Reviewing the Cleveland Browns' NFL Draft Strategy

An NFL team's draft strategy is equal parts predictive and reactive. It is designed for rapid adaptability but also rigid in its aims. It's about striking the appropriate balance between need and talent, and hopefully identifying those moments when the two overlap.

The latter—the place where need and talent meet—will be an important area of attention this year for the Cleveland Browns. With 13 picks, they have the best situation to address their many deficiencies (most of them on offense), but they still need to be careful not to squander this rare opportunity.

The first thing the Browns need to consider with their draft strategy this year is which players they can take who can seriously be trusted to score touchdowns. It's not revolutionary to say that the way to win games is by scoring the most points (and it does help to keep the other team from scoring, yes), and touchdowns were at a premium for Cleveland in 2011.

So who represents the greatest chance to make an impact in the red zone for Cleveland this year? When it comes to the first round, the Browns' two best options are running back Trent Richardson and wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

The deciding factors that will tip the Browns one way or the other with their No. 4 overall pick is how great of an impact either player can have and how quickly he can make it. Quarterback Colt McCoy is still surrounded by question marks that could affect Blackmon's rookie-year production, but Richardson's skill set is such that McCoy could be immeasurably aided by his presence.

Bringing on players to benefit McCoy will matter almost as much as bringing on those who can help the team as a whole this year for the Browns. They've made a commitment to him as the starter this year, which means they need to build around him and his strengths, especially considering how much their offense as a whole struggled last season.

The Browns likely have more than one receiver in mind to pick up this year, as a result. Not only should the Browns be considering taking one at Nos. 22 or 37, they should also have a few others in mind in the later rounds.

But offensive weapons aren't the only thing they need to help McCoy—they also need the linemen to keep him protected. Offensive tackle is the biggest area on the line they need to address, but they'd be well-served to bring on all kinds of depth on the line with later-round picks.

Of course, offense isn't the only area worthy of the Browns' draft attentions. They gave up nearly 150 rushing yards per game on the ground last year, and their lack of run-stopping ability is the only glaring hole on an otherwise strong defense.

Linebackers, defensive ends and defensive tackles are all fair game for the Browns this year; it's just a matter of who, and in what round. Do they take a best-available defensive tackle who is higher rated on their board than a strong offensive tackle who meets a more immediate need?

Striking the appropriate balance between these two considerations and making the right choice is imperative to the Browns—their 13 picks represent 13 opportunities to get it right or wrong, and to get it wrong could be yet another setback, which is clearly the last thing the Browns need at this point.

So while it may seem at first that having so many picks takes the pressure off of the Browns in this draft, it actually does the exact opposite.

Cleveland has to understand where they must take a position of need versus the best available player, where they may be able to combine the two and where they have the freedom to get a bit creative and get someone who can make an impact regardless of how well he appears to fit.

The Browns have the leeway to get crazy but not too crazy, as well as the first- and second-round positioning to get some seriously strong talent. That makes their situation unique and exciting—more so than any other team, I think.

With 13 picks, the Browns have managed to make lemonade out of some seriously sour lemons. Their draft strategy, in a nutshell, is to hope they don't accidentally turn it back into the lemons from which it came, because if there's any team capable of turning gold back to straw, it's the Browns. This year, such a move would be more expensive than ever.

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