in, there is near consensus among draft gurus and sportswriters that the Browns will draft A.J. Green if he is available with the #6 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.  With that in mind, let's take a look back at some draft history: