The Browns needed help in the secondary and were looking for a punt returner to replace Dennis Northcutt.  They might have found both in Brandon McDonald.  McDonald is very versatile as he started at corner as a junior and free safety as a senior.  It was his senior year that caught the Browns attention.  In 12 games at Memphis State, McDonald made 84 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, had 4 interceptions, forced a fumble and blocked a field goal.  Over his career at Memphis, McDonald returned 46 punts for 305 yards (6.6 avg).  McDonald is a super aggressive player that makes plays all over the field of play but his future looks bright as a free safety as he has the speed (4.4 40) to handle it.  Another nice pick by the Cleveland Browns that filled a need and maybe 2.

The Browns really wanted to improve at cornerback in the Draft so they traded up to select Eric Wright out of UNLV.  The Browns did a thorough background check on Wright and were convinced that his off the field problems were a thing of the past.  So the Browns drafted Wright with the idea of having him start at right corner this season.  Wright has great pass defense skills but he’s a little soft against the run and sometimes whiffs on tackles in the open field.  Still, Wright has great speed (4.4 40) and ball skills for the position.  In 22 games at USC and UNLV (10 starts), Wright made 62 tackles, broke up 12 passes, had 3 interceptions (54 return yards), forced 1 fumble and recovered 1 fumble.  As long as Wright behaves off of the field he was a good pick for the Browns.

As soon as the Miami Dolphins passed on Quinn when they selected Ted Ginn, Phil Savage got on the phone and started to frantically make a trade for Quinn.  It took a while, but the Browns finally got their man when they traded their 1st round pick in the 2008 Draft and a second rounder in this year’s Draft.  The move made sense, especially for Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel who are both in the final year of their contracts.  Finally, the Browns have a real quarterback!  Brady Quinn can make all of the throws as he has a strong arm.  He also doesn’t get nervous like Charlie Frye does as he keeps his eyes focused downfield trying to make a play.  He’s not a good runner, but he moves around enough to buy time in the pocket.  Quinn was a 4-year starter for the Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish and he was pretty successful for them.  He played in 49 games (46 starts) for Notre Dame and he completed 929 of 1,602 (58%) for 11,762 yards with 95 TD passes and 39 interceptions.  Those are pretty good numbers, but with Charlie Weis as the head coach the last two seasons, Quinn’s numbers are eye-popping!  In the two years under Weis, Quinn has played in 25 games (all starts) and he completed 581 of 917 (63.4%) passes for 7,345 yards with 69 TD passes and only 14 interceptions.  He’s coming to Cleveland to start and that could happen as early as week #1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers because his only competition for the job are Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson.

The Browns have signed linebacker Jason Short to a 1-year contract.  Short played in 12 games last season for the Philadelphia Eagles last season and he made 4 tackles.  He’s basically going to try to make the Browns on special teams as the Browns are pretty well stocked at linebacker for the 2007 season.

The Browns have released Joe Andruzzi who started 27 games over the last two seasons for the Browns.  Desposed left tackle Kevin Shaffer and Seth McKinney will duke it out for the starting job in training camp as long as Shaffer is still with the team.  He’s been crying the blues since the Browns selected Joe Thomas to take over as the starting left tackle.