Written by Thomas Moore

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It’s not breaking news to anyone who watched the Cleveland Browns this past season that the team needs help at several (most?) key positions.

But before general manager Tom Heckert can use the team’s nine draft picks to continue rebuilding a team left bare by the previous regime’s consecutive 5-11 seasons, there is the little matter of free agency, which begins on March 13.

And there are some interesting players the team should consider, starting with Pittsburgh Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Wallace, who is coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

Wallace is a restricted free agent, meaning the Steelers can offer him a one-year contract that would allow the team to match any offer Wallace receives. If the Steelers were to let Wallace go, they would receive a draft pick – which could be a first round selection depending on whether or not Pittsburgh puts the highest tender possible on Wallace.

This is where the Browns come in.

With the team needing help at wide receiver ... and holding a second first-round pick ... would Heckert be tempted to make a play for Wallace?

On the one hand, taking Wallace out of Pittsburgh would hurt the Steeler offense, but giving Pittsburgh another first-round draft pick would help accelerate the rebuilding process for an aging division rival.

It’s an interesting scenario, to say the least. Although the Steelers could pre-empt everyone by just using their franchise tag on Wallace, giving them exclusive negotiating rights, something that general manager Kevin Colbert said the team hasn’t ruled out, just yet.

But the Steelers have to look past just this off-season when it comes to their wide receives, as they will be facing the same scenario next year with Antonio Brown (the team's MVP in 2011) and Emmanual Sanders. (We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves in taking joy in the downfall of Satan's team, but it's fun watching them struggle with being over the salary cap).

While the 25-year-old Wallace fits in perfectly with Heckert’s strategy of not signing players over the age of 30 in free agency, thereby paying a player for the production they gave their previous team, there are two players on the defensive side of the ball – and on the other side of 30 – that we wouldn’t mind taking a look at.

The first is defensive end John Abraham of Atlanta. Although he is 34, Abraham is still an effective pass rusher, according to Pro Football Focus, which writes that Abraham is the most productive pass rusher over the past four seasons. Abraham is also comfortable rushing from either the right or the left side, which would work well paired with current defensive end Jabaal Sheard.

The one drawback, other than his age, is Abraham has been successful in part because the Falcons have been very good at limiting his snaps and keeping him fresh as the season goes along. So even if the Browns were interested, they would still need to pick up another defensive end to give them a solid three-player rotation (not counting Jayme Mitchell, of course).

The other player the Browns should consider is defensive end Robert Mathis of the Colts. With Indianapolis switching to a 3-4 defense under new coach Chuck Pagano, Mathis may not be a good fit to play end in the new alignment.

Mathis, who has 83.5 career sacks, seventh-best among active players, is under-rated as a run stopper and, at age 31, is three years younger than Abraham. He also can still get to the quarterback: last season he had 48 combined sacks, hits and hurries of opposing quarterbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

Of course, just like Wallace, the Colts want to keep Mathis if they can, even considering using their franchise tag on him.

“I think we can (sign Mathis),” Colts owner Jim Irsay said earlier this month. “We’d like to get something done there. We have the (franchise) tag if we don’t, but I think we’ll get something done.”

The Colts want to keep wide receiver Pierre Garcon as well, though, and it may prove difficult for them to keep both. And the Colts are going to need someone for rookie quarterback Andrew Luck to throw the ball to.

So while they can talk about wanting to keep Mathis, you just never know.

The Browns were relatively quiet in free agency last year, as the combination of a new coaching staff along with an abbreviated off season meant that the team took a more cautious approach to overhauling the roster.

But now, after having a full season to evaluate the players currently on the team, Heckert has the cap space (somewhere in the neighborhood of $21 million) and the draft picks to add even more talent to the squad.

Let the games begin.

(Photo by Getty Images)