The Cleveland Browns had an outstanding draft last April. The Browns wound up with five starting players in 2011 out of this draft class and all 8 of the picks could be starting for them at some point down the road. Here is a look at the rookies and how they played in 2011:
23-year old DT Phil Taylor was the Browns’ first round pick after they traded down with the Falcons. Taylor played in all 16 games for the Browns last year and he had 59 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and he defensed 1 pass. Taylor will continue to team with Ahtyba Rubin, giving the Browns a very solid set of DTs for the forseeable future.
22-year old DE Jabaal Sheard came to the Browns in the second round and he was a beast as a rookie. Sheard played in all 16 games for the Browns last year and he had 55 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 7 tackles for a loss, 5 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed. The sky is the limit for Sheard, who led the Browns in sacks as a rookie in 2011.
22-year old WR Earl Little came to the Browns in the second round of the NFL Draft and he caught the most passes on the team in 2011. Little played in all 16 games for the Browns last year and he caught 61 passes for 709 yards (11.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs. He also carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) for the Browns in 2011. Little could have a breakout year in 2012 if he gets a little more consistent in actually catching the football.
23-year old TE Jordan Cameron was one of the Browns’ 4th round picks. He played in 8 games for the Browns last year and he caught 6 passes for 33 yards (5.5 avg). He still showed enough near the end of last season to lead the Browns to believe that he can be a productive player down the road.
23-year old fullback Owen Marecic came to the Browns in the 4th round last April. He played in 14 games for the Browns last year and he carried the ball 4 times for 8 yards (2.0 ypc). He also caught 5 passes for 31 yards (6.2 avg) last year. Marecic also helped the team on special teams. He returned 4 kickoffs for 46 yards (11.5 avg) and he made 3 tackles. Marecic does the little things well, so he will be busy again in 2012 and beyond.
22-year old CB Buster Skrine came to the Browns in the 5th round and he is a player with a nice upside. He played in all 16 games for the Browns last year and he had 18 tackles, 1 interception and he defensed 2 passes. He also returned 3 kickoffs for 72 yards (24.0 avg) as he was a good special teams player for the Browns.
24-year old OG Jason Pinkston came to the Browns in the 6th round. He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Browns as the starting left guard. He did a solid job and he will certainly head into the 2012 season as the starting left guard of the Cleveland Browns.
22-year old safety Eric Hagg was a 7th round pick of the Browns. He played in 10 games as a rookie for the Browns last year and he had 11 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed. Hagg did most of his work on special teams early in the year, but he got to play D late in the year.
GRADE FOR 2011: A-
GRADE FOR THE FUTURE: A+