Offseason update: Cleveland Browns - NFL.com

[124]

Offseason update: Cleveland Browns

By Vic Carucci

National Editor, NFL.com

(May 21, 2007) -- This is what I like about the Cleveland Browns' offseason moves: They had a spectacular draft, pulling off a rare feat by making both the soundest and boldest moves of the first round.

The soundest move was using the third overall pick on Joe Thomas, an exceptionally talented offensive tackle. The former Wisconsin standout should immediately improve the Browns' sorry pass protection and run blocking on the way to a long and successful career. Combined with the addition of free-agent guard Eric Steinbach, the Browns have done plenty to upgrade an area that has been a repeated cause of their undoing.

The boldest move was making the trade with the Dallas Cowboys to land the 22nd overall choice, which they used on Brady Quinn. Giving the Cowboys a first-round pick in 2008 was not too steep a price for a franchise quarterback. Despite mixed opinions about Quinn from many other talent-evaluators around the NFL, the Browns had an organizational conviction that he could finally give them the consistently effective quarterbacking that has long eluded them. And in the end, that was all that mattered. General manager Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel can't worry about '08. Their decisions and guidance must produce substantial results this year ... or they may very well not have another season in Cleveland. Having spent the past two years running Charlie Weis' NFL-type offense at Notre Dame, Quinn figures to have the advanced knowledge to step into a starting role at some point as a rookie.

Eric Wright's character issues and the fact he started only 10 games in his collegiate career made him a second-round gamble. However, his remarkable speed and raw coverage skills put him in the neighborhood of the draft's two highest-rated cornerbacks, Darrell Revis and Leon Hall. If the Browns can keep him (and he can keep himself) on the straight and narrow, Wright could give the team a trio of players who could help form a foundational core for many years to come.

This is what concerns me: The Browns don't have a legitimate veteran quarterback to help with their transition to the Quinn era. Regardless of how better prepared Quinn might be to start in '07 than other rookie quarterbacks, he would still benefit from being eased into the No. 1 spot. Instead, the Browns likely will be forced to shove him into it.

The Browns are trusting their running game to free agent Jamal Lewis, who showed enough signs of wear for the Baltimore Ravens to cut him loose to make room for Willis McGahee. Expecting him to carry the load for a team in desperate need of improvement in its ground game could be a stretch.

Center LeCharles Bentley, the Browns' blockbuster free-agent signee in 2006, continues to have problems with the knee on which he underwent season-ending surgery after an injury suffered at the start of last summer's training camp. He is scheduled for additional surgery on his patella tendon on June 4, and could miss another full season. Hank Fraley is an adequate replacement, but the Browns might never realize the elite talent Bentley was expected to deliver when he received a whopping contract.