The Cleveland Browns select DE Clifton Geathers out of South Carolina with the 186th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Geathers is a big guy at 6′7″, 299 pounds and he runs a 4.98 40 as he is a good athlete for his size.  But, he’s still learning as a football player and he probably should have stayed in college for 1 more year.  Geathers played in 12 games for South Carolina last season and he had 41 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss and he had 3.5 sacks.  He played in 35 games in his three years at South Carolina in which he finished with 72.5 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and 6 sacks.  Geathers is going to take time for the Browns to develop as he was a reach in the draft.

The Cleveland Browns selected WR Carlton Mitchell with the 177th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Mitchell is a big guy at 6′4″, 210 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Mitchell played in 11 games (10 starts) last season at South Florida and he caught 40 passes for 706 yards (17.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He played in 37 games (18 starts) in his three years with the Bulls and he caught 105 passes for 1,648 yards (15.7 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Mitchell will likely have a great chance to make the Cleveland Browns’ roster in 2010 as they have a huge need at WR.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was starting before the 2010 season is over.

The Browns have selected safety Larry Asante out of Nebraska with the 160th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Asante is 5′11″, 210 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  He is a good athlete who will likely succeed on special teams right away for the Browns.  He is a in the box strong safety who punishes ballcarriers in the running game.  He has some issues in pass coverage but as long as he keeps plays in front of him he should be allright.  Asante played in 14 games (all starts) for Nebraska last season in which he had 79 tackles, broke up 7 passes, he had 2 interceptions and he forced 2 fumbles.  In three years at Nebraska, Asante played in 39 games (36 starts) in which he had 224 tackles, he broke up 15 passes, he had 3 interceptions and he forced 3 fumbles.  Asante was a solid pick for the Browns as he was projected to be picked in the 2nd or 3rd round.

The Browns have claimed 23-year old cornerback DeAngelo Smith off waivers from the Lions.  Smith played in 7 games for the Lions as a rookie last season and he had 16 tackles and he defensed 1 pass.  It will be hard for Smith to make the Browns with all of the additions they have made to the defensive backfield but it never hurts to give someone like him a chance.  His best chance to make the Browns will be on special teams.

The Cleveland Browns have selected OG Shawn Lauvao with the 92nd overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Lauvao was out of position playing at tackle last season at Arizona State.  He will move inside to guard in the pros and he doesn’t have much competition on the right side with the Browns as “Pork Chop” Womack is penciled in as the starter there for now.  Lauvao will have to get a tad tougher if he’s going to start in the NFL and that could very well happen in practive.  Lauvao played in 12 games (all starts) at Arizona State last season.  He has played in 42 games (33 starts) in his four years there and he played both G and T.  The Browns might have reached a couple of rounds too early on Lauvao but he could fill a big need for them so it was worth the risk.