Written by Richard Hanes

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We are only 32 days away from the 2012 NFL Draft.  This is usually a good day for Browns fans.  Filled with hope for a better future.  Things don't always turn out right (see ex. Couch, Warren, Brown, Quinn, etc) but for that one day hope springs eternal.  It is also no secret that I was on the RGIII bandwagon.  I really wanted the Browns to do what they could to move up and get a dynamic player such as Griffin.  (Lets Make Sunday Funday Again)  Alas the Redskins offer was chosen over the Browns so we are back to square one, which really isn't a bad thing.  The Browns hold the 4th, 22nd, and 37th picks in the first two rounds.  Tom Heckert has proven the ability to draft some solid players over his first two drafts (See ex. Haden, Ward, Taylor, Sheard, Little) so Browns fans should be confident in his ability to select starters with these three 2012 selections.  With so many needs Heckert could decide to go in a number of different directions once our orange helmet is officially on the clock. 

Last night over twitter I had the chance to sit in Heckert's seat in the war-room as footballguys.com writer, Jeff Haseley, hosted his first live mock draft over twitter.  Each NFL team was represented by a twitter personality.  I was in control of the Browns.  Trading was allowed, but somewhat difficult to pull off via DMs and only 5 minutes to make selections.  We only mocked the first round, however I believe Jeff is planning on mocking round two at a later date.  Below are the results with my thoughts on my selections plus a few others.

Round 1

Pick 1) Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck

Pick 2) Washington QB Robert Griffin III

Pick 3) Minnesota @TheOnlyMerkules WR Justin Blackmon

Pick 4) Cleveland @BurnRiverSports RB Trent Richardson

Pick 5) Tampa Bay @toenail21 OT Matt Kalil

Pick 6) St. Louis @FