Cleveland Browns 2012 NFL Draft Grades

My thoughts on each Cleveland Browns draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft:

#3: Trent Richardson (RB) Alabama

The Good: I think Richardson is the best offensive weapon the Browns could have possibly acquired with their first draft pick.  Adding him to the team will immediately give opposing defenses something to game plan and will decrease the load on every offensive starter.  Whether running inside or outside, catching passes out of the backfield, blocking, and ball security, Trent Richardson is the creme of the crop of running back prospects, not just in this draft year, but over the past decade.

The Bad:  The only thing preventing this pick from having the ultimate grade is what the Browns gave up to move down one spot for the right to pick Richardson.  The Browns parted with a 4th round, 5th round, and 7th round picks in addition to swapping their #4 for the #3 pick.  Tom Heckert was interviewed saying another offer prompted this proactive trade, but this type of information is normally never made public.  I have a hard time believing Minnesota could have executed a trade with Tampa Bay or any other team with absolute certainty they would have received the player they coveted: Matt Kalil.  Even though they had the picks to trade, I still think they gave up enough to ding this selection slightly.

Final Grade: B+ (Trent Richardson alone is worth an A but giving up the picks dings this to a B+)

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#22: Brandon Weeden (QB) Oklahoma State

This pick is a huge sour note for me.  I have two huge questions that form the foundation for my displeasure with this pick.   First, could we have picked Weeden with the #37 pick allowing the Browns to use their #22 pick on Reiley Reiff or David DeCastro?  I think the answer is, "yes" which means we probably reached or overdrafted Weeden a bit and could have potentially had a higher rated pick.

The second question about Weeden is will he be an improvement over McCoy on this team?  Granted the offense added a few nice pieces to improve over the personnel they started last year, but the current troop at wide receiver is overloaded with players that cannot separate.  The offensive line is young and gave McCoy no time in the pocket to go through his progressions.  Will Weeden be an upgrade?  I am not so convinced he will join the team and be Andy Daulton reincarnated and am leaning to the possibility that he will really struggle next year due to the same reason Colt struggled last year.  Lack of playmakers on offense ... especially wide receiver.  The opportunity cost of not selecting another playmaker and reaching on Weeden here accelerated

I was at a tavern in Westerville, OH surrounded by Browns fans that were ecstatic at picking Richardson and the entire place cleared out within five minutes of announcing Weeden.  I was with a Steelers fan that was not too gentle rubbing in the fact the Browns could have drafted David DeCastro instead of Weeden at the 22nd pick.

An alternate scenario to think about:  What if the Browns used this 22nd pick to acquire the top tackle on the board (Riley Reiff) and selected one of the top WRs like Alshon Jefferey, Stephen Hill, or Reuben Randle at #37 while keeping Colt McCoy as the starting QB?  Which scenario would improve the team more?  I think it's a no-brainer that McCoy/Reiff/Jefferey is a better option than Weeden/Schwartz.

Final Grade: D (Drafting him at 37 would have yielded a grade of C)

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#37: Mitchell Schwartz (OT) California

I liked Mitchell Schwartz but would love to hear the rationale of why he was ranked higher than Jonathan Martin, Cordy Glenn, or Bobby Massie.  I don't mind this pick at all but would love to hear why Schwartz was graded ahead of the other tackles on the board at this pick.

Final Grade: B

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#87: John Hughes (DT) Cincinnati

Some draft ranking on John Hughes:  CBS Sports: 534th ranked prospect; Walter Football Consensus Rankings: 480th ranked prospect; National Football Post: he is not even ranked.  If we liked him this much, he would have been available after the fifth round... why waste this pick?

Is depth for DT a greater need than WR?  If the answer is yes, Brandon Thompson was picked five picks later than Hughes and was rated as a late first to second round prospect at DT.  

If we had not traded back with Denver, we could have selected either Mohamed Sanu (WR) Rutgers or Demario Davis (LB) Arkansas State instead of John Hughes.  Either of those picks would have been an upgrade over who we currently selected at each respective position.

Alternative scenarios: 

1. Don't trade with Denver and use the #67 pick on Mohamed Sanu.  Use the #100 pick on Nigel Bradham (LB).  
2. Don't trade with Denver and use the #67 pick on Demario Davis and the #100 pick on Joe Adams.  As much as I like Demario Davis, I would rather have Mohamed Sanu over Joe Adams or Travis Benjamin.

Final Grade: F

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#100: Travis Benjamin (WR) Miami

How long has it been that this team has been looking for talent at wide receiver?  Prior to last year, I remember being promised how the West Coast Offense would unlock the potential in Robiskie and Massaquoi.  After suffering through an entire season watching receivers that could not separate, most fans pined for months on how we could solve this problem.  Free agency?  We either lost out on any decent free agents or did not make the effort.  This draft was supposed to be where this team hired a #1 receiver and I am horrified by this pick.

Travis Benjamin is ranked #263 on National Football Post, #477 for CBS, and #463 at Walter Football.  I understand liking him for his speed and likeness to DeSean Jackson, but this seems like a horrible value for this pick.  Is it possible the Browns could have picked him later?  I think that is extremely likely.

The fact the Browns overdrafted Benjamin is a tiny part of why this is disappointing.  The major disappointment is that the answer to possibly the largest roster need this team has had for the past two years is... Travis Benjamin.  

Final Grade: F (understand this is a grade on the front office and not Benjamin... I would grade him a C- at this spot)

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#120: James Michael-Johnson (LB) Nevada

I would have loved to have Demario Davis (see earlier alternate scenario), but I think this is a solid pick.  Most of the scouting projections have him averaged almost exactly at this spot, so it is not an amazing value, but a solid pick.

Final Grade: B

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#160: Ryan Miller (OG) Colorado

Slight overreach on this one, but compared to Hughes, isn't severe enough to get excited about.  Miller will be good depth for Lauvao and Pinkston and might challenge one at some point in the future.

Final Grade: C+

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#204: Emmanuel Acho (LB) Texas

Emmanuel Acho is a decent prospect, but I think the Browns received great value by picking him at this spot.  His average ranking was 139, so I think the Browns really profited by taking Acho at this pick.

Final Grade: A-

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#205: Billy Winn (DE/DT) Boise State

I have an average ranking on Billy Winn at 95 (third rounder) - selecting him at 205 is the best value of any of the Browns' picks.  Even though this is not the most pressing needs, teams seem to be adopting the Giants model of thinking - you can never have enough people to rotate to the defensive line.

Final Grade: A

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#245: Trevin Wade (CB) Arizona

A pretty good value - CBS Sports had Wade ranked at 87 but a few other services were more conservative near 200.  For one of the last picks in the seventh round, not bad.

Final Grade: B

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#247: Brad Smelley (TE) Alabama

I have a hard time seeing Smelley crack the opening day roster because the Browns are loaded at tight end - unless the Browns plan to use Smelley as competition for Marecic at fullback. At this pick, not a huge difference one way or another.

Final Grade: C-

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To summarize, the Browns secured one playmaker in Trent Richardson, a starting right tackle, and at the very least, competition for McCoy at QB.  I have no idea whether James Michael-Johnson will be the starting WLB or whether Travis Benjamin is going to be a starting WR.  

This draft has a few areas to be happy with but is overall a disappointment because of the failure to address #1 wide receiver, reaching on too many picks, and failing to pull the trigger on a number of need prospects that could be had at extreme values (reference: the Cincinnati Bengals draft).  I hope to know more when this front office decides to discuss their thoughts further on this draft.  I am shaking my head as I give the Browns a final grade of C- .