Well Mike Holmgren, Season Two Starts Now

Mike Holmgren came to Cleveland last year and he was supposed to begin the resurgence of the Browns organization, well year two in that rebuild starts with this selection. With some overhaul to the roster they were able to achieve that same 5-11 record that they had the year before Holmgren had arrived, but they were able to do that in transition.

The Browns do have positive aspects to their team, and relatively young ones that they hope to hold onto and really give Holmgren a chance to build this franchise up. They have one of the best left tackles in the league in Joe Thomas, a top up and coming center in Alex Mack, and a solid guard in Eric Steinbach. The left side of their line is young and rather good, and the right side has a good set of skills as well, though at this point they are on the back ends of their careers. They have depth at the quarterback spot, and Colt McCoy really seemed to show signs of being able to be a solid starting NFL quarterback. Then with Peyton Hillis they have one of the bigger surprises of the season, but also one that they can seemingly count on for the near future.

On defense they made their choice last year to go with cornerback Joe Haden with their top 10 pick, and he payed off with six interceptions in his rookie season. They still have Shaun Rogers on that defensive line, as well as linebackers like Matt Roth and Chris Gocong who had their best years in the league last year. Their safeties seem to be set for the future as well, as the second round selection by Holmgren in T.J. Ward played great as a rookie accumulating more than 120 tackles to go with two interceptions, and Abram Elam had more interceptions and pass deflections in 2010 than he did in his first four years in the league.

So with those positions seemingly set, and given the players that are both available and worthy of the sixth overall selection there seem to be four names that could, or even should, be called by commissioner Roger Goodell for the Browns. The only three names that they should be considering at this point with both defensive tackles off of the board are Da'Quan Bowers, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, and Julio Jones. They need help on both sides of the ball, and at this point they have to look at what they can get now, and hope to get later.

The talent that Jones and Green possess put them far and away above the rest of the receivers in this class, but there are other players that can be picked in that second round. Jonathan Baldwin can be that big wide receiver across from Mohamed Massaquoi, as can Leonard Hankerson, and that is something that they could risk because of the run that will be made on defensive ends. There are a lot of good defensive ends available, and at this point the top one is still out there, and hard to pass up for a team that had the seventh fewest amount of sacks in the NFL last season. Lastly, Peterson is a talent that they could put on the other side of Haden and have a set of corners to shut down the NFL for the next 10 plus years, along with their young and talented safeties.

It would seem that this is a good position to be in for the Browns, as the positions that they are finding themselves in need of, have not really been snatched off the board yet, so they have options. Though I think that Peterson is the best player available, at this point they have the players in that secondary right now where they have the ability to choose a player elsewhere and make their team better for both tomorrow and the future. Then with a little foresight they can see that a wide out will be available come pick 37, though obviously not at the talent level of Green and Jones, who they can maybe see as a better fit into the offense and compliment to Massaquoi. The biggest need for the Browns is that pass rush, give their secondary that much more help with a pass rush, and that guy is Bowers, the best pass rusher in the draft, and the national leader in sacks in 2010. Bowers at that pick is the best for their team in both this draft, and for their team.

Predictions as of today for this pick:

Me: Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
Mel Kiper: A.J. Green, WR, Georgia
Todd McShay: Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
NewNFLDraft.com: A.J. Green, WR, Georgia