Some surprises, a few question marks. What's your final take on the draft? (Poll)

B+ Our first three picks should start right away.

Rounds 1 and 2 players are great additions. Round 4 players seem to have potential to open up the playbook a little bit. Rounds 5 and 7 players seem to have a small chance of making the final cut, especially if we can find some free agents. Over all B+.

I voted C because of the trade up and the character concerns with our top three picks.

B, but that’s mainly because I’ve never seen any of these guys play. Idk what to expect.

J. Pinkston started 38 games at LT for PItt. Pitt had a 1,000 yard rusher in each of his 3 years as a starter. Went to Baldwin High School, in Pittsburgh, where they play high-level H.S. ball.

BTW, someone correct me if I’m wrong, but if memory serves me, Holmgren seemed to state definitively on more than one occasion in press statements / conferences that we would take a QB somewhere in the draft. What happened? Think Delhomme sticks around now and settles for a 3rd string role (and as “mentor in chief”)? Or do we pick someone up if and when free agency kicks in?

A- for the trade down and the D-line picks.

I voted B-, but I would’ve said the same thing after last year’s draft. We’ll see how this one turns out in a couple years.

A- minus as it stands now because its easy to forget we’ll still be acquiring talent from this draft, next year. If our first three picks pan out, then we’ll have two first round picks to address LBs, WRs, OL, whatever – it’ll truly be a luxury pick we can use on a playmaker instead of filling needs. How exciting is that? I’m intrigued by Little. A Tampa Bay fan friend of mine texted me immediately after the pick and said something like, “Great pick, Little is this years Mike Williams.” You know how incredible it will be if Little comes anywhere near as solid as Williams?

Anyways I’m pretty stoked about this draft. I was scratching my head a bit in the 4th and 5th rounds, but I’m trusting the management. I don’t think theres any doubt we snagged some studs at TE and FB, the only debate is whether theyre value picks. Thats lightyears better than what some teams are doing, scratching their head as to why the management would pick guys with little talent who fill little need.

Overall, I’m happy. Vereh Happeh.

A thorough breakdown analysis on Pinkston:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1115001

I find his run blocking attributes especially intriguing. Even with WCO, we’re still a run first team. No matter how much we pray, the weathers never going to be like the west coast.

The coaches said in the presser yesterday that Pinkston would be playing guard this year and may eventually move to tackle.

I thought it was a great draft. We addressed some needs and also got extra picks for next year. While I’m not an expert on any of the guys we picked, I have faith in the front office and feel we are moving in the right direction. Having two first round picks in 2012 will be awesome.

I gave us a B. Trade down was awesome, but I’m not a super large fan of trading up. Also, all three of our first and second round picks have character concerns. I have a sinking feeling that Little is going to end up having Braylon like attitude problems.

B+

Not getting Green, Peterson, or Dareus, coupled with the questionable trade up to #21 bumped this one out of the A range. I was also a little underwhelmed with Taylor. However, the more I read profiles and discussions on him, the better I feel.

Frankly, the guy I’m most excited about is Little. At this point, I believe people may look back in a few years and consider him one of the real steals of this entire draft. He seems to have slipped for non-football reasons and appears to have huge upside.

I think our first 3 picks make huge contributions immediately. I’m excited as hell for this season. The rich folks need to get shit figured out so it starts on time.

Unrelated but what do you guys see happening with RB Kevin Smith? He’s a FA now and I think he showed loads of promise at UCF and then In Detroit.

I gave an A-.

The more I think about this draft the more I like it. I didn’t know most of the players we got, but the again I didn’t know a lot about Boss Ward either. It seems like we got a bunch of players with raw talent that need some coaching and perfecting. With our schedule next year this could mean our top three picks could vastly improve before that crucial five game stretch at the end of the season.

More importantly, next year we have two first round picks. I believe the first couple after hiring a new coach are always “rebuilding” years, so I am not expecting a fantastic record next year. If these picks develop how H & H want, than we can grab some more immediate impact players next year.

Finally it looks like our franchise is looking to the future. Go Browns!

Very solid draft. I agree with us being in the upper percentile. We had a lot of value picks.
My only concern, and i said it to myself, is the clip they show of Little when he scores then turns and punts the ball into the crowd. I HATE THAT CLIP!! He better can that attitude and just play ball. I think he will have the biggest impact, other than Taylor.
Great weekend overall though

Am I the only one who thinks that not taking ANY QB speaks volumes of their confidence in Colt? (And sure, you could say they may be waiting for Luck, but we’re not guaranteed to get him or anything.)

I went B+.

I am excited about Taylor and Sheard. They have been in the first and second rounds on peoples’ boards all year, and I trust the football people that do this for a living over those on the hunt to make the next star. They aren’t flashy picks, but they filled some of our biggest needs and they should both be really good at what we ask them to do.

Little and Cameron could be huge for us, but both are far from sure things. If Little really has matured and will work hard and stay out of trouble, he could be a slower Calvin Johnson or a faster Anquan Boldin—his potential is sky high. Cameron needs to grow as a player but the potential is there, too.

