NFL Draft: The Roller-Coaster Ride That Is Being a Cleveland Browns Fan

Ahhhhhhhhhh yes, the silly season.

It started so early for Cleveland Browns fans this year (unlike most years?), as the team failed to make the playoffs (again).

I feel safe in saying that as fans, we are reasonably happy with the current state of the Browns defense. Statistically, they were better than half of the teams that actually made the playoffs, including the two teams that made the Super Bowl. There's always room for improvement, but you could win a Super Bowl with this defense.

The offense, on the other hand...is terrible, to put it kindly. You could make the argument that the Browns need to upgrade at each personnel group on the offense: QB, RB, WR, TE, OL.

And because there are so many needs that are virtually impossible to fill all in one offseason/draft, it has led to various factions of Browns fans who want different things.

I remember even before the regular season was over seeing Browns fans say we needed to move up to the No. 2 pick to pick Justin Blackmon. The Oklahoma State wide receiver was the hot topic early on before overtaken by Robert Griffin III.

RGIII had a great run on the Browns blogs and sparked a great divide between the Colt McCoy supporters and doubters. I was in the camp of believing that I'd trade everything for RGIII.

After the Browns were caught with their pants down in negotiations with the Rams and lost the right to get a great QB to the Redskins, Cleveland fans quickly turned their loving eyes upon a former seventh-round pick who's played two games in the NFL.

I was never on the Matt Flynn bandwagon, and frankly, I'm thrilled that the Browns didn't waste their time. I live in Packerland, and very few people really think Flynn will a great QB. In fact, I know of multiple Green Bay fans who aren't sad at all to see him go because they actually like Graham Harrell better.

Along the way, there have people who wanted Kyle Orton or Jason Campbell, which thankfully, didn't happen either.

The offseason thus far has been a major win for the "Give Colt another year" camp. And it looks like that's what's going to happen.

But if we're going to win games with a lesser talent at QB, then he's going to need weapons. And thus, we have the new great debate over the No. 4 pick in the draft: Blackmon or Trent Richardson. Receiver or running back?

Thankfully, I don't have to make that decision. If it was up to me, I'd take Blackmon, but I'm not so crazy locked into that choice that I would be angry if the Browns picked Richardson.

I fall back on a couple things in this decision.

First, running backs have a shorter shelf life than receivers. Many receivers are still productive into their late 30's, while running backs start to decline by the time they're 27 or 28.

Second, former Alabama teammate Marcell Darius said he believes that in the end that Mark Ingram will be a better pro running back than Richardson despite Ingram's mediocre production thus far. He said that Richardson relies too much on his physical abilities and that he won't be able to out-run and out-muscle defenders in the NFL like he did in college.

He did say he would be "good," though. I don't know how accurate this is exactly, but coming from a former teammate, I'm willing to listen. (I tried to find a link to the audio for this, but was unsuccessful. You can find the interview though through iTunes on The Hooligans page.)

And third, a great running back is not essential for offensive success in the NFL today. Did you know that the Super Bowl champion NY Giants finished dead last in rushing last year? The Patriots finished 20th. And the vaunted Green Bay Packers offense that scored over twice as many points as the Browns last year only rushed for 27 more yards on the season and only average 0.2 more yards per carry.

And did you know that you have to go back to the 2007 Giants team to find a Super Bowl winner that had a 1,000-yard rusher, when Brandon Jacobs went for a whopping 1,009?

Call me crazy, but I'm actually OK with what the Browns have at running back right now. It takes about two years to fully recover from an ACL tear like Montario Hardesty had. Brandon Jackson was the leading rusher for the Packers when they won the Super Bowl. And I really liked Chris Ogbonnaya and thought he should have gotten more playing time. He averaged a full yard more per carry than Peyton Hillis last year.

But hey, you know what they say, "A quarterback's best friend is a great running game"...and a great defense...and great receivers...and a great O-line.

Look, I'm OK with bringing Colt back for another year. He had a couple flashes last year, like against Miami and Indianapolis. And I wouldn't mind seeing him with better talent to support him.

But what I will not stand for is any of this "draft Ryan Tannehill at No. 4" garbage.

I'm not an NFL scout or QB guru by any means. But what my eyes tell me when I watch Tannehill is a guy that needs a lot of time and work before he'll be a great QB. And that's not who you draft in the top ten. You draft players like Luck and Griffin who are sure-fire talents that can come in and start on day one. You don't take a "project" even if he is talented. Don't forget, JaMarcus Russell was talented.

To me, Tannehill is the girl at the bar that starts to get better looking as the night drags on and you get a little more inebriated. (I'm only guessing at this, as I don't actually drink or frequent bars very often.)

You know there's that girl at work that you've been flirting with for a while, but she might not be interested and you're getting desperate? And the girl at the bar might not be that bad after all. And all you want after all is someone to hold and tell you everything's gonna be OK, right?

Now here is where you ask yourself...is it really worth to take that girl was too ugly to be worth your time a couple hours ago home and risk a night of shame and the possibility of getting an STD? Or would you be better off going home alone and to keep working on the girl at work for another week? And if she doesn't work, you can always come back to the bar next Friday and go all in on the hottest girl there and leave no doubts.

This is the situation the Browns are in. I'd rather pass on Tannehill (who was projected as a second or third-round pick after the college season) and go another year with Colt. And if he doesn't work out, then sell your whole draft to get someone who will.

All I really want is for the Browns to be a winner. I don't care who gets the job done as long as it happens.

And Browns fans need to be supportive of the moves this team makes. I don't mean blind loyalty. I think that we have suffered long enough (most of you longer than me) and should demand a winner. But let's be honest with ourselves, the guys running the Browns know more about football than all of us.

I actually saw someone tweet that because Brad Childress was sent to evaluate Tannehill that we definitely should not draft him because Childress started Tarvaris Jackson one year. Because that makes sense?

Don't get swept up in the madness.

So instead of playing armchair GM, I'm just going to sit back, buckle in and enjoy the roller-coaster ride of rumors and moves that is the NFL offseason!

You can follow Benjamin Flack on Twitter @ClevelandFlack.