NFL Draft 2012: Cleveland Browns 7-Round Mock Draft Spectacular

I will start by saying that I am not an NFL Draft guru. I haven't broken down hours and hours of tape of fifth-round cornerbacks and project wide receivers.

So, for those of you still reading, consider this your break from the norm of the "Seven-Round Mock Draft" craziness that has been consuming us for the past four or five months. (I think I actually saw the first seven-round mock draft around Week 14 of the season.)

When crafting a seven-round mock draft, it is first important to nail down the first selection as that has a profound effect on how the rest of the draft will go.

The Browns are sitting at No. 4 with the chance to take what many people believe to be either the third or fourth best player in the draft and best running back since Adrian Peterson. So it would seem easy for Tom Heckert to just take Trent Richardson and not over-think the situation.

The problem is that it's not that easy. The fact is, you would have to go back to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens to find a Super Bowl champion that had their offense centered around a stud running back. A few teams like the Steelers and Giants have used their running games a lot, but make no doubt, those were passing teams with great wide receivers.

So if the Browns decide that they don't want to be a run-dominant team, they need to be a passing team. The problem with that position is that they don't have a quarterback who's capable of slinging the rock 50 times a game and carving up opposing defenses. And the receivers at the top of the draft are not considered by smart people to be elite...whatever that means.

Drafting Justin Blackmon won't solve all the Browns problems. He's a great run-after-the-catch guy who has incredible athleticism. I thought he was outstanding at Oklahoma State when he looked like a guy who could be a true No. 1 receiver in the NFL.

The guy I actually liked even more was Michael Floyd—who I've been watching play since his freshman year at Notre Dame. I thought this guy was amazing. He's tall, fast, makes great catches in traffic and put up great numbers with largely unspectacular quarterbacks throwing to him. I think that Floyd is actually the one guy in this draft that I want more than anyone else to be taken.

The Browns need to decide what kind of a team they are. If they want Colt McCoy to be the guy at quarterback, then I suggest this as their scenario:

No. 4—Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

Getting a workhorse guy like Richardson who can be an every-down back would be great for Colt. Ideally, it would force defenses to pack the box and open up more one-on-one coverages on the outside. An added plus is that smart people say he's a great pass-blocker, which never hurts.

No. 22—Trade up for Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

Many people will freak out at this point saying things like "We can't afford to trade picks! We have so many holes! We need all the players we can get!" and so on and so forth.

Here's how I see it. In the NFL, more than any other sport, every team has a chance to be only a year away from making the playoffs.

Yes, I believe that if the Browns draft right and improve their play that the Browns can make the playoffs in 2012.

And for those of you who are cussing at me through your computer screens right now, wouldn't you say that the Bengals were in a similar situation last year that the Browns are in this year? And despite most football experts picking them to finish at the bottom of the league last year (or at the very least at the bottom of our division), they made the playoffs. You could say the same thing about the Broncos.

Without fail, it happens every year where a team goes from finishing last in their division to making the playoffs. I don't see any reason why it can't be the Browns.

Yes, we need an OLB and a RT as well. But all teams have holes. Heck, the Giants and Patriots, who played in the Super Bowl, had several holes in their respective teams.

So stop freaking out. There are other rounds in the draft besides the top two.

What I want out of this draft is for the offense to get talent. I want opposing teams to crap their pants when they have to game-plan to stop the Browns.

A three-headed attack of Richardson, Floyd and Greg Little is a formidable force in the NFL.

When you sprinkle in a little Josh Cribbs and Jordan Norwood at receiver, along with Chris Ogbonnaya at running back (yes, I think he'll be a contributor), you just might have yourself an offense there.

I'm not crazy about Colt McCoy, but he has shown signs that if the players around him excel, then he can have success.

Now, we have to open ourselves up the possibility that a team may jump in front of the Browns to No. 3 with the Vikings and take Richardson (rumors of this have begun to heat up, if you care to believe anything that anybody says this time of year).

If Richardson is gone, I really believe that the Browns would like to trade down. But if they go ahead and pick, it will be...

No. 4—Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU

All of the experts say that Tom Heckert loves drafting CBs. If the Browns pick Claiborne, they would have one of the best cornerback-duos in the whole NFL. They would solidify what is already a very good pass defense.

Many Browns fans would applaud this pick. But even more, I feel, would lose their minds. "Who's playing offense on this team?"

I admit, it would be nice if we could get an offensive player with this pick. But when it comes to top-ten picks, I'm a pretty strong believer in taking the best player available—within reason.

In a perfect world, the Dolphins love Ryan Tannehill and may trade up to No. 4 to get him. The Browns could then drop back to No. 8 and comfortably take Floyd while adding another second rounder.

If this most unlikely scenario were to happen, this is how I see it play out:

No. 22—Cordy Glenn, Tackle, Georgia

I've seen this pick in a few mock drafts and it only makes sense to me if the Browns take a WR with their first pick. There should be some good WRs left at this point that would be tough to pass on if we didn't take one earlier.

However, having solidified that need with Floyd, we can feel good about taking Glenn to bookend the offensive line. If he's on the board here, I think they take him.

No. 37—Lavonte David, OLB, Nebraska

There are a lot of different ways that the Browns could go with this pick. But if David is there I think they have to take him.