I love Marecic—the kind of guy you really want to root for—but it hurts a little that this probably means Vickers’ time will either be reduced or eliminated.

Pinkston was a smart pick. If it were up to me, we’d get a RT somewhere in the 2nd-3rd next year and keep drafting guys late who can play C/G or G/T as backups and eventual possible starters at G.

Skrine is all I could ask for out of a late rounder—fast and raw.

I’d have voted C to B- if it wasn’t for the awesome trade with the Falcons. Those two first rounders are going to be huge in building come this time next year.

I gave it an A+, and I don’t see how anyone else can’t be stoked about it.

1. We got an extra 1st and 4th round pick next season.
2. We filled two mammoth holes in our defensive line.
3. We now have the biggest DT duo in the NFL.
4. We drafted four instant starters. How many other teams can say that?
5. Greg Little will be the steal of the draft. He will have a better career than Julio Jones. Book it.
6. I love the upside of late picks. Cameron looks like a real sleeper.

Sure I would have liked the 3rd rounder, but if Heckert thought it was necessary to move back up to get his guy, then I don’t care about the third. The majority of NFL pro bowlers come in the top 50 picks, I’m not wasting any sleep on pick 70.

Agree with B19K… Except I gave an A- because I tend to be a major optimist and sometimes I try to curb my optimism and shoot low :p

… Although I don’t know that I agree we have 4 instant starters in this draft. I would say 3. I don’t think the USC TE will be a STARTER initially, because I think Ben Watson and Evan Moore will beat him out for the starting positions. Also, the other 3 instant starters are playing for the Browns. I think Little starts on most teams, but I think it’s really easy to start on the D-line for a team that basically has what, 3 D-linemen in total on the roster? I don’t know that they would start over a lot of the other D-linemen in the league. Not saying they WOULDN’T, I’m just saying that the fact they will start instantly for us doesn’t necessarily put them above other teams’ draft picks. Again, not saying they aren’t starters on other teams, let’s just say I could definitely be convinced :)

There are more holes in the depth chart than in the starting line up. We filled 5 holes. A-.

Very happy. A.

Very happy and enthused about Phil Taylor from Baylor following day 1.
While Jabaal Sheer is suited for the outside containment position, Da´Quan Bowers, Marvin Austin, Stephen Paea and Kendrick Ellis were still on the board, would have felt much better about next year with the d-line stocked with some real dawgs. Marecic is good, maybe Cameron and Pinkston will pan out, but all in all a real feel good satisfaction result, it is not.

hi brown fans , i did the live mock for you guys a couple of weeks back and was very interested in how your draft would go . i gave your draft an A- and i think your GM and scouting dept did a heck of a job for you guys this year .
first off the trade you got from atlanta was the master stroke of the draft . the reason i say this is because how much atlanta paid for that pick to draft an untried nfl WR . they could have gotten B marshall last season for 2 2nd round picks but gave up way more for an untried wr makes no sense.

as a jet fan i know how good taylor is and he should be the backbone of your d-line for years to come . i give this pick an A+

sheard is an improvement on what you have but he hasn’t a wonderful upside . B

little is a steal and gives mcCoy a great weapon for years to come . has little off field issues but still give this pick a B+/A-

cameron could be the best TE in this years draft given time to develop ( 2 years ) ,and i also drafted him for you guys in the live mock . give this pick B+

marecic is another steal . he is pals with 2012 madden cover guy and can also carry the ball . you guys could end up 2 of the best FB in the league and could end up trading one of those guys for a high pick . grade this pick as an A

skrine , pinkston and especially HAGG represent serious value for where they were picked . i was hoping the jets took a flyer on hagg in the 7th because he has such a good upside . i give those 3 picks a combined grade of B+

all in all i think you have got one of the best draft this year with the exception of the giants and have filled lots of needs . if i was a browns fan i would be very excited after this draft and would be looking forward to FA where you could add anothe few TOP players to your team .

so once again well done on a wonderful draft

A- The first three picks should start and we came away with two extra picks next year, job well done.

In case anyone was wondering what happened to the entire Mod-SB discussion, I hid it.

To be honest, being a mod is a hard job and most of the time a thankless one. That being said, were aren’t infallible. If you think that a mod is being a jerk or out of line, don’t post it on the site, you can always email me, especially if the mod you have the issue with is me. My email is at the bottom of every page. Just leave me a note here on DBN that you emailed that account (I don’t check it everyday). I may be unrelenting when it comes to the Browns (JaMarcus) but I will always hear someone out.

Bickering over stuff like this takes away from the content of the website that Chris, Syrup, Rufio and every single participant works so hard to keep. DBN just came off maybe it’s best weekend and we added some new readers.

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So let’s keep it civil and keep it Browns related. I understand that this off-season is going to be tough to get through but we are literally all on the same team.

Go Browns, all praise to Joe Thomas.