Wild thought on Browns #4 pick (1 Viewer)

[JamesTheScot]

Or we do what the Lions did.We already have the A+ Defense in tact.Now instead of trading down for the next 2 years, use the damn picks on stud offensive players.Richardson and whoever else now.Possibly Barkley next season.

We do not have an A+ defense. We have one very good player (Haden), three good ones (Rubin, DQ, and Sheard), and two that could be good (Ward and Taylor). The rest are filler. In my crazy-optimistic trade down scenario I would hope we use 2 of those 6 top 75 picks on defense - preferably CB (Casey Heyward?) and an OLB (Lavonte David?). Then that leaves the only glaring hole at DE which is filled with a rotating pile of stop gaps for now and hopefully a round 1 guy next year if (and yes it's a huge if) Colt emerges. FS too, but it's easier to get away with that than a pass rusher.

We need to take Claiborne in the first. He can be that man lock-down corner for the next decade and with Cincy and Pittsburgh accounting for 4 games each season, that's going to be important. Having Haden opposite him can free up the defense (and safeties in particular) to do a lot of things they haven't been able to do for a while. I think Claiborne's impact on the defense actually helps Cleveland go BPA the rest of the draft.RIchardson, while a tremendous talent, isn't going to make as big an impact on this team as he might on others. I also don't think Blackmon is so special that we can't afford to pass on him either. And Tannehill at 4 just makes me cringe. I think Tannehill has potential, but the risk compared to how Claiborne grades out just seems like a no-brainer to me.

I don't think we end up with Claiborne unless it's a product of a trade down and if we trade down I highly doubt Claiborne slips, but just for fun - what do you suggest we do with fixing the offense if we go Claiborne #4?I think Claiborne is the highest rated prospect available, but if we select him it won't help us score more than 13 pts/game. If there were a way to take him at 4 and still get Michael Floyd or Kendall Wright and a competent running game, great, but I'm doubting that can happen.

Claiborne can give the offense more opportunities and shorter fields by virtue of third down defense, not to mention he helps keep the other team from scoring as well. What impact is Blackmon going to have with McCoy as the QB? Outside of some unforeseen trade, we aren't fixing QB this year.Getting the top prospect at 4 is a good deal.Claiborne is a one pick impact player. Blackmon won't be. So take Claiborne in the first and go RB or WR with the next pick or just go BPA. Cleveland isn't so loaded at any position that BPA would be a bad idea. This is a multi-year rebuild.

I don't know how much of an impact Claiborne can make on a team that opponents didn't really need to bother passing on last year. They just ran the ball against the 30th ranked run defense knowing that Cleveland wasn't going to put up many points. Claiborne doesn't change that equation at all.

Sure he does. A lock down corner allows a safety to stick his head in the backfield and read run sooner and also allows more box stacking. It also allows the safety to play the run more aggressively with less fear of the play action pass. That makes a running play an 8 on 9 drill.What do we love about a deep threat WR? It can open things up for the running game. Right?So what does adding a lock-down corner do

 

[MAC_32]

I don't think we end up with Claiborne unless it's a product of a trade down and if we trade down I highly doubt Claiborne slips, but just for fun - what do you suggest we do with fixing the offense if we go Claiborne #4?I think Claiborne is the highest rated prospect available, but if we select him it won't help us score more than 13 pts/game. If there were a way to take him at 4 and still get Michael Floyd or Kendall Wright and a competent running game, great, but I'm doubting that can happen.

You could go something like Claiborne, Martin, Hill/Givens/...JeffreyClaiborne, Randle, Wilson/Lamar Miller

What would the Browns have to do to get Claiborne and either Floyd or Wright? What would they have to give up to get Floyd or Wright? What would the RB situation look like?I'm operating under the assumption the front office needs one of those top 3 WR's. The drop off after them is just too large for a team so lacking at the position.

To get Floyd would take something akin to the Browns/Falcons deal last year since he's going to go somewhere around #10.Wright's a wild card. I think he has a good chance of going to the Cards at 13 though. So that wouldn't be cheap either.

This is why I'm having a hard time thinking Blackmon's not the pick if we don't trade down AND Blackmon isn't one of those guys that had his agent leak out that he doesn't want to come to Cleveland. We need one of these guys and if we go with Rich or Claiborne we either won't get them or will have to trade most of the rest of the meaningful pick in our draft to get them.

 

[rizzler]

Heckert didn't sound too willing to take a WR at #4 from the quotes I read from his presser today.

Of course, that could be a smokescreen, but I see the honesty in that. #4 for a good but not great WR prospect is too rich for my, and probably the Browns' blood.