Grading the Browns Draft

Phil Taylor at 22: That's an A...huh?

Oh I'm sorry.  How concieted would it be for me, just a guy, to second-guess a GM on this draft?  Isn't that like a first grader grading his teacher?  Are you kidding?

After three years, one can grade a draft.  The results are mostly in.  Everybody has become veterans and ascended their growth curves.  That's why it's time to grade the 2011 draft.

It began with the trade with the Falcons, which wanted Herschell Jones...that is Julio bad enough to surrender #27, their second and fourth, and their first rounder in 2012.  Yes!  For one guy who wasn't a quarterback!

At the time, it was a really unpopular move in Cleveland.  Jones was the sparkly, shiny thing.  As we can see, he took the Falcons to...nevermind.

Heckert had to use more picks to move up and nab Phil Taylor.  This was also unpopular, since he wasn't one of the guys who gets to run around with the football either.  But at 21 overall, this has turned out to be an A.

With their original pick high in the second, he took Jabaal Sheard.  Yeah that's an A-plus.  "Never hearda him!  BOOOO!"  A-plus.

27th in the second (Atlanta) it was Greg Little.  Well, he subsequently caught more passes as a rookie than Jones, but with his chronic drops to date that has to be a D-plus.  (No, not an F it's low in the second round not high in the first.  Quit going overboard).

The trade for Taylor took away their third round pick.  I forgot that--let's make the Taylor pick a B that's fair...

Anyway at number five in the fourth they got this crappy tight end named Cameron, I think (BOOOO!).  That's an A-plus, obviously.

At 27 in the same round, Owen Marecic.  Ok it was low in the fourth but I'll give that an F anyway.

With the 6th pick in the fifth FIFTH round it was Buster Skrine, and that's a B-plus that low do you get that?  Fifth round?

At 19 in the fifth it was Jason Pinkston and that's a B.  (You do understand that we're almost into the sixth round, don't you?  The guy was a serviceable starter when healthy).

In the seventh it was Eric Hagg.  I think he's still in the NFL somewhere.  He was ok.  C.

The following year, Heckert used Atlanta's first rounder on Brandon WeDone, so that's an F.

Overall the 2011 draft was a C plus.  I know I snuck into the 2012 draft with Atlanta's pick, and it's too early for a final grade on 2012, but I've got to say...he traded UP for Trent Richardson, then drafted WeDone so he's WAAAY behind on that one.