Cleveland Browns 2012 Draft: Drafting Brandon Weeden Might Be Holding Team Back

The 2012 NFL draft started off for Cleveland Browns fans with a trade up to the Minnesota Vikings' No. 3 spot in order to snag Alabama running back Trent Richardson.  

Their first-, fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round picks were a lot to give up to move up one spot, but this trade was justifiable with the number of picks than the Browns held.

Selecting Weeden with the 22nd overall pick in the draft, however, makes very little sense.  

The first concern with Weeden is his age.  He is already 28 and will turn 29 later this year.  For comparison, that is older than Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and just a year younger than Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.  

There are also some concerns about the system he played in during college.  Weeden played in a shotgun-based spread-passing attack.  These types of systems normally inflate passing stats and are require a fairly large adjustment to the pro game.  

Weeden also had the advantage of playing alongside one of the best receivers in college football in Justin Blackmon.  He will not have that luxury playing in Cleveland.

Drafting Weeden at all was a pretty risky move.  Taking him in the first when he probably would've been there in the second round is silly.  

The teams that pick between pick's 22 and 37 all have their quarterback situations figured out or are heavily invested in that position.  

The team in the worst position would be the Minnesota Vikings, who would not take Weeden with Ponder on the roster.  The teams with dire quarterback issues all addressed them, so it's tough to see anyone trading up for a non-developmental backup.

During the draft, everything looked like it was falling into place perfectly for the Browns.  Just about everyone was picking defensive players.  

With two big holes on the offensive line and no real playmaking receivers, it really looked like the dream scenario to get both of those squared away.  

The top guard, David DeCastro, was still available, even though he was projected to go much earlier in most mock drafts.  The second-ranked tackle, Riley Reiff, was also available.

All in all, this pick is simply a reach when the Browns have plenty of other positions to worry about.  This pick is a gamble that Weeden will be able to come in and play well instantly.  

They're also banking on being able to get all the other positions sorted out in the next year or two. 

If Weeden doesn't quite pan out, the Browns are likely to mire in mediocrity for several years.  If he flat out fails, it's a wasted pick when they could have gone with a sure thing.