Read More: Plaxico Burress (WR – NYG), Torrey Smith (WR – Maryland), Mohamed Massaquoi (FL – Georgia), Julio Jones (WR – Alabama), A.J. Green (FL – Georgia), Mohamed Massaquoi (WR – CLE), Cleveland Browns, Georgia Bulldogs

Mike Holmgren’s home run comments was ringing fresh in my mind during the NFL Combine after seeing the numbers pop up for the top WR targets for the Cleveland Browns. And the more I think about it, the more I have this gut feeling that the Browns will look towards a wideout in general with one of their first two picks. But who and how they take one is the question with which I continue to grapple.

It’s pretty clear that the breakdown of wide receivers are as follows:

1.) A.J. Green (Georgia)

2.) Julio Jones (Alabama)

3.) Torrey Smith (Maryland)

And all three offer that “home run” ability that the Browns absolutely need. I’m not discounting Cleveland’s glaring defensive weaknesses. That much is still blatantly clear, but with the draft more of an even playing field, rather than a set in stone hierarchy defensively, I get the feeling that the Orange and Brown will look towards acquiring picks and setting their focus in the 2nd-4th rounds for their defensive scheme.

So what strategies can the Browns take? First and foremost, if A.J. Green is there at six, that’s the answer. That’s the easy plan. Former Bulldogs’ WR Mohamed Massaquoi spoke to the Plain Dealer about Green’s playmaking ability:

“I’m not up on all the combine numbers yet, but I think A.J. is the best receiver in this draft,” said the Browns’ third-year receiver. “He’s got phenomenal hands, he runs well and he’s physical. He’s got a tremendous body of work at Georgia. If you put all of that up against anybody, I think A.J. would come out on top.”

But if Green is off the board, Julio Jones’ draft stock skyrocketed at the combine with his metrics.

Widely regarded as the second-best wideout, Jones (6-4, 220) recorded a 4.39 in the 40, 11’3″ in the broad jump and 38.5 inches in the vertical jump. His broad jump was two inches away from the combine record.

Would Jones be worthy of the sixth overall pick if a team in the top five snatches Green? There’s an argument to be made there. But if the Browns feel confident that he will slip a few picks based on some of the needs of the teams below them, there’s another option: trading down. Unless a team has the #1 overall pick, or there is an absolute can’t-lose in the top ten, I always advocate trading down in the first place.

If you are picking in the top ten, it’s pretty obvious that you need a lot to make your team more competitive, so stocking up on picks is a great idea. If it is looking like Jones will go in the 10th-15th range, and a team below them needs a defensive lineman or linebacker who is still on the board (like Dareus, Quinn or Bowers), they might be able to find a taker.

And if that isn’t an option, Torrey Smith is still looking like a guy that could be there late in the first or early on in the second. Although he reportedly struggled with his route running,  he ran an unofficial 4.37 40 (later changed to a 4.43) and is still targeted somewhere between 25th and 40th in the draft.

Although the routes give me pause, there is an excuse–Maryland didn’t exactly force him to run crisp routes. He was used as a deep threat his entire career, and while others were possession receivers, he was out there to get safeties to shade his side and put him in double coverage. If the Browns are confident that they can work on his route running, he is still a very viable solution.

Regardless of whether the Browns go offense or defense, it is reassuring that there are wideouts who can make an immediate impact for a team that is in desperate need of a big play receiver. And if they choose to go defense, or strike out with the guys they want, there is always free agency (Plaxico Burress, come on down).

Published: Monday, February 28, 2011, 7:59 AM     Updated: Monday, February 28, 2011, 9:12 AM

Before the combine, there was chatter that the Cleveland Browns should use their sixth-overall pick on a defensive tackle or on Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green.

But it looks like the Browns are taking a close look at LSU corner Patrick Peterson. And despite Green’s play in college, Alabama’s Julio Jones put up impressive numbers at the combine.

So who do you take?

 

Who should the Browns select in the first round?survey software

Published: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 9:58 PM     Updated: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 10:22 PM

INDIANAPOLIS — Browns General Manager Tom Heckert thinks receiver Brian Robiskie, who came on strong at the end of last season, is a great fit for the new West Coast offense.

“I think Brian’s got a great future for us, I really do,” said Heckert. “He can catch the football, he’s a bigger guy, I think he fits very, very well in what we’re doing offensively. We run a lot of slants and shallow crossing routes and I think he’s very, very good at that. I think he’s going to be good for us.”

Heckert acknowledged the team saw progress with Robiskie, a second-round pick in 2009, as the season wore on. Of course, the receivers weren’t involved in the offense as much as they will be in the new scheme.

“He didn’t catch a ton of balls (29 for 310 yards and three TDs), but we saw improvement and I think he’s got a chance to be a good player, I really do,” said Heckert.

Heckert took exception to NFL Network’s Mike Lombardi saying the Browns and Ravens are two of the slowest teams in the NFL receiver-wise.

“I don’t think we have one blazing guy, but I don’t think our receivers are slow by any stretch, I really don’t,” he said. “Both of those guys came out and ran pretty well. I don’t know if we have a complete burner, but I don’t see us as a slow wide receiver group.”

Published: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 7:58 PM     Updated: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 7:58 PM

INDIANAPOLIS — The Browns were one of several teams reminded this week by the NFL that players are not supposed to “meet” with coaches or be given playbooks during this period of the off-season.

