Draft tidbits

[Icness]

Taken from a column by my friend Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer...

Quote:
LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson will visit the Browns next week, sources said.

Peterson will visit on Wednesday and Quinn will be in on Thursday. Russell will most likely visit on another day. They're three of the four players the Browns are seriously considering with the No. 3 overall pick in the April 28 NFL draft, including Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas.

As of Thursday night, the Browns had not yet scheduled a visit with Thomas. "But they know his game is as clean as anyone's in the country," said his agent, Peter Schaffer. "They don't necessarily need to bring him in, and I don't think they think he'll be there at No. 3."

What's important about that:
1. No mention of Calvin Johnson, which means TB has no incentive to move up but does send a signal to another team that desperately wants him (Minnesota or Atlanta) that the pick is available if you want him. I suppose you could also read it as they believe Raiders are taking Johnson, but that seems less likely all the time.
2. The Browns are convinced the Lions are taking Thomas, which I've been saying for months now.
3. They are meeting with Russell and Quinn both after those two have met with the Raiders in hopes that Oakland might have tipped their hand or just to confirm they are taking Russell. The Browns would love for Russell to fall to them.

[TheOUTLAW]

I've heard that the speculation was that Thomas would go #2, but that really should open up some opportunities for trades. The only reason the Bucs might trade with us is the fear that we might trade the pick to someone that might be interested in Johnson. However with Thomas going second it eliminates the possibility of Arizona wanting to trade with us so that they can get him.

[B Mac]

Icness does your gut still tell you we will be drafting Peterson or do you see someone else will be the guy, or even do you think we'll trade the pick?

[Cevap]

Icness does your gut still tell you we will be drafting Peterson or do you see someone else will be the guy, or even do you think we'll trade the pick?

Sneak peek of my next mock draft, which should be up somewhere on this site by midweek:

3. Cleveland Browns--Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame. I

[Cevap]

If Johnson really is the real deal I think that we should pick him. Hopefully we can then trade him for some draft picks but if not he could be our number 1 receiver. Even though Braylon was #3 a couple years back, the guy has not impressed me at all. He drops way too many balls to be a superstar in this league



The key to the draft will be the second round pick. The first rounder will be hard to mess up but depending on what we do in the 2nd round, it could decide our year...we need a reliable corner

[Smooth32]

God I hope Russell doesn't fall to the Browns... I just don't think Russell will be a good quarterback in the pro's, I just don't see it... And potentially getting a another bust quarterback for this franchise will set it back...

I'm surprised to see that Thomas is almost a lock to go to the Lions... I would think they would try to grab Russell or Quinn, but with Martz, he's probably going to want to draft a guy like Kolb later and develop him...

Agreed with the assessment on the Browns pick, Icness... The coaching staff wants to win now because of their jobs being on the line but Phil wants whats best for the future... Even though, Peterson may be the best of both of those worlds...

[Icness]

Quinn made his Cleveland visit today. By all accounts it's still 50/50 between Quinn and Peterson being the pick.

One thing I know is troubling Phil Savage: There's a lot of interest in dealing up to get Quinn, but there's absolutely no chatter or buzz about anyone moving up to get Peterson. Savage is a scout at heart, and when you scout you learn how to value other scouts' opinions and read into those what their teams think as well. Which leads me to believe they'll draft Quinn and then see what offers pour in for him as the draft unfolds.

[Smooth32]

Quinn made his Cleveland visit today. By all accounts it's still 50/50 between Quinn and Peterson being the pick.

Apparently he was wearing an orange shirt into the workout...

What if Russell falls to the Browns, does that change everything?

[TheOUTLAW]

I'm just not a BQ fan. He might end up being everything that folks have speculated, but the fact that he didn't perform against the better competition along with the rumor that some scouts feel he's maxed out scare me to death.

[TheOUTLAW]

By the way, check out this site that does a mock according to team needs.

http://www.drafttek.com/index.html

[rjgraca]

Thomas is the safest pick and would bring immediate impact of making the Browns offensive line solid for the first time since 1999.

[

b]Team Report: Inside Slant[/b]

"Picking Joe Thomas might not be the most exciting pick, but it could be the wisest thing for us to do that this point. We'll see how it all plays out."

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/teamReport ... nsideSlant

[snazel]

Iceness, did you hear personally from someone that Savage liked Quinn over Peterson yet Crennell/staff want Peterson over Quinn? I find that interesting because I would've thought Crennell would be on Quinn's jock for a quick fix and considering he has personal ties with Weiss whereas Savage knows he's not in as much pressure and would the the better althlete/talent with Peterson , IMO. Also, to the poster above, I actually think Peterson and Quinn are just as safe picks as Thomas - I don't think he's any less of a risk. He has his fair share of injury concerns as well as the lack of a real 'dominant' streak found in many LTs. Thomas has great feet, but I don't think pass protection from our LT position was a concern last season. Shaffer eventually started to improve in pass pro, was always a solid run blocker, and had to compensate many times with the should-be-cut LG Andruzzi. So even though I have a diff. opinion on Thomas being a safer pick, lets say he is. What's to say he'll make as much an impact as Quinn or Peterson? I personally don't think he would, which is why I'd take Peterson and Quinn over Thomas if I were Savage

[gflem]

after watching charlie run for his life game after game, I think o-line is the one position that has the greatest potential for impact on the performance of the team as a whole.

IF they can run the ball and keep the defense from being on the field for forty mins a game the improvement of this team would be dramatic imo. with petersen being damaged goods how does strengthening the o-line not impact the offense, and in turn the def as well?

[B Mac]

Who's going to run the ball though? If you are putting your faith in Jamal Lewis being healthy all season I think you are in serious trouble, and the RB's behind Lewis are certaintly not every down backs.

[snazel]

I think the Browns are very heavily interested in two RBs outside of Peterson. One being Michael Bush, and the other being Chris Henry, who Adam Caplan said is a "lock" to be our pick in the second rd - to me this implies that we'll be dealing down in rd 2. if Caplans info is worth anything.