Cleveland Browns Draft Day Rumors: Strictly Homeland Security

Welcome, Browns fans, to the Eric Mangini era.

There are several “hot” rumors floating around outside Cleveland Browns’ headquarters these days.

Unfortunately, the Browns’ front office neither confirms nor denies anything that is going on.

This new regime seems to treat the media as if they are Al-Quaeda operatives trying to secure U.S. national security information—they clearly will not be accused of tipping their hand.

New General Manager George Kokinas held a news conference this week in which he simply answered, “that’s internal business” when questioned about the draft, personnel matters, or the brand of toilet paper used at their training facilities.

That realization has left the local and national media scrambling for stories and instead, have reported on what they think the Browns “should” be doing as an organization.

One trade rumor that seems to have legs is that the Browns will send Braylon Edwards to the Giants for the Giants’ first round draft choice (29th overall) and some combination of wide receivers Steve Smith, Dominik Hixon and/or the Giants’ third-round selection.

The Giants’ interest in the deal makes sense, considering their loss of Plaxico Burress to pure stupidity. The Giants are throwing out feelers to Cleveland and Arizona (for Anquan Boldin).

Whatever team asking for the least amount of ransom for their prima donna wideout wins.

From the Browns’ standpoint, new coach Eric Mangini is trying to clean house of any perceived “bad clubhouse” guys even if it means trading away what little talent remains on the roster (See also, Kellen Winslow, Jr.).

Trading Edwards will create a hole the size of the Grand Canyon in the receiving corps, especially now that Winslow is gone and Dante Stallworth is facing a homicide charge in Florida.

The speculation is that one of two things must happen for this trade to get done:

1) Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree is available when they choose with the No. 5 pick.

Or

2) The Giants choose North Carolina wide receiver Hakeem Nix for the Browns at No. 29.

The Browns have to know that they are going to need some viable receiving options to replace the quirky, but talented Edwards.

The other pressing need for the Browns is to shore up any number of positions on the defensive side of the ball. They have needs at safety, inside and outside linebacker, defensive end, and cornerback, in no particular order.

The free-agency haul has been limited to stop-gaps and backups. Meanwhile, they are still stuck in a quarterback controversy between Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn

Eric Mangini has given no indication as to which guy he prefers. But there is little doubt that the Browns would like to unload one of them if they can improve their defense with a high draft pick.

Quinn is the media darling of Cleveland and there is a widely held belief that owner Randy Lerner, from a pure public relations standpoint, wants to keep Quinn.

The problem is that there seems to be little trade value around the NFL for Anderson’s services. The general consensus is that the Browns were one year late on pulling the trigger on a deal for Anderson.

Anderson was a Pro Bowl quarterback in 2007, but regressed badly in 2008.

Quinn has very little professional experience to get a good read on. However, just two years ago he was considered the number one or two quarterback in the draft.

The guess is that there are still player personnel evaluators around the league who think Quinn can succeed in the right system.

San Francisco, Washington, Seattle, Detroit, Jacksonville, Houston, and the New York Jets are all looking to upgrade the position. Whether those teams do it in the draft or by trade is a separate issue.

Look for the Browns to move Quinn to one of those teams if they can secure a low first-rounder or high second-rounder. If not, they will try to move Anderson for a third or fourth round pick.

One last rumor for Browns’ fans to keep an eye on revolves around Southern Cal quarterback Mark Sanchez. There is a lot of talk about the Browns taking him with their fifth pick if he is available, but it is more likely a smoke screen to entice some team to trade up in the draft.

Despite trying to throw everyone off their scent, the Browns covet Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry. However, if he is gone by the time the Browns pick, they would prefer to move down to garner extra picks.

If they manage to pull it off, look for the Browns to draft USC middle linebacker Rey Maualuga in the middle of the first round and use the extra pick on a safety or center in the third round.

If Curry is gone, that would be their ideal situation. Some in the national media have bought in to the Browns’ interest in Sanchez, and the Browns are hoping whoever wants Sanchez buys what they are selling, too.

There is also speculation that if there are no takers for their fifth pick, Boston College nose tackle B.J. Raji might be the choice (again, that is assuming Curry is off the board). There are rumblings that current nose tackle Sean Rogers would be ideally suited to play the end position in the 3-4 defense Mangini employs.

Because the Browns have so many needs, nothing is off the table. If nothing else, it will make for an interesting draft day for Browns fans.

Regardless, look for Eric Mangini and his sidekicks to keep treating press conferences as if they were trips to the dentist.