2010 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns, Nice Job.

With the 2010 NFL draft now officially over, it’s time to give my thoughts on how the Cleveland Browns fared. In their first draft under Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert, I was impressed.

Cleveland addressed their most glaring weakness by selecting a cornerback and two safeties. Joe Haden, rd.1, TJ Ward, rd.2, and Larry Asante, rd.5.   With those three picks the Browns secondary just got more talented and physical. I wanted Eric Berry but I’m very happy with who we got.

For those who wanted Dez Bryant in the first round, Tom Heckert drafted Carlton Mitchell in the sixth round. Mitchell is a 6-4 WR from South Florida with very good speed. I felt wide receiver was a need, just not real high on the list. For the record, I like this pick.

The steal of the draft may turn out to be Colt McCoy in a few years. Mike Holmgren stepped in and made the decision to get McCoy in the third round. For the record, I thought McCoy would have been gone before Cleveland made their 38th pick. I was wrong and Cleveland got lucky. I really like this pick.

The Browns offensive line was the strength of the offense last year, though that isn’t saying much. Since then Cleveland has added Tony Pashos at RT but needed a right guard to compete with Floyd Womack. In the third round the Browns picked Shawn Lauvao from Arizona State. Lauvao has played both guard and tackle in college and last year he played left tackle for ASU. I like his versatility.

A trade with the Philadelphia Eagles allowed Cleveland to move back into the second round to get Montario Hardesty, RB, Tennessee. Heckert envisions the 225 pound Hardesty could become feature back. I felt running back was not a major need and was surprised by this move.

Getting a defensive lineman was a priority and Cleveland got a big one in Clifton Geathers, a 6-8 300 DE from South Carolina in the sixth round. Geathers will be a project, but with that size, if he develops, he could be a star.

Overall I think Cleveland managed to get at least four maybe five players who could become starters in their rookie year. One of those players won’t be McCoy though as Holmgren wants to let him set and learn in his first year. Good move. As for the Browns overall draft, many good moves.

Article originally posted on http://www.nfltouchdown.com/