Hmm.. ick. This has been like every single Browns draft in the past few years... adding a "weapon," an option...
So... if we do draft Peterson, and then Smith in the 2nd round....
Then we'll have Troy Smith at the helm by the end of the season, Peterson / Droughns out of the backfield, Braylon and KW2 receiving, hopefully with JJ as the surefire #2 and maybe Travis Wilson/Cribbs in the slot. But even with this high potential, star studded lineup, it will be behind the worst O-LINE in the NFL, and nothing will be done, as has been for the past few years.
Of course you want our O-line to grow and mature, but it has done nothing to resemble that. We almost fixed it by plugging in LeCharles Bentley, but alas, we got struck down with year after year injury. Aside from that, we've been plugging idiots, half-way guys, and washed ups (Shaffer, Andruzzi) hoping that they'll be able to block. We've never had a big time guy on our line, and now is the time.
I'd rather trade up to get Joe Thomas or Sam Baker in the first, nab up Troy if he's still there in the 2nd, grab the best RB available in the 3rd, and draft some more OL ,some CB depth, and a gargantuan DT in the later rounds.
Sidenote: If we don't take Smith in the 2nd round, then there will be rumblings around Cleveland. He has the hometown nostalgia, everyday fans will point to his success at OSU, and if he succeeds we will be condemned forever. And, above all, he wants to play here.
We of course do NOT take him in the 1st, not with our top-10 pick, as rumblings will come from the other side as pick that should have filled another need first, as interest from other teams are much less than ours. We either trade down to nab him late in the first, or hope he falls to our 2nd rounder.
As far as I'm concerned, the teams that are in the market to draft QB's, in the first round, are as such:
Detroit (Kitna has proven inadequate)
Buffalo (JP Losman is too inconsistent)
Jacksonville (Leftwich is over, Gerrard isn't their man either)
Baltimore
And possibly
Oakland (but are still high on Walter and need WR help)
Green Bay (still have Rodgers to showcase after Favre)
Miami (have needs everywhere, might stick with Daunte/Joey for 1 more)
Houston (might hold off to give Carr some breathing room)
Minnesota (giving Tavaris Jackson his chance this year)
NYJ (RB is more important given their current carousel)
Out of all of these, I believe our #1 threat to lose Troy in the first round would be to Baltimore. Assuming they are eligible, Brady Quinn, JaMarcus Russell, and Brian Brohm will likely go before Smith, leaving Baltimore with the decision.
Sad as it may seem, the Browns have always had a fairytale story of the born loser, and considering the Ravens have taken everything away from us in the past, it's only appropriate that they'll look to do it again. They're in a reasonable position to draft him, with McNair aging and the lack of real confidence in Boller. All we can hope is that they turn their interests to a QB in the later rounds, or one of their better prospects falls to them ahead of Smith.
