SB Nation Grades the Cleveland Browns' Draft

by Chris Pokorny on May 2, 2011 9:36 PM EDT in 2011 NFL Draft

The grades have been rolling in for the NFL Draft. This morning, SB Nation's NFL section graded the picks for the AFC and the NFC. The lowest grade given in the AFC was a B-, which leads me to believe the scale was set a bit too high. On top of that, it was a bit puzzling to see the Browns receive a mediocre "B" on a generous scale:

Cleveland Browns: B
Dick Jauron's philosophy in Chicago was to build his defense around the massive interior triangle of Ted Washington and Keith Traylor at defensive tackle, and Brian Urlacher at middle linebacker. First-round pick Phil Taylor, in teaming with Ahtyba Rubin, gives Jauron similar size at defensive tackle; now he just needs his middle linebacker. Greg Little and Jordan Cameron are perfect system fits offensively, and they'll get years out of seventh-round pick Eric Hagg, as well.

The description itself sounds alright; maybe they did not take into account the fact that the Browns added some picks in 2012. The comment about Hagg was a bit confusing too; we'll be fortunate if we get a season out of the guy just by virtue of him being a seventh-rounder.

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He’s a Bills fan. Thus the focus on Jauron, and, perhaps, the lower than expected grade.

Dawgs by Nature -- where Mike Holmgren, apparently, 'did some good things'.

by golanbatrac on May 2, 2011 9:42 PM EDT reply actions

Dude is probably pissed we have been sending stupid fans his way for years now.

by Bernie19Kosar on May 2, 2011 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 9 recs

How do we do that? I can think of a few that need to go. lol

WOOf! WOOf!

by MWP333 on May 3, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions

check the fanpost archives and look at “DBN Glossary 2.0” It may bring you up to speed.

Resident Tim Couch Apologist.

by Dawg Nuts on May 3, 2011 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

Awesome. Hilarious and useful. Thanks.

by MWP333 on May 3, 2011 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Browns get no love from anyone. Nothing new, just keep doing well and eventually people can’t stop ignoring what’s happening.

by scrumm on May 2, 2011 9:48 PM EDT reply actions

I think they have to start doing well to keep doing well. This was a very mediocre draft filled with guys who all have Boom or Bust potential. We’ll find out in 3 years just how good/bad it is.

by mmorgan184 on May 2, 2011 10:22 PM EDT up reply actions

true they could all bust, but the only player who i feel like has that possibility is Little and thats just because he didn’t play last year. unless our run-D is horrendous i don’t expect Taylor or Sheards to bust. from rounds 4 on down it’s kind of hard to say those players are busts even if they don’t play well just because of their pick selection. but Little has enough talent i feel his upside outweighs the downside. this is a solid structural draft, most definitely.

If we don't resign Phil Dawson until he retires from the league I'm going to cry like a little sissy boy.

by Brownsbacker488 on May 2, 2011 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions

I hope Little lives up to the expectations, the guy is just oozing athleticism and potential. I am definitely a fan of the draft, but with that said I think it could very easily end up being a disappointing draft.

by mmorgan184 on May 2, 2011 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions

If this was a generous scale, w/ the lowest team getting a B-, the Browns shoulda gotten an A!

We’re going to run a 4-3, we now have our 2 run stuffing DT’s that are needed. And we got our edge rushing DE that is needed. A possible #1 WR. The one thing i would say is, if the Browns woulda taken Casey Mathews w/ the 1st 4th rnd pick, then Jordan Cameron w/ the 2nd 4th rnd pick, and then gotten Marecic w/ our 5th and so on so forth….The Browns would be in consideration for having the top draft!

by Stan Wizz - Go Browns on May 2, 2011 10:21 PM EDT reply actions

yeah that comment about Hagg is out of place. i would expect Buster Skrine will develop better than Hagg. like you said Chris, i wouldn’t take much out of this list of draft grades.seeing the Chargers and Titans still in the Bs.

If we don't resign Phil Dawson until he retires from the league I'm going to cry like a little sissy boy.

by Brownsbacker488 on May 2, 2011 10:22 PM EDT reply actions

Cliffs:

MTD writes things that don’t make sense (like everything else they write or mock up) and in the end no one cares.

Haha.

If you haven't watched Inception, do it now. Right now.

by SpecialBrownie on May 2, 2011 10:24 PM EDT reply actions

I would love to trade drafts with you as a Chiefs fan. Your 1st 5 players would be oerfect fits in our system.

I give the Browns an A!

