2010 NFL Draft: Is Jimmy Clausen a Smokescreen for the Cleveland Browns?

The draft chess game the Cleveland Browns' front office must play continues with Jimmy Clausen being the latest move.

Team President Mike Holmgren publicly stated he wished he liked Clausen more, yet the QB from Notre Dame will be visiting the Browns soon.

Nothing a front office says or does prior to the draft should be taken as gospel, since the knowledge of who the Browns truly want with their first-round pick would affect how other teams draft, or what Cleveland may ask for in a trade involving the seventh overall pick.

The Browns supposedly are in the mix for Clausen, Sam Bradford, Eric Berry, and Joe Haden, among others. The team has numerous needs, with no long-term answer at quarterback, a thin wide receiver corps, a weak right side of the offensive line, no secondary worth mentioning, and no real depth on the defensive line.

Holmgren has said he doesn’t want to use his top two picks on a quarterback, but he's taking a look at all the No. 1 prospects anyway.

This is brilliant strategy because now the other 31 teams have to figure out if Holmgren is fibbing, or if he’s contemplating packaging some of his teams’ 12 draft picks this year to trade back up into the first or second round and grab a quarterback.

One way of looking at the Browns' interest in Clausen is that the team simply is performing its due diligence to cover every possible contingency.

It’s probably very true that Holmgren isn’t high on Clausen, but that doesn’t mean a closer look wouldn’t change his mind. And if the Browns decide to trade back up into either the first or second round, and Clausen still is on the board, forewarned is forearmed.

Take any revelation about who the Browns are taking closer looks at as nothing more than the team conducting a very extended interview process. No promises are being made, but information is being gathered so the team can make the best possible decision once Cleveland's on the clock come draft time.

It’s nice to see a coherent plan, and it would be even nicer to see that plan come together and produce some victories.