In the NFL Draft, the Browns build a potentially nasty defense, select a potential No. 1 receiver, and downplay the draftees' character issues.
BEREA, Ohio -- Winning the press conference after making their draft picks wasn't a big priority with the Browns' new front office.
They say winning the fights isn't either.
Flashy draft picks were a Browns tradition dating to Art Modell, who knew that skill position players taken high goosed the fan base like nothing else. There is not a lot of sizzle in trading down from No. 6 overall for four draft picks -- Atlanta's second- and fourth-rounders this year and the Falcons' first and fourth next year. Atlanta, clearly, thinks it is a player away from big things, and that that player is game-breaking wide receiver Julio Jones of Alabama.
The Browns know they need far more than that. Then again, admitting you have problems is the start of solving them.
Jones would have been the playmaker the Browns have needed at least since Braylon Edwards threw the punch at LeBron James' pal, Mini-Bron or whoever he was, and was shipped out to the Jets. Actually, long before then Edwards was not exactly bringing home the bacon when it came to securing the old pigskin.
But in the Big Picture, Atlanta made the Browns an offer they couldn't refuse.
In the smaller picture, Braylon, had he stayed, would have found sparring partners a-plenty. For the Browns have begun to construct what they hope will be a rock 'em, sock 'em defense.
Thursday, using their newly acquired picks, they traded up to select defensive tackle Phil Taylor from Baylor at No. 21 in the first round. Taylor brings baggage -- weight issues, a foot problem, early exit from Penn State because of involvement in an on-campus fight.
I saw Taylor play only once. I had to look hard. He was not very noticeable. Illinois, in its last four games the loser of three (Michigan, Fresno State, Minnesota, the last -- deep blush -- at home) beat Baylor in the Bears' first bowl game in 16 years, the Texas Bowl in Houston.
"I'm a good run stopper but I'm a good pass rusher as well. I can get to the quarterback," said Taylor, who added, "A lot of things didn't go our way in the bowl game."
A large measure of what didn't go so well was run defense against the Illini. Mikel Leshoure ran for 184 of Illinois' 229 yards in a 38-14 rout.
There is always the chance they will go more properly in Taylor's path to the quarterback. "I know how much Cleveland fans hate Pittsburgh," Taylor said, when asked about Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. "When I am going to play against him, he is going to go down."
The analysts say the second round is when the draft really begins. Teams are expected to get good players in the first round. Well, not in Cleveland, not in the past, but generally. The very good teams get good players the second and third days.
In the second round Friday, the Browns took Pittsburgh defensive end Jabaal Sheard. Taylor and Sheard, along with incumbent Ahtyba Rubin, provide the makings of a potentially nasty defensive line.
"I'm always thinking about getting to the quarterback; I want to make the crowd go 'Oooooh,'" said Sheard, who said he wanted to be like Steeler supercollider James Harrison from Kent State.
Sheard was suspended, then reinstated, before his senior season at Pitt for a fight in an art gallery. Sheard was not incensed by a rude comment about expressionism, but said he was defending a teammate. The scuffle ended in a Saturday night in Dodge City scene, with the combatants falling through a glass window.
News reports said Sheard threw the other guy through the window. Which is what Harrison would have done.
"We've done our due diligence with these guys with their character," said coach Pat Shurmur. "We think they will fit in well."
A huge fuss shouldn't be made of such incidents, as long as they are isolated. These are young guys who are lightning rods for attention and, in the wrong setting, trouble. Everyone deserves a second chance. Still, there will be plenty of chances in the future to see if the aggression is channeled properly or not.
With their other pick in the second round, the Browns took wide receiver Greg Little, one of Butch Davis' players suspended for the season at North Carolina. A No. 1 receiver in the offing, Little, 6-3, 219, took improper benefits from an agent, including diamond earrings and travel accommodations in the Bahamas.
Browns fans, in lieu of the playoffs, think of the draft as a trip to Fantasy Island. For Little, Paradise Island was close enough.
Follow Bill Livingston on Facebook and on Twitter @LivyPD
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/livingston/index.ssf/2011/04/cleveland_browns_draft_some_at.html
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