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.

The Browns have drafted QB Colt McCoy out of Texas with the 85th overall pick of the NFL Draft (3rd round).  The Browns wanted a developmental young QB for the future and they were stunned to see McCoy still on the board at #85 so they pounced on him.  McCoy doesn’t have outstanding arm strength but with the Browns installing a West Coast Offense he won’t need to have a super strong arm.  McCoy will likely just sit back and learn from Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace for a year or two so he won’t be under any immediate pressure to lead the team.  McCoy played in 14 games (all starts) for the Longhorns last season and he completed 332 of 470 passes (70.6%) for 3,521 yards with 27 TD passes and 12 interceptions.  In four years with the Longhorns, McCoy played in 53 games (52 starts) in which he completed 1,157 of 1,645 passes (70.3%) for 13,253 yards with 112 TD passes and only 45 interceptions.  The Browns did a great job of playing poker and waiting on McCoy so that they could fill more pressing needs before selecting him in the 3rd round.  McCoy could very well be the best QB drafted this weekend down the road.

The Browns traded the Eagles two fifth round picks to move up 12 spots to take RB Montario Hardesty with the 59th overall pick (2nd round) out of Tennessee.  Hardesty is 5’11″, 215 pounds and he’s just fast enough to break long runs with little help from his blockers.  He likes to lower his shoulder and run over people.  He will be the perfect complement to Jerome Harrison who ran so well for the Browns down the stretch last season.  Hardesty played in 13 games (all starts) for the Volunteers last season and he carried the ball 282 times for 1,345 yards (4.8 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He also caught 25 passes for 302 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Hardesty was not heavily used in college until last season so he likely comes to Cleveland with a ton of tread left on his tires.  Hardesty played in 49 games (19 starts) at Tennessee in which he carried the ball 560 times for 2,391 yards (4.3 ypc) with 26 TD carries and he also has caught 38 passes for 405 yards (10.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Hardesty will start out sharing the ball with Harrison in 2010 but don’t be surprised if he winds up getting more carries than him as early as 2010.  This was a outstanding pick for the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns have selected safety T.J. Ward out of Oregon with the 38th overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Ward is more of a strong safety which could cause Abram Elam to move to free safety in 2010.  Ward is not the best cover safety out there but in the box there aren’t many better than him as he’s awesome in run support.  Ward played in 8 games (7 starts) for Oregon last season and he finished up with 68 tackles, he broke up 4 passes, had 1 interception and he forced 1 fumble.  He played in 37 games (20 starts) in his four years at Oregon and he finished up with 193 tackles, he broke up 13 passes, had 3 interceptions and he forced 5 fumbles.  Ward is also a solid special teams player which will make the Browns even better in that aspect of the game (which is downright scary).  The Browns might have taken Ward a round or two early but he will help make the defense a more physical unit in 2010.

The Browns have selected CB Joe Haden out of Florida with the 7th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Haden ran a tad slow at the NFL Combine but that was because he had a back injury.  He routinely runs in the 4.4 in the 40 yard dash.  He is a good cover corner who also is a good blitzer and a hitter in run support.  Haden played in 14 games (all starts) for Florida last season in which he made 68 tackles, he broke up 10 passes, intercepted 4 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  Haden is a playmaker and he will probably start at corner from day #1 opposite Eric Wright with Sheldon Brown moving to safety.  If that is the case I love this pick for the Cleveland Browns.  Haden played in 40 games (all starts) in his three years at Florida in which he finished up with 218 tackles, he broke up 34 passes, had 8 interceptions and he forced 3 fumbles.  This was a outstanding pick for the Browns.

The Cleveland Browns have been busy this off-season which has set them up well for the NFL Draft this weekend.  The Browns have 5 of the top 92 picks and 10 picks overall in the draft giving them the ammo to move up if a player they like is slipping on the board.  The needs of the Browns heading into this draft are WR, S, RB, G and QB probably in that order.  The Browns will be targeting WR Dez Bryant, S Eric Berry, S Earl Thomas and Jimmy Clausen in the first round.

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  Eric Berry, S, Tennessee