Knowshon Moreno thinks it would be a mistake to pass on Berry
Again, these aren't all my feelings, just the flip side of the coin.
Why should we pass on what almost everyone agrees is far and away the best DB in this draft?
- Even in todays pass happy NFL, safety is still not considered a high-priority position. Sure Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu may disagree, but even those two Pro Bowlers were drafted 24th and 16th respectively. In the past 10 years there have been five safeties drafted in the top ten (Laron Landry, Donte Whitner, Micheal Huff, Sean Taylor and Roy Williams). Anyone excited about that?
- See of this sounds familiar to anyone. Browns hire a new employee that still has strong connections to their former team. Former team falls in love with a draft prospect. Former team wants to trade up in the draft for said prospect. Former employee works trade. Browns get out of the top ten. That was a sweet move by Mangini. I think it could happen again, but with Heckert doing the dealing instead. Eagles want to trade up.
Just for conversation, what about the 7th and 92nd pick (a total of 1,632 points on the trade chart) for the Eagles 24th, 37th and 55th picks (a total of 1,630 points on the trade chart). Browns would then have 24th, 37th, 38th, 55th, 71st and 85th pick in the first three rounds.
Just for a point of reference, on the Browns Big board the 24th ranked player is Golden Tate.
I love Eric Berry, but that is quite a haul for one player. We would still have a first rounder, plus three seconds and two thirds. We could remake the defense in the second and third rounds alone!
- Safeties can be found anywhere in the draft. Ryan Clark, undrafted. Adrian Wilson, 3rd round. Bob Sanders, 2nd round. Brian Dawkins, 2nd round. Yeremiah Bell, 6th round. Tanard Jackson, 4th round. Why waste a pick on a position that is filled so easily elsewhere?
- Eric Berry may not be great. I know, shocking. When you get by everything he does well, there is still the chance that he doesn't become the next Ed Reed. Maybe he becomes the next LaRon Landry. Good player, but far from greatness. Is a missed pick on a safety something that this franchise can risk right now? Wouldn't a safer position like offensive tackle or running back be a safer choice?
- We can grab a safety like Morgan Burnett or Rashard Jones later on in the draft. No they won't give us everything that Berry does, but won't they give us enough to get by? Could you live with a secondary of Wright, Brown, Elam and Burnett if it meant we added Bryan Bulaga to the right side of the OLine for the next 10 years?