Cleveland Browns

HISTORY
Not to be confused with the original Cleveland Browns, this team was founded as an NFL expansion franchise in 1999 and has never relocated.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY
League Championships: None

Conference Championships: None

Division Championships: None

Playoff Appearances: 1 – 2002

Recent Records:

2004: 4-12 2005: 6-10 2006: 3-13 2007: 10-6 2008: 4-12 2009: 5-11 2010: 5-11

2011 Draft Grade

Cleveland Browns (C)
21: Phil Taylor (26, 28 = 27) -6
37: Jabaal Sheard (35, 45 = 40) -3
59: Greg Little (58, 150 = 104) -45
102: Jordan Cameron (130, 97 = 114) -12
124: Owen Marecic (187, 152 = 170) -46
137: Buster Skrine (107, 162 = 135) +2
150: Jason Pinkston (162, 137 = 150) +0
248: Eric Hagg (159, 205 = 182) +66

The Browns traded out of the #6 spot, a spot where many had them picking up Julio Jones as a playmaker on a team with very few options in the passing attack. The system doesn’t have anything to say about trades, but it did allow the Browns to walk away with three players in ESPN’s Top 60 (Taylor, Sheard, and Little). Ovearll, they ranked out about average – gaining some value late, and keeping close to the consensus throughout. I think a lot of Greg Little and Sheard will be a nice player for the Browns defensive line.

Draft Pick Total: 878 – Player Rankings Total: 922—- TOTAL RANKING: -44

2011 Mock Draft

Cleveland Browns 5-11 – A.J. Green, WR, Georgia: Maybe he doesn’t last this long, but after Julio Jones tested out better than Green during the combine (and I could care less, I’d still take Green 10 times out of 10) Green might have lost a little bit of his value. He’s the better receiver, but his numbers didn’t shoot of the charts, and maybe that keeps him on the board until the 6th pick. That being said, he was the best offensive player in college football last season, completely transforming Georgia’s offense when he returned from his 4-game suspension. Green would do the same for the Browns’ diversity within their offense.

2009 Fantasy Football Notes

Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Jamal Lewis, James Davis, James Harrison, Braylon Edwards, Mohammad Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie

These guys could all be fantasy relevant in 2009, but there’s also a good part of me that wants to say I would like to go the entire season without owning a Brown. Braylon Edwards, the most talented of the bunch, has spent much of the off-season bitching about everything, eating his way into bad shape, and getting in a coaches’ dog house (Mangini’s) that nobody wants to be in. But he’ll likely be the top fantasy player on this team, if Jamal Lewis isn’t. Lewis and Edwards are the only guys I’d have on my team, but this offense just doesn’t excite me. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson are competing to be the Top QB, and I think Brady should win. But with Kellen Winslow gone, and leading an offense that was anything but successful in 2008, neither should be considered starter worthy. James Davis is a nice young back from Clemson, and he could be the next RB in line to get carries when Lewis goes down, or maybe when he’s no longer a Cleveland Brown. I’ve always liked James Harrison, but he’s never been a threat to Jamal’s carries. Mohammad and Brian are two rookies competing for the #2 job at WR, and I like Massaquoi more. Robiskie was the higher draft pick, and apparently the guy is more polished, so pay attention if you want a deep sleeper in 2009.

2008 NFL DRAFT GRADES

Cleveland Browns: C+

Saying the team needed a running back is overdoing it. Jamal Lewis isn’t old, and you don’t really need a running back until you think the one you have is finished. The team has capable back-ups if Lewis misses a few games, and maybe next season they will grab a stud back to replace Jamal. The Browns traded for young talent during the off-season, giving up draft picks for 1st round talent. Adding two immensely talented defensive tackles in Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams should do wonders for their run and pass defense. Both mammoth tackles put a lot of pressure on quarterbacks, giving the secondary less time in which they actually have to work. The Browns traded away their 1st round pick this season to get Brady Quinn last year. While Brady is still just a back-up, you have to believe he would have been a top pick in this year’s draft.

As for the draft, the Browns didn’t get to pick until the 4th round, and that made it tough for them to acquire help right away. However, they need some help at linebacker, and with their first pick (4th rounder) they grabbed Beau Bell. Bell is a big linebacker that was a tackle machine for UNLV. He is talented and cocky.

Martin Rucker, with their 2nd 4th round pick, was very productive in college, and has an older brother that had a nice NFL career (Mike Rucker, DE, Carolina). Rucker had a great senior season, and has shown an ability to adjust to the ball and make people miss. He’s not as talented as Kellen Winslow, but he is a nice security blanket in case of injury.

With two 6th round picks, the Browns selected Ahtyba Rubin (DT from Iowa State) and Paul Hubbard (WR from Wisconsin). Both are projects that didn’t produce like all-stars in college. Rubin has decent size and he can add muscle while Hubbard has great size and speed. Neither will contribute right away.

Alex Hall (DE from St. Augustine) is a very tall and relatively thin defensive lineman that probably will become a situational pass rusher if he makes the Browns roster. He was a solid player at a small school, and his athleticism is what got him drafted.

Overall, the Browns didn’t have many draft picks to grade, and with just 2 picks in the first 5 rounds (two 4th rounders) they didn’t get much in terms of the help the needed. I like Rucker, but I’m not sure if Bell will be much more than a 2-down middle linebacker in the NFL. We’ll see. Add Corey Willams (stud) Shaun Rodgers to this draft – and it gets better.
2007 Cleveland Browns

Basically, the only thing the Browns did consistently in 2006, was lose. Popping out half as many wins as the year before is never a good thing, but especially so when you consider the Brownies only piled 6 W’s in 2005. All in all, the Browns disappointed all over the field. Their top free agent, LeCharles Bentley, never set toe to field on Sundays, sustaining a knee injury that will keep him out in 2007 as well. The relationship between Charlie “Brown” Frye and his two top receiving threats, Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards, was less than stellar, while Reuben Droughns struggled to accumulate numbers anywhere near the stat line he produced in a half years duty with the Broncos. Basically, the Browns have some decisions to make this off season, more so than most other teams. Practically their entire coaching staff, sans head coach Romeo Crennel, isn’t with the team, so a new start might have them in the right direction.

2007 Off-Season Plans:

None of the “key” off season signings of 2006 played much of a difference making roll for Coach Crennel and his Brownies, but what they did do was use a majority of their money on one player, ex-Bengal super guard, Eric Steinbach. Big E should help the Browns get back to running the football, something they have done fairly well over the years, sans last season, and will be even better at if “they” are right when the Draft comes around, because Adrian Peterson could find himself in a Brown jersey. But right now, the Browns have just recently signed Jamal Lewis, a former Raven, looking to get back to his old self. Lewis’s signing allowed the Browns to trade disappointing Reuben Droughns to the Giants. Bu honestly, I think I’d rather have Droughns than Lewis, but maybe he has more left in the tank than I thought. If the Browns aren’t enamored by either Charlie Brown of Derek Anderson, they could take the Brady Quinn plunge, but I still see Peterson making his way to Cleveland. Another receiver would help the Browns, but with Braylon Edwards (future star) and Joe Jurevicius manning the flanks, look for the Browns to gobble up an actual need, and get younger and better on the defensive side of the ball after round numero uno.

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