There go the draft picks
Posted March 1st, 2008 by Marla Ridenour
Trading for defensive tackles Corey Williams of Green Bay and Shaun Rogers of Detroit left the Browns without a pick in the first three rounds of the April 26-27 draft.
Cleveland surrendered its No. 1 to Dallas last year on draft day to select quarterback Brady Quinn. Then Friday it gave up a second-rounder for Williams and a third-rounder for Rogers.
But general manager Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel didn't seem concerned.
"Brady Quinn is the first-round draft choice, Corey Williams is the second-round draft choice and Shaun Rogers is the third-round draft choice. We've jumped out in front and had our draft early," Crennel said. "As a result of having an early draft we were able to get experienced players who have been productive in the NFL."
Savage said, "Brady Quinn, Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers, I would take that draft every year. I've always been very proud of our success in the draft, particularly the first two rounds. But the third round, at least in my experiences and the drafts I've been part of, have been spotty at best. I'm not proud of that track record.
"Heck, I would never have gotten this job based on third-rounders. You can go look it up in the record book, it's like, 'Why did they pick some of those guys?' But in the fourth round, sixth round, free agents, we've done great in those areas. That's why I still hold out hope we can do some positive things in the draft."
In Cleveland in the third round, Savage selected quarterback Charlie Frye of Akron, the starter who was traded to Seattle last September, and receiver Travis Wilson, who has two career catches, all as a rookie in 2006. Among the forgettable names taken in that round in Baltimore when Savage worked under Ozzie Newsome from 1996-2004 were Tennessee running back Jay Graham, Louisville quarterback Chris Redman, Wisconsin offensive lineman Casey Rabach, Georgia running back Musa Smith and Washington State receiver Devard Darling.
Savage felt better that the 2009 draft had not been touched.
"We were kind of able to take our medicine now and our whole draft is in tact next year," Savage said. "Would we have given up a pick next year to get some of these things done? We talked about it."
Asked what everyone was going to do on draft day, Crennel joked and said, "Probably eat too much."
March 1st, 2008 at 10:39 pm
[...] The Browns wrote an interesting post today on There go the draft picksHere's a quick excerpt"As a result of having an early draft we were able to get experienced players who have been productive in the NFL…. [...]
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:48 am
Better to get a known commodity than draft an unknown. I like it.
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:18 am
I really like and trust Savage. Everyone knows the D line was the weakest link on the Browns and he just dramatically improved it getting two proven starters, no way he was going to same level of qaulity in 2nd and & 3rd round rookies.
Also, would now rule out a trade of Derek Anderson for draft picks. This team is heading in the right direction, definitely in the playoffs next year.
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:22 am
If the Browns had all three draft picks in April 2008 and came away with the number one or two rated QB in the draft to back up our starter and 2 starting defensive linemen, They would earn high marks. Unless the D-linemen turned out to be like Corey Brown and Big Money. By trading the picks for proven talent, they avoid this situation.
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:29 am
Um doesn't Romeo eat too much every day of the week anyhow?
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
i'm not so impressed by savage's second day (4th-7th)pick record with the browns - nobody on the team from 2004 or 2005 - nobody even in the league from 2005. the jury's still out on 2006 - but the only DL we drafted - supposedly the 2nd best NT available in the draft - is long gone as well. but the signing of cribbs as a UFA probably makes up for a lot of that.
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
[...] Williams, and shipped a third-rounder to Detroit for Shaun Rogers. And general manager Phil Savage feels pretty good about the whole thing: Savage said, "Brady Quinn, Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers, I would take that draft every [...]
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:19 pm
[...] Williams, and shipped a third-rounder to Detroit for Shaun Rogers. And general manager Phil Savage feels pretty good about the whole thing: Savage said, "Brady Quinn, Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers, I would take that draft every [...]
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:38 am
Savage flat out stole those D-Linemen from their respective teams. Early draft picks are great for teams that are re-building, but not for teams that went 10-6 and missed the playoffs because their QB choked and Indy forfeited their last game. I hope Savage trades the 4th and 5th picks for a veteran CB (preferably someone who can stay within 8 feet of the other team's slot receiver, unlike Leigh Bodden in '07). I can't believe Detroit handed over Shaun Rogers for Bodden and a 3rd–thank God for Matt Millen (or did he get fired?). Even if Rogers plays 30 lbs overweight and only tries on 50% of the plays (which could happen), we're better off with him than with Bodden and this year's version of Travis Wilson. Forget draft picks. This has been an amazing off-season so far. DA scares me to death, but if he can play as well as last year, or if Quinn can step in mid-season and get the ball to our play-makers without turning it over too much, we're going to contend in the AFC. Oh, and the ILB's have to step up in the run game, and Pool and Jones have to shake their A.D.D. and actually cover some TE's down the field.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:34 am
I think these were pretty good moves. I am not a Savage fan in the least but I do think the logic here makes sense. You are getting NFL experience and only giving up what will be inexperienced players with picks that may or may not pan out the way you want them to.
I do think it is odd though how everyone just assumes that Brady Quinn is a good NFL quarterback simply because he was taken in the first round last year and that he was at the highest profile position at arguably the highest profile school in college. Last I checked this guy was 3 for 8 as an NFL quarterback and all of his success so far has been against other teams' backups in preseason games. Will he be good? Maybe or maybe not, I am just saying everybody shouldn't just assume that he will be.
As far as Savage's third round picks go…I still think Charlie Frye was a good third round pick even though things didn't go as planned for him. We don't know what would have happened if he would have been the guy instead of Anderson last year. My guess is he wouldn't have been as productive as D.A. was but that he would have had some decent success. I know that not many seem to agree with me on that though.
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Is that you Mr. Pluto?
March 5th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
This is the most confident I have been about the Browns, since before Ozzie slipped in the endzone. Mr. Savage and coach have done well, now can this team come to believe?
March 10th, 2008 at 11:14 am
I thought Savage and the Browns organization were wise to do as they did and trade the first days drafts for quality players who will have an immediate impact. Savage did as promised and upgraded the defensive line. It seems the two DL will require double teams and freeing up our line backers. Even with what we have I feel without being blocked by the OL the run defense just improve dramatically. Although I would like to see a Line backer or back up OL in the fourth and fifth round. I believe this is a rich draft for all. So many good athetes to chose.
If in fact we do improve this year and win the division then the FA next year will be knocking at our door for contracts. We now have a foundation to build from and supplement with next years (2009) draft and begin getting young and insure future seasons of excellence and add free agents for thhose need positions.
Go Browns
March 11th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
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