Kaluka Maiava is a nice player but not what you want as a starting linebacker for a whole season. I thought Chris Gocong played much better when he moved to the SAM linebacker spot and the defense as a whole improved.

Scott Fujita is dead to me. I'm not convinced that he can stay healthy for a full season, since he has yet to do that in two season in Cleveland. But more importantly, I'm not convinced that he's actually that good. I think he had something like three good plays all of last season. And he might get suspended in "Bounty-Gate." Leadership in the locker room only goes so far. It's time to move on. (Watch out Anthony Parker, you're next.)

Plug David in as the starting WILL linebacker and with Gocong and D'Qwell Jackson that's a pretty nice line-backing group.

While we're here. If the Browns can't trade down and instead take Claiborne this is about the worst-case scenario for the Browns draft. It's not terrible, but it's also not great. I believe that one of those first two picks needs to be a WR.

No. 42 (from Dolphins)—Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State

I think if Weeden is still available in the second round, and I believe he will, then I think the Browns will grab him. It might be with No. 37, but since we grabbed a second pick at the top of the second round in this semi-pipe-dream of a mock draft, this is where we'll take him.

I like Brandon Weeden a lot. I don't think necessarily that he'll be an elite QB in the NFL, but he can be very good. Think Matt Schuab. Weeden can be a guy who goes to a few Pro Bowls and is good enough to win a Super Bowl. I wouldn't use a first rounder on him, but I'd take him in the second.

He's bigger, taller, stronger and has a better arm than Colt. And at his advanced age, I believe Weeden can be a good prospect because he's more mature than most NFL rookies.

If Weeden is gone, the Browns could get a RB like Lamar Miller or David Wilson, or they could go with another WR in Alshon Jeffery.

No. 67—Lamichael James, RB, Oregon

In an example of "I don't know why some players are good at that next level and some are not," we have Lamichael James.

We all watched Oregon play and were dazzled by the play of James. He was so fast and so quick. The way he bursts through a hole is an impressive sight.

Again, the experts say that he's too small to really be an effective NFL running back and that he won't be anything but a change-of-pace guy.

I don't see any reason why he can't be a guy along the lines of Darren Sproles.

No. 100—Chase Minnefield, CB, Virginia Tech

The last time the Browns passed on drafting the son of a former Cleveland great he ended up being an All-Pro. I don't know if Minnefield is that, but he has the skills to succeed and was rated a lot higher until he had an injury last year. So, we're going to pick him here.

No. 118 (from Falcons)—DeVier Posey, WR, Ohio State

Much like with Lamichael James, I'll never understand how Brian Robiskie could go in the second round and Posey could fall this far. Some would argue that Robiskie never should have gone that high in the first place, which is a valid point.

But I thought Posey was a very productive WR for the Buckeyes, especially since the QBs he had throwing to him weren't exactly known for their throwing abilities.

Rest of the picks—Crap shoots, multiple positions and various schools

Look, I'm not going to insult your intelligence. It's hard enough to forecast what will happen in the top-ten picks of the draft let alone in later rounds. These picks are all about depth, developmental players and special-team players.

The Browns own seven selections in the final three rounds thanks to several compensatory picks.

I can't tell you what specific players the Browns will be targeting (anyone who says they can is lying to you), but I can guess about positions.

Look for Heckert to grab a couple of defensive backs, a receiver, offensive and defensive linemen, maybe a linebacker and something I would love to see—a raw but athletic pass rusher.

If the Browns don't end up drafting Weeden, they will almost surely take a quarterback in the later rounds. And if I had to pick a guy they might like, it'd be Kirk Cousins from Michigan State.

Let me just say that I don't want Cousins. But everything that I've heard and read about this guy sounds like a smart, teachable, plug-n-play QB that Mike Holmgren would love. Cousins does nothing for me. But I wouldn't be shocked if the Browns take him.

Now, after all that rambling and exploring almost every conceivable scenario, let's recap:

I think the Browns would love to grab two offensive players in the first round and certainly with two of the first three picks.

I get the feeling that they really want to take a receiver but are bound by their "must take the best player available" philosophy.

That's why I think the first pick will be...

No. 1—Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

If the Browns are not able to trade back up into the top ten or fifteen, I do not think they'll be able to get Floyd. So assuming they don't, the next pick will be...

No. 22—Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor

The stuff about his body fat seems to be a bunch of hokum. Wright has the speed and quickness that the Browns sorely need. I think he'll fit more as a slot receiver for the Browns, but in today's NFL that's not a bad thing.

The best thing about Wright is that he's a playmaker. If he's there for the Browns, I don't think there's any chance they pass on him.

Next...

No. 37—Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State

Bad news for Colt McCoy. I think Weeden has a chance to beat out Colt for the starting QB job in training camp.

He's an upgrade over Colt and you have to take him. The age doesn't concern me. For a quarterback in the NFL, I think the issue is more about years in the league than years on the earth.

If I've gotten it right to this point, I'll be shocked. So I see no point in pretending that I really know what I'm talking about. And if you've stuck with this article thus far, you already know that.

I hope this was informative for you and at the very least mildly entertaining.

Hopefully, we can all look back on this draft as the one that sprung the Browns into relevance again.

Go Browns!

You can follow Benjamin Flack on Twitter @ClevelandFlack.