2010 NFL Draft: The Cleveland Browns Needs (Tim Tebow-Free Edition)

With Super Bowl XLIV in the books, it’s officially the offseason and time for the Browns to start making some decisions.

The lessons to be learned from the Saints' victory on Sunday are many. The front office must have their ships all sailing in the same direction, the head coach should be intelligent and willing to make a few ballsy calls, and you need a franchise quarterback.

The Browns appear to have finally taken care of the front office needs, as President Mike Holmgren clearly is the man in charge. There have been a lot of changes at the Berea Complex in the last six weeks, hopefully all for the better.

Head Coach Eric Mangini is intelligent, but he’s still growing into his role. Last year showed the flaws in his “I can do everything” approach that Holmgren’s presence most certainly should cure.

But this team does not have a franchise quarterback, and after six weeks, there’s no indication any of the quarterbacks on the roster will be taking snaps from Alex Mack come August.

Brady Quinn’s performance was too inconsistent to make him a lock for the starting position in 2010. He still could develop, but you have to hedge your bets at this point, especially if the Browns are going to stick with Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator.

Derek Anderson most likely has played his last down in a Browns’ uniform. If his career is to be resurrected in any way, it should be somewhere else. It’s time for the “change of scenery” scenario to be applied to Anderson.

That leaves Brett Ratliff, the third-string quarterback who Mangini brought over from the Jets. But if Ratliff never saw the field in 2009 and the Jets didn’t think enough of him to keep him around, how much of a future does he have?

Going into the draft, the Browns need so much help in their secondary, and there is so much talent in that area available in the draft, the Browns have to go defense in the first round. Any other pick just wouldn’t make that much sense given who his available and who won’t be available when it comes time for the Browns to pick again in the second round.

I’ve speculated the Browns could take Colt McCoy if he’s still available in the second round. Provided Holmgren doesn’t take another quarterback in free agency, I’m going to stick to that speculation.

The more likely draft scenarios have McCoy long gone by then, and for good reason. At that point, you wait until the third round to take a quarterback. This represents a lot less investment and more time for the quarterback to develop.

Yes, Tim Tebow could still be around for the taking in the third round after his sub-par performance in the Senior Bowl, but I wouldn’t even think of drafting Tebow until the fourth round.

An athlete like Tebow is worth taking in the fourth round and seeing what you could do with him. He might develop into a quarterback, he might not. Worst case scenario is he moves to another position and excels there.

(Yes, I lied about this piece being Tebow-free)

The Browns also will look for help at tight end, another wide receiver, and a right tackle. With 11 picks, all of the areas should get some kind help.

It should be an exciting offseason for the Browns, and fans like myself are counting down to the April Draft.