Which Rookies Could Start Right Away for the Cleveland Browns?

When a team has three of the first 37 picks of the draft, you expect them to rely on their rookies more heavily than any other team. The surprising result of an analysis of which rookies the Cleveland Browns could include in their starting 22 against the Eagles in Week 1 is that injuries and poor recent drafting could force them to start as many six first-year players.

Let's start with the obvious choices. The No. 3 overall pick Trent Richardson will be the Browns' starting running back. Fellow first-rounder quarterback Brandon Weeden will start barring a preseason meltdown no matter what general manager Tom Heckert and team president Mike Holmgren say about an open competition at his position. Second-round right tackle Mitchell Schwartz will be better than Oniel Cousins even while he adjusts to the speed and power of the NFL game on the fly.

All three took first-team snaps at this week's OTA practice open to the media according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and they will almost certainly do the same in September. Teams in the midst of rebuilding like the Browns often put their top rookies in from day one, and the Cincinnati Bengals proved last year that rookie-led teams can even make the playoffs.

Having two first-round picks and an early second-round pick starting shouldn't raise any eyebrows. Trotting out a third-rounder and two fourth-rounders, on the other hand, can never be a good sign for a team's fortunes.

The Browns have been happy with third-round defensive tackle John Hughes in OTAs and envisioned him as a rotational player right away, so he should push Scott Paxson to start at nose tackle in place of Phil Taylor, who is out until at least late October with a torn pectoral muscle.

Mohamed Massaquoi has alternatively been a tease and disappointment during his three years in the league, so head coach Pat Shurmur has already left open the possibility that fourth-round wide receiver Travis Benjamin could win a Week 1 starting role.

Outside linebacker Scott Fujita is appealing his three-game suspension for his role in the Saints bounty scandal. If he's unsuccessful (and most appeals are), the Browns could turn to fourth-round pick James-Michael Johnson. ESPNCleveland's Tony Grossi recently said Johnson was the favorite to replace Fujita during his suspension.

Misfortune, mismanagement and missives from league offices about intent to injure have combined to leave the Browns in a position to have six players starting their first regular-season game in the NFL. Thirteen years into the reboot of their franchise, the Browns still feel like an expansion team.