It's Day 1 of the NFL Draft, and for Cleveland Browns fans, this year's first day will be a lot more exciting than last year's. In 2008, Phil Savage's various trades led to the Browns not having a Day 1 pick. This year, we are what I would consider stacked with Day 1 picks:
Cleveland Browns Day 1 Picks:
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Round 1: No. 5 overall
- Round 2: No. 36 overall
- Round 2: No. 50 overall
The draft will begin promptly at 4:00pm EST, with the Detroit Lions on the clock. Hopefully they do not waste any time announcing their pick, since they have already signed QB Matthew Stafford to a deal. In essence, the draft should start with the St. Louis Rams on the clock at No. 2 overall.
Teams will have 10 minutes to select in Round 1 and 7 minutes to select in Round 2. By my estimates, that means the Browns should be on the clock for their first pick from about 4:35pm to 4:45pm. I will be providing live blog coverage up until the Browns' first round pick. After that, I may not be back until around 10:00pm unfortunately.
Dawgs By Nature LIVE BLOG of Day 1 of the 2009 NFL Draft:
- 1:05 PM: Early morning rumors are circulating over the Internet again that the Browns will select QB Mark Sanchez, and then trade QB Brady Quinn. I don't see it happening -- why would it make sense either?
- 1:10 PM: I always like reading what Scott Wright of NFLDraftCountdown has to say in his mock draft. They have the Browns going all defense on Day 1, with LB Aaron Curry at No. 5, LB Larry English at No. 36, and S William Moore at No. 50.
- 2:05 PM: Mocking Dan wonders why several popular draft "experts" have skyrocketed the projection of DE Tyson Jackson to No. 3 overall. I believe I also read a rumor yesterday that the Browns might be interested in him at that point. If we pick him at No. 5, it'd be a disappointment, considering I'd rather have Orakpo or Raji.
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2:15 PM: JasonB, our Philadelphia Eagles blogger who is LIVE at the NFL Draft, has provided a photo of the area surrounding him today:
That's how close our guys are to the action! Besides Dawgs By Nature, be sure to visit Mocking the Draft, Mile High Report, and Bleeding Green Nation for what should be some amazing coverage related to the draft. Almost every NFL SB Nation website is also live-blogging the draft, so feel free to check out the entire network of site throughout the weekend.
- 2:20 PM: The comedy routine just keeps on getting funnier guys: Steve Wyche of NFL.com is reporting that the Browns and Giants have not discussed a deal involving WR Braylon Edwards for weeks. Wyche also reports that he is hearing that it would be a huge surprise if QB Brady Quinn gets dealt.
- 2:50 PM: A little over an hour away now! QB Matt Cassel received a 6-year contract today with $36 million guaranteed. That's what Belichick does for you, I guess.
- 2:52 PM: One of our sources at the draft overheard Yahoo's Jason Cole state that the Panthers aren't finding any interest in DE Julius Peppers.
- 3:09 PM: The good guys are now on Sirius Radio, as we're less than an hour away from the draft: Gil Brandt and Adam Schein in particular.
- 3:12 PM: Brandt believes that either WR Anquan Boldin or WR Braylon Edwards will be moved today.
- 3:17 PM: Turf Show Times is digging and believes the New York Jets and the Washington Redskins are both pushing hard to move up (probably for Sanchez).
- 3:21 PM: Sirius projects that DE Tyson Jackson or LB Aaron Curry will be the first defensive player off the board. It was stated that Curry could be there at No. 5 for Cleveland, but that Jackson could be a surprise first (defensive) pick at No. 3. Not such a surprise though if it's being talked about ahead of time, eh?
- 3:39 PM: Mocking Dan reports via a source that the Browns are not involved in any trade talk.
- 3:43 PM: To update on the previous statement, Dan states that this means "[no trades] in general. No trade talk at all." In other words, not only is there nothing about the No. 5 overall pick, but there is nothing about Edwards or Quinn either. That could change in a heart beat when Cleveland is on the clock though, I'd imagine.
- 3:46 PM: It just irks me when the fans live at the draft do nothing but BOO whenever a pick gets made. Seriously -- what the hell is the point of booing?
- 3:47 PM: Deion Sanders is introducing some of the top prospects right now.
- 3:54 PM: Pat Kirwan and Gil Brandt believe Braylon Edwards will be traded. No real concrete sources behind that; just their opinions. According to JasonB, some press guys are now speculating that the Rams could take Sanchez.
- 3:55 PM: New Open Thread over at Mocking the Draft.
- 4:00 PM: From our SB Nation sources: "Just got a tip that the Eagles may have turned their attention from Boldin to Braylon Edwards…"
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4:05 PM: QB Matthew Stafford officially picked by the Lions, as the draft is underway! The St. Louis Rams are now on the clock.
Picture of the teams' draft tables above.
- 4:15 PM: The Rams pick is in, and here comes the announcement: it's Jason Smith, indeed. The Chiefs are now on the clock at No. 3. They are a candidate to select Curry, but Jackson has been rumored to them as well.
- 4:20 PM: The latest crazy rumor from our Eagles blogger: "Hearing some crazy rumors about the Eagles sending #21 and Shawn Andrews to Cleveland for the Browns #5 overall and Braylon Edwards. Seems very farfetched to me."
- 4:25 PM: DE Tyson Jackson is picked by the Chiefs. I have no idea how his stock rose so quickly, but credit to Kiper and company for making that projection correctly at the last second I guess. Curry is now that close folks -- only the Seahawks are ahead of us.
- 4:34 PM: What a bummer, as the Seahawks do indeed take LB Aaron Curry. The Cleveland Browns are now on the clock.
- 4:41 PM: BREAKING NEWS: The Browns have traded the No. 5 overall pick to the New York Jets! Waiting for reports on the full deal.
- 4:43 PM: With the pick, the Jets take QB Mark Sanchez. Funny how Eric Mangini ends up doing a deal with his former team.
- 5:10 PM: Officially, "Cleveland traded its first-round selection (5th overall, used to select Mark Sanchez) to the New York Jets for their first- and second-round selections (17th and 52nd overall, respectively), Kenyon Coleman, Brett Ratliff, and Abram Elam."
- 5:12 PM: Can't believe the Raiders passed up on WR Michael Crabtree earlier for WR Darrius Heyward-Bay. Now the question will be this: could Crabtree, Orakpo, or Raji be on the board when we pick at No. 17?
- 5:15 PM: Won't be Raji, as he just went to the Packers.
- 5:25 PM: WR Michael Crabtree goes to the 49ers. I'll unfortunately have to leave in a few minutes, but rufio should be here to keep the posting (but probably not the live-blogging) active the rest of the day until I get back.
- 5:26 PM: I guess you know it's hot when a huge wasp suddenly flies by your window as you are typing.
- 5:27 PM: GO BROWNS!!!
This is also an open thread for ALL of today's action! Please try to refrain from creating individual threads that state what you specifically think about a pick -- that's what this post and any subsequent posts that I or rufio make are for. With that said, if a late-breaking trade appears while I'm gone, feel free to make a FanPost about it until either rufio or myself have the chance to make a front page post about it.