Meet the New Browns: Rounds 4-7

Leon Williams – 4th Round: LB (Miami)
Outlook: Will be counted on to add depth to the ILB positions, but most likely will be turned loose on Special Teams to hopefully terrorize return men. Way too raw to see consistent playing time on defense.
Strengths: Amazing athlete with a good combo of speed and size. He can take on some big boys and can run down some of the faster skill position players out there. Sounds a lot like Chaun Thompson. The guy is 6’3” 245. That’s a big ass LB.
Weaknesses: Once again, sounds an awful like Chaun Thompson when he was drafted. Doesn’t have natural instincts for the position, overruns plays, has bad technique, and gets eaten alive in pass coverage. Sounds super.
Opinion: I’m not sure what Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel had in mind taking this classic Butch Davis player on this team. He’s going to require a ton of coaching and one wonders if he can retain any of it. He may be nothing more than a Special Teamer at this level if he doesn’t become a better LB. Grade: C-

Isaac Sowells – 4th Round: OL (Indiana)
Outlook: Coach Crennel has already stated that he’ll move inside to add depth to the Guard position as he will be groomed by veteran guards like Joe Andruzzi for future starter consideration.
Strengths: A great run blocker in college at one of the Tackle spots at Indiana, and that skill may be put to good use by moving him to Guard. He’s got the size to play Guard and not Tackle at this level. Has a good drive, good motor, and moves well.
Weaknesses: A bad wrist injury put a red flag on him with the injury concerns. He’s also been criticized for poor conditioning and not having enough of a mean streak in him.
Opinion: It appears Phil Savage was coming off his hangover to start the day with two bad 4th round picks here. Sowells wasn’t even considered to be drafted by some publications. I don’t know what they saw in him over other prospects out there. I guess it sucked that Max-Jean Gilles went a few picks before him, because I couldn’t see the Browns taking this guy over him. Grade: D+

Jerome Harrison – 5th Round: RB (Washington State)
Outlook: The talented PAC 10 runner, may challenge for change of pace duties this season with fragile Lee Suggs who can’t take a handoff without breaking something.
Strengths: Harrison has that natural ability as a RB to see his way through a crease. He has good speed, and can also catch passes. Also has good experience as a Special Teams player.
Weaknesses: He’s small (5’9”), and is questioned as to how much of a workload he can be put under. He also has problems at times holding onto the football.
Opinion: I didn’t do enough research on RBs this year. I was smitten with Leon Washington out of Florida State going into Day 2, but ignored other guys like PJ Daniels, Wali Lundy, and guys like Harrison. After doing a lot of research on this guy, he could really be what this team needed to spell Ruben Droughns. He can run hard, and hit a home run if you don’t watch it. With Droughns wearing down a defense, Harrison could really kill defenses. I like this pick. Grade: B+

DeMario Minter – 5th Round: DB (Georgia)
Outlook: As discussed before the draft, Minter will compete for that weak 4th Corner spot in the secondary with guys like veteran Pete Hunter.
Strengths: Was a solid CB at Georgia who possesses good size at the position and good athletic skills to stay with a WR and get to the ball. Doesn’t make too many mistakes out there.
Weaknesses: Despite being solid at the position, he’s not much of a ball hawk. He’s very conservative and never gets many interceptions. Was arrested in college for refer possession and that has thrown caution to the fact that he may have character flaws.
Opinion: Minter ended up being a risky pick that could prove to work well for the Browns. Minter’s scouting reports depicted that he could develop into a good #2 or #3 CB in the NFL, and many scouts predicted he’d come off the board on Day 1. Character issues may have dropped him, so it will be important to keep an eye on this guy. He needs to stay away from guys like William Green. Grade: B-

Lawrence Vickers – 6th Round: FB (Colorado)
Outlook: He’s probably 10x better than Corey McIntyre at this point, and will serve as a nice versatile backup to starter Terrelle Smith. Vickers will see most of his time on special teams this year, and I would hope he has less ‘block in the back’ calls than McIntyre.
Strengths: As a FB, Vickers has a lot of great potential. He has good size and a large frame that can add a little bulk. He also is a good athlete who can be effective in short yardage situations and he can also catch the ball. Is an aggressive player and a tough guy, who mirrors Smith.
Weaknesses: His biggest weakness is his strength. Vickers needs to get stronger to take on LBs when he’s out there blocking. Because of that, his ability as a blocker is in question at this level.
Opinion: Despite strength issues, Vickers is the kind of player that I was looking for late in the draft that the Browns could add to the depth at FB. I can’t stand Corey McIntyre, and Vickers should have a good chance to put him out on his ass now since Vickers can do a lot of things well. Good pick here. Grade: A-

Babatunde Oshinowo – 6th Round: NT (Stanford)
Outlook: Oshinowo will now compete with Ethan Kelley for the backup Nose Tackle spot behind big Ted Washington. May end up being the 3rd NT if Kelley beats him out. May or may not be the man they have in mind to groom behind Washington.
Strengths: Has good size and good strength for the Nose Tackle position. Has a good head on his shoulders and is very durable (hooray!). Can take on a couple guys to free up the LBs, which is obviously what you want a 2 gap DT to do.
Weaknesses: Not a great athlete and doesn’t have great technique. Doesn’t do one thing particularly well.
Opinion: I had to check the spelling on his name 4 times before typing it out. Wow. Nice name. Phil Savage and company seem to think he has a real shot at being the man to learn behind Washington so he’ll eventually be the rock of that defense. That remains to be seen, but he’s decent and a perfect Nose Tackle type where they drafted him in the 6th round. Grade: B-

Justin Hamilton – 7th Round: S (Virginia Tech)
Outlook: Looks to stay at Safety and compete for one of the backup spots despite having the size to be a coverage LB. Will be in instant Special Teams contributor.
Strengths: Big for the position and did well in limited time after switching over from offense at Virginia Tech.
Weaknesses: Very raw on the defensive side of the ball.
Opinion: For a 7th round pick, you can’t argue against taking a guy like this on your team. There’s a good chance he’ll make the team and contribute and that’s all you can ask for here. For that reason alone, I like this pick. Grade: B

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Overall opinion: Aside from the 4th round, I though this was a decent draft. They took players to fill most of their needs I outlined, and their defense looks to be much more solid at LB. They certainly didn’t fill all of their needs, but they’ve come a long way to make things better. The 4th round really upset me because guys like Max-Jean Gilles and Gabe Watson went before the Browns had a chance to pick them and went with bums instead. Regardless, I give the whole draft a B-.