The Cleveland Browns hit on all of their first four picks of the NFL Draft as they all will likely be starters for the Browns for a long, long time.  First, the Browns took OLT Joe Thomas with their first round pick.  All Thomas did as a rookie was make it to the Pro Bowl and the scary part is that he should get even better.  The Browns then traded their 2nd round pick and their first round pick in 2008 to the Cowboys for QB Brady Quinn.  Quinn only played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Browns last season and he completed 3 of 8 passes for 45 yards (56.8 QB Rating).  He led the Browns to a field goal in the last game of the season but both Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards each dropped a ball in the end zone that hit them in the hands.  Make no mistake, Derek Anderson had a good year in 2007 but Brady Quinn is the future QB of the Cleveland Browns.  The Browns traded back into the 2nd round to select cornerback Eric Wright.  Wright played in 14 games (13 starts) for the Browns last season and he made 76 tackles, had 1 sack, defensed 11 passes and intercepted 1 pass.  He will likely team with the Browns’ 5th round pick from last season, CB Brandon McDonald.  McDonald played in all 16 games (2 starts) for the Browns last season and he made 24 tackles, defensed 10 passes and intercepted 2 passes.  6th round pick Melila Purcell spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad as he only dressed for the season finale and he didn’t get in the game.  7th round pick, DE Chase Pittman spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad.  WR/KR Syndric Steptoe also didn’t get to play as a rookie.

GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Browns have acquired DE Corey Williams from the Packers for a 2nd round pick in 2008.  The Browns then signed Williams to a 6-year, $38 million dollar contract.  Williams played in 16 games last season for the Packers and he made 35 tackles, had 7 sacks, defensed 4 passes, forced 4 fumbles and intercepted 1 pass.  Williams has now played in 56 games in his NFL career and he has made 119 tackles, has 17 sacks, defensed 4 passes, forced 4 fumbles and intercepted 1 pass.  Williams will be a huge upgrade on the line for the Browns and he was worth the draft pick.

When the Browns decided to let Dennis Northcutt walk they knew that they needed to add a punt returner.  Steptoe was good at that in Arizona as he has good hands and always seemed to make the first guy miss.  As a WR he is a little small at 5′8″, 195 pounds and he’s not exceptionally fast as he runs a 4.5 40.  But, he’s fearless and that makes up for a lot of shortcomings.  In 44 games at Arizona, Steptoe caught 131 passes for 1,584 yards (12.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Steptoe will probably make the Browns as a special teams player/fifth WR.

The Browns needed help at DE which explains the late pick of Pittman.  He has nice size at 6′4″, 272 pounds and he runs fairly well (4.89 40) for a guy his size.  He plays hard all the time and is a good run defender.  He will need to work on getting some new pass rush moves as his old ones didn’t produce too many sacks in college.  He played in 36 games (25 starts) at LSU and he made 71 tackles, 18.5 tackles for a loss, had 11 sacks, batted down 4 passes, forced 2 fumbles and recovered a fumble.  Pittman will likely make the Browns and serve as a backup.

The Browns had so many needs that they didn’t have enough draft picks to fill them all.  So when the draft was winding down late the Browns decided to draft a couple defensive ends and Melila Purcell was the first one.  Purcell is 6′5″, 266 pounds so he has enough size to handle end in the Pros.  He was very productive in his career at Hawaii which covered 48 games (47 starts).  In those 48 games he made 208 tackles, had 20 sacks, 36.5 tackles for a loss, forced 6 fumbles, recovered 3 fumbles and batted down 7 passes.  At this point in the Draft, Purcell was worth a shot for the Browns.  They need to motivate him as he often takes plays off during games.