STEVE DOERSCHUK
Canton Repository
March 29, 2008 03:37 am
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Decisions, decisions. Should the Browns have picked ...
Gerard Warren or LaDainian Tomlinson?
Kellen Winslow Jr. or Ben Roethlisberger?
Kamerion Wimbley or Haloti Ngata?
Next month, should they choose Dwight Lowery or Antwaun Molden?
If you haven’t heard of Lowery or Molden, cornerbacks from San Jose State and Eastern Kentucky, well, it’s different this year.
They represent the Captain Anonymous-types who figure to be left when the Browns finally get to pick in Round 4.
They speak to the probability a Browns draft that doesn’t look very interesting won’t be. At least, it probably won’t be three years from now, when the grades come in.
Phil Savage sounds optimistic, of course. The fourth-year general manager says his personnel team has honed in on the best-of-the-rest phase of the April 26-27 draft, not wasting time on out-of-reach picks.
“I think we’ll do as good a job as we’ve ever done on Day 2 of the draft,” he says. “We’ll try to find a diamond in the rough.”
There have been a few pieces of silver in Savage’s first three romps through Rounds 4 and later.
It can even be argued fullback Lawrence Vickers is a half-caret diamond, unearthed in Round 7. Vickers doesn’t play a premium position, but he played it well enough in 2007 to be a Pro Bowl alternate.
It could be that Brandon McDonald, a Round 5 pick last year, is a latter-day Anthony Henry, a starter-quality cornerback with a better sense for the game than some corners picked in Round 1.
Henry, now with the Cowboys and headed for retirement as a very rich man, was a fourth-round pick by Butch Davis in 2001.
Yes, Davis was the guy whose 2001 decisions Warren to Cleveland rather than Richard Seymour or Tomlinson in Round 1, Quincy Morgan instead of Chad Johnson in Round 2, and James Jackson over Rudi Johnson in Round 3.
No sane person would trade Davis’ four first-round picks — Warren, William Green, Jeff Faine, Winslow — for the three Savage has made — Edwards, Wimbley and Joe Thomas.
In the neighborhood where the Browns will draft this year, though, it can be argued Davis was as effective during his four drafts as Savage has been in his three.
Savage’s best pickup is Joshua Cribbs, who was persuaded to join the Browns after off-the-field issues caused him to fall out of the 2005 draft. Cribbs has been a good citizen and fabulous return man.
Henry may be the best player the Browns actually have drafted after Round 3 since 1999. Teams crawl all over each other looking for good cornerbacks.
One retrospective indication of a team’s drafts is how long players last in the league.
Later Davis picks who had jobs in 2007 include Henry, Luke McCown, Kevin Bentley, Mike Lehan, Adimchinobe Echemandu, Amon Gordon, Antonio Garay, Kirk Chambers.
Lee Suggs didn’t last, but no one thought Davis foolish for spending a Round 4 pick on him when Suggs rushed for 186 yards in a season-ending win at Cincinnati his rookie year, or when he topped 100 yards in his final three games of 2004.
Bentley has been a useful player for Seattle since leaving Cleveland.
As a group, though, Davis’ later picks didn’t function well together.
Suggs, Lehan and Taylor couldn’t stay healthy. Henry was moody and uninspired by the team’s direction. The personas of the cerebral Bentley and “Big Money” Warren were oil and water. Joaquin Gonzalez and Andre King came off as teacher’s pets, employed only because they were allied with Davis at Miami.
Savage’s later picks have disappointed as a lot, but the perception could change.
Jerome Harrison (Round 5, 2006) shows signs of being an electric back. Isaac Sowells (Round 4, 2006) remains a prospect at guard. Melila Purcell (Round 6, 2007) could move into the defensive line rotation.
On balance, though, the area where Savage is drafting hasn’t been exciting.
Still, Browns fans have to amuse themselves somehow. Keep reminding yourself: Tom Brady came from the sixth round.
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