2011 Chiefs draft as I would have picked it..
1. Chiefs 2011 Draft as I would have picked
1. Derrick Sherrod/OT 2. Greg Little/WR 3a.Justin Houston/OLB
3b.Kenrick Ellis/NT 4.Davon House/CB 5a Ricki Stanzi/QB
5b Brandon Fusco/C 6. Greg Romeus/DE-OLB 7. Ricardo Lockette/WR

by Mayocks Tutor on May 2, 2011 10:41 PM EDT reply actions

You guys were going to take Taylor if we didn’t. I know many are upset we gave up the 3rd rounder, but I am glad we got Taylor.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by rufio on May 3, 2011 3:23 AM EDT up reply actions

As a nebraska brownie who has seen Hagg through his career, what we’re getting is a guy that has some versatility, pretty consistent good effort and solid instincts. I think what led to him being there in the seventh was his low ceiling in terms of speed/size/strength and the fact that its hard to figure out if he’s a somewhat slow safety or a smallish backer

by Vududawg on May 2, 2011 11:35 PM EDT reply actions

Low ceiling in terms of size? Im fine with that. If he gets a contracct, he’ll be one of the biggest DBs’ in the league.
Now that Nebraska will be in the Big10, I’ll be following them more closely. Any prospects we should keep an eye on for next years draft?

WOOf! WOOf!

by MWP333 on May 3, 2011 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions

we’ll be fortunate if we get a season out of the guy just by virtue of him being a seventh-rounder.

This is more confusing. Why bother drafting someone who doesn’t have potential to make the roster or practice squad?

From everyone outside of DBN who knows anything about the guy, they all give him a thumbs up.

by HenryDawg on May 3, 2011 12:57 PM EDT reply actions

Why bother drafting someone who doesn’t have potential to make the roster or practice squad?

because the 7th round exists and we have to.

Resident Tim Couch Apologist.

by Dawg Nuts on May 3, 2011 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions

remember it was a compensatory pick. i don’t want him to fail, but even if he does you can’t complain too much from a 7th round pick we were never supposed to have to begin with.

If we don't resign Phil Dawson until he retires from the league I'm going to cry like a little sissy boy.

by Brownsbacker488 on May 3, 2011 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Why bother drafting someone who doesn’t have potential to make the roster or practice squad?

Every guy has the potential, including Hagg. The thing is, very few of them ever turn out to be anything, so you shouldn’t really expect it.

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools" -Hemingway

by notthatnoise on May 3, 2011 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions

If you don’t expect it, it will never happen. The odds of striking gold certainly decrease as you go deeper in the draft, but they are still worth prospecting.

That’s one reason why I believe guys like Belichick are such successful coaches. How many other people saw that potential of a 6th round supplemental pick who eventually became a two-time NFL MVP and offensive POY?

Give the kid an opportunity and see what he can do. Being a 7th round pick only gives the Browns exclusive rights to sign the guy if he continues to show there is something there. He will never have more motivation to prove himself.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice there is. -- Yogi Berra

by JustPlainBrowns on May 3, 2011 8:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I still don’t trust jauron.

"You are the worst villains in football, your evil plan never ceases."-Mooncamping

by discoinferno083 on May 3, 2011 3:32 PM EDT reply actions

H, H & S trust him, so I do too.

by MWP333 on May 3, 2011 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions

what’s not to trust? he isn’t a terrible coach. he’s had some pretty good seasons as a defensive coordinator for other teams. and a lot of the issues he had on teams he head coached for had more problems offensively than defensively. i’m not saying we’ll be the best D in the NFL, but i don’t think we’ll be any worse than what we have been. Rob Ryan was great, but that was in his genetics. we just weren’t willing to pay him what Dallas offered him for that position.

If we don't resign Phil Dawson until he retires from the league I'm going to cry like a little sissy boy.

by Brownsbacker488 on May 3, 2011 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions

I think he’s been a pretty terrible coach outside of on year in Chi

by DontCallMeJoey on May 4, 2011 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions

I really like his background with two massive NT’s.

by Bernie19Kosar on May 3, 2011 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I definitely trust Chicago Jauron more than Buffalo Jauron.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by rufio on May 4, 2011 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions

I am very interested to see how he works with Ray Rhodes. That’s a hec of a lot of experience between those two no matter how you feel about their records or the team they have coached.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice there is. -- Yogi Berra

by JustPlainBrowns on May 3, 2011 8:06 PM EDT up reply actions

All in all, I’m really starting to warm up to this draft. I was a bit underwhelmed at first probably because most of the info that I had on the available players was focused on the guys at the top of the draft boards. But with some time to find out more about the guys we got – Little was on NFLN today and sounded like a level-headed guy – I’m liking it a bit more.

Also, considering that the odds were strongly in favor of us not making the playoffs this year no matter who we drafted, the BPA format is looking pretty good.

I am effing hurdling you and you can't stop me.

by JustBob on May 3, 2011 9:41 PM EDT reply actions