The issue came up, according to sources, after a story in The Plain Dealer reporting that quarterback Colt McCoy had been meeting with new coach Pat Shurmur since the Super Bowl. It was also reported that the Browns intended to give McCoy a portion of Shurmur’s offensive playbook before the possible owners lockout on March 4 so that McCoy would have something to study during the work stoppage.

In comments not used in the original story, Browns President Mike Holmgren said on Wednesday, “It’s an interesting time. Organizations have to be very careful on how you do things. You can’t do anything you haven’t done in the past. The fact Pat Shurmur is new … Colt and some players have come in. We can give him a playbook, have him study it, but you can’t have meetings. You have all this stuff going on, so at the very least you’ve got to be able to give him [a playbook].”

Apparently, not so.

At a meeting with coaches and GMs at the NFL Scouting Combine, the league pointed out that existing rules forbid meetings with coaches and the dispensing of playbooks until the official start of off-season conditioning programs on March 15. The league is saying the off-season rules were a concession to the wishes of the players union, which did not want coaches pressuring players to meet with coaches until the off-season programs kicked off.

Shurmur and Browns GM Tom Heckert declined to expound on the meeting with league officials.

Heckert said, “I’m not going to get into what we can and can’t do. There are rules on everything. We’re just going about it as whatever they say, we are going to obey them.”

Shurmur denied that he and McCoy have held “meetings” to discuss the team’s new offense. He said some of the Browns players working out in the team’s headquarters have simply stopped in to meet their new head coach.

“There’s a new head coach in the building and they’re just curious about coming in and meeting him,” Shurmur said. “I haven’t told any of them to come in. I think it’s just normal protocol. We’re just getting to know one another.”

It is ridiculous, of course, for the league not to allow players to get a jumpstart on their new offense or defense voluntarily. But these are not ordinary times and the league apparently is going to play hardball with the players union every chance it gets.

It figures: The Browns are one of a handful of teams that have changed coaches and are implementing completely new systems on both offense and defense. Therefore, they would appear to suffer more hardships in an owners lockout and complete league shutdown.

Shurmur, however, will have none of that.

“Whatever happens, 32 teams will be in the same situation. I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I feel as though we’ve hired some great teachers and the systems we’re going to teach and employ are proven. I trust and am confident that we’ll get it done.”

More hardball: NFL coaches will feel the effects of a lockout in their paychecks. According to Larry Kennan, executive director of the NFL Coaches Association, as many as 20 percent of coaches in the NFL will see paycuts approximating 30 percent if there is a lockout beyond 30 days.

Kennan said any new coach hired in the past three years — head coaches and assistants — have had to agree to lockout language in their contracts. Two teams have indicated immediate paycuts and possible termination if there is a lockout, Kennan said.

“The ‘good’ teams have said they will conduct business as usual as long as they can,” Kennan said. “They also say paycuts would be recouped when the lockout ends.”

Kennan said the lockout language has fueled talk of the coaches forming a union to recoup perks they lost when the economy soured in 2009. Since then, 12 teams have removed coaches from team pension plans and reduced or eliminated other benefits.

The teams that ceased pension benefits, Kennan said, are San Diego, Arizona, Atlanta, San Francisco, New Orleans, Buffalo, Jacksonville, New England, Dallas, Houston, Washington and Tampa Bay.

More reax on Shurmur: St. Louis Rams General Manager Billy Devaney believes Shurmur, the club’s offensive coordinator the past two years, will be a successful head coach.

“You know, you hear the stuff about players and coaches ‘getting it.’ More than anything, Pat gets it,” Devaney said. “He’s got a great way with players, relating to them, understanding them. Knowing when to push, when to back off. He’s got a really good offensive mind. But besides that, just the way he relates with players I think is fantastic.”

Asked for specifics, Devaney cited Shurmur’s role in developing quarterback Sam Bradford in his rookie year.

“The way he interacted with same. [Former QB coach] Dick Curl and Pat were the two guys that were around Sam all last year,” Devaney said. “The way those guys just hit it off and the way they worked well together the whole season I think was really impressive.”

Published: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 4:06 PM     Updated: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 4:47 PM

INDIANAPOLIS — Browns general manager Tom Heckert praised Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers and the other top defensive lineman in the draft at the NFL Combine today.

Bowers, projected to go No. 1 overall by some draft experts, led the nation with 15.5 sacks in 2010.

“He’s a super-productive guy,” said Heckert. “He’s a big guy that can rush the passer. Anytime you can get a guy like that, you’d have to be interested.”

On North Carolina end Robert Quinn, who sat out last season after accepting money from agents, Heckert said that wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for him. He said he’d investigate and make a determination on Quinn’s character.

But he praised his pass-rush ability and said sitting out a year could mean one less season of wear and tear. He said Quinn could go No. 1 or slip down the board.

As for Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairly, Heckert said his reputation as a dirty player is unwarranted. “It’s not after the whistle,” Heckert said. “It’s more toughness than being a dirty player.”

He said Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is a “high-motor guy, relentless, makes plays all over.”

He also praised Purdue end Ryan Kerrigan, calling him a “supreme playmaker” and thinks Ohio State end Cam Heyward “can be a defensive tackle for us, I really do.”