2012 NFL Draft: Why Trent Richardson Is a Must-Draft for Browns

With the fourth pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns would be foolish if they did not draft Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

After having the 28^th ranked rushing offense in the league and 29^th ranked overall, the Browns have to upgrade their running game. They just lost Peyton Hillis to the Chiefs, and even though he had a down year, he was one of the only noticeable players on their offense.

Honestly, how many Browns players can an NFL fan name? Their wide receivers are unknown, and they have a quarterback that has played average in Colt McCoy. Please, do not try to tell me Greg Little, Mohamed Massaquoi and Josh Cribbs are fit to be No. 1 wide receivers. Little is at best a No. 2 wide receiver, and Cribbs is just a great return man.

So with these weaknesses at running back, wide receiver and quarterback, why should the Browns go with Richardson over a wide receiver like Justin Blackmon or a quarterback like Ryan Tannehill?

They don’t need to get a wide receiver that early because the Browns have the No. 22 and No. 37 picks. This year's draft has a lot of depth at the wide receiver position, so the Browns could take a wide receiver like Kendal Wright, Stephen Hill or Alshon Jeffery with the No. 22 or No. 37 pick. Any of these wide receivers would upgrade their receiving corps.

You are not going to take a quarterback like Tannehilll with the No. 4 pick in the draft. He is the third-best quarterback in this year’s draft, and that would be a move out of desperation. The Browns need to give Colt McCoy one full year as a starter where he has a legitimate running back and another promising receiver to team up with Little.

He has never had a supporting cast in his two seasons with the Browns. This draft has to be about developing McCoy’s supporting cast and there is no better way to do that then drafting the best running back in Richardson.

Richardson is an absolute beast. At 5’9" and around 225 lbs, he has the ability to run you over and run by you. He recently ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at his Pro Day, and he was coming off of surgery. He has everything you want in a running back with his speed, strength and power. Not only can he run the ball, but he can also catch passes out of the backfield, which makes him even more valuable.

If the Browns pass up on Richardson at No. 4, then who is going to be their running back this upcoming season? Montario Hardesty? Chris Ogbonnaya? These two showed last season that they are not reliable starting running backs in the NFL. After Richardson, there is a huge drop-off in the running back talent in the draft. The next best running backs will not be selected until the second round.

The Browns have to take advantage of their strengths on offense. They have an All-Pro tackle in Joe Thomas and a Pro Bowl center in Alex Mack. These two need to have a running back to block for. Look at the rest of the teams in the AFC North. What the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers have in common is a solid running game. The AFC North is all about smash-mouth football. If you want to win games you are going to have to be able to run the ball.

The Ravens have Ray Rice, the Steelers have Rashard Mendenhall and the Bengals had Cedric Benson. It is not a surprise that these three teams made the NFL Playoffs this past year. By adding a running back of Richardson’s caliber, the Browns would immediately become another AFC North team with a legitimate run game.

Richardson would not only make the Browns offense better, but he is going to help McCoy’s development as a quarterback. McCoy is not going to have to carry the entire offense and try to win games with his arm. At this point in his career he is not ready to do that. Richardson would be able to take some of the pressure off of McCoy, and the Browns would become a more balanced team.

With two first-round draft picks and an early second-round pick, the Browns have to take Richardson with the No. 4 pick. He is by far the best running back in this year’s draft and is going to have the most impact on the team. Taking Richardson at No. 4 and then upgrading the rest of McCoy’s supporting cast with other picks will make the Browns a team with a very promising future.