The Browns intend to select a quarterback with one of their seven picks, said team President Mike Holmgren.
No, it won't be early in the draft on a quarterback who could compete with or displace Colt McCoy as the starter.
"I believe in the young guy we have," Holmgren said to The Plain Dealer on Wednesday.
But that won't stop Holmgren from examining the quarterbacks projected high in this draft, Blaine Gabbert of Missouri and Cam Newton of Auburn. Or the next rung of Jake Locker of Washington and Ryan Mallett of Arkansas.
"Oh, I'm going to talk to them," Holmgren said. "I like to watch the quarterbacks, anyway, you know. But those fellas probably will be drafted pretty high. But I think we have to talk to them all. We'll probably bring them in, do our work and see what happens."
It's prudent for a few reasons.
First, if Gabbert or Newton, or the others, just blow away Holmgren, he reserves the right to change his mind about the team's situation. Second, if one of the top two quarterbacks or both fall to the Browns at No. 6, they will have a better gauge of their worth in a trade-down. And third, knowing where Gabbert and Newton place in the draft order helps the Browns get a better read on which players might be available to them at No. 6.
If Gabbert and Newton fall off the board in the top-five picks, it drops a quality player to the Browns. At least three teams in the top five have the need to seriously consider taking a quarterback first -- Carolina at No. 1, Buffalo at No. 3 and Arizona at No. 5.
The trouble is, none of the quarterbacks is a no-brainer in the mold of recent high draft picks Sam Bradford (No. 1 in 2010), Matthew Stafford (No. 1 in 2009) and Matt Ryan (No. 3 in 2008).
"I think the four quarterbacks at the top of my list have got to be figured out," said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock. "That is the key to this draft, as far as the marquee names.
"How do you figure these quarterbacks out? Who are they? What are they? Who is going to be a boom guy and who is going to be a bust guy?"
Mayock has questions about all the four quarterbacks on which he has first-round grades. Here's a snapshot of his evaluations:
•Gabbert has to show if he has the "football IQ" to transition from Missouri's spread offense to the sophistication of an NFL offense.
"It's a lot harder than people understand," Mayock said. "The footwork's completely different, the reads are completely different. So when I talk about football IQ, I talk about this kid's ability to transition from what he has been to what he needs to be, and how quickly can he get it done?"
• Newton's recent ill-advised statements about wanting to be a football "icon" underscored questions about where his head is. Newton averted an NCAA suspension after his father allegedly offered his services to schools to the highest bidder. Newton went on to claim the Heisman Trophy and lead Auburn to the BCS Championship.
Mayock said Newton's throwing mechanics are superior to "running quarterbacks" Vince Young and Tim Tebow.
"There are two questions to Cam Newton," Mayock said. "He comes out of a very simple pass offense at Auburn. Basically, one look and either the ball comes out or he comes on out. Can he process from an IQ perspective a complicated NFL pass offense? And number two, there's some baggage to the kid."
• Locker has a rocket arm, but is not very accurate or consistent.
"That's a really talented kid who has first-round potential but has struggled in the pocket," Mayock said. "A lot of people are writing him off, and I'm not. I think we have to do a bunch of homework on him."
• Mallett is in the same boat, with some added off-the-field baggage issues that may drop him in estimation.
"Ryan Mallett has unbelievable, God-given ability to throw a football," Mayock said. "And when he has a clear pocket and clear vision, there's nobody in the game better. But every time I get excited, he does something from a decision-making or an accuracy perspective that bothers me. The common denominator is when he goes bad it's because of pressure in the pocket."
Mayock's next wave of quarterbacks in this draft includes Andy Dalton of Texas Christian, Christian Ponder of Florida State, Ricky Stanzi of Lake Catholic and Iowa, and Colin Kaepernick of Nevada. Kaepernick's arm strength is on par with Newton's and Mallett's.
All of those college passers are projected to go in Rounds 2 and 3. If Holmgren is adamant in going forward with McCoy as the franchise quarterback, then taking a quarterback in Rounds 2 or 3 seems counterproductive to the Browns' many other position needs.
So if Holmgren waits for a later round to select a developmental prospect, the candidates may include Pat Devlin of Delaware, Greg McElroy of Alabama, Tyrod Taylor of Virginia Tech and T.J. Yates of North Carolina.
Of those, Devlin may be the one to watch as a possible Browns pick.
Story by Tony Grossi, The Plain Dealer
No comments:
Post a Comment