2007 NFL Draft: D-Day for C-Town

We are merely hours away from the 2007 NFL Draft. This draft is one of the most important drafts in recent history for the Cleveland Browns. A successful draft means that Romeo is around a few more years, Charlie Frye or DA have a better chance to be a successful NFL quarterback, and the Cleveland Browns organization can show the fans that they are capable of assembling a competitive football team for the first time in years. A failed draft will have dire consequences. Romeo may not survive the entire season, our quarterbacks will never see a starting job again in the NFL, and the fans are forced to endure another coach, coaching staff, and years of never ending rebuilding.

To succeed in the NFL Draft, the Browns must, and I do mean MUST draft Joe Thomas if is he is available at the third pick. Joe Thomas, along with Eric Steinbach would anchor the left side for a decade to come, and provide much needed protection for our quarterback. Joe Thomas is a hard working, blue collar professional that the fans in Cleveland will love. IF Thomas is taken ahead of us, that means that Russell or Johnson are available, and you trade off of the pick immediately to acquire more picks.

I have purposefully left out Adrian Peterson and Brady Quinn. The Browns must NOT draft either one of these players. Quinn is a product of an over hyped Notre Dame media machine, who never won the big game in college. Peterson is the best running back in the draft when he is healthy. The question is, can he stay healthy for an entire NFL season. That is a huge gamble to roll the dice on with the third overall pick. The absolute worst scenario would be that the Browns trade UP. We have too many holes to be able to afford to lose even one pick, let alone multiple picks this year or in the future. Russell and Johnson are the two most coveted players, which would mean that teams would salivate over the fact that they could trade up to get either one. By all means, as long as we stay in the top 10, I say we trade out of the third pick and acquire at the very least a second and third round pick this year and an early pick next year.

Keep in mind that the Browns have early picks in the second and third round, and that we will absolutely be able to find a solid CB and RB in those rounds. One of the ESPN.com drafts had us taking Chris Houston, CB out of Arkansas in the third round, and OSU RB Antonio Pittman in the third round. Unfortunately, this same mock draft has us drafting Brady Quinn with the third overall pick. That being said, Thomas, Houston, and Pittman in the first three rounds would not only be the most intelligent scenario, but it would make Browns fans from Cleveland to Columbus drunk in hope for a successful 2007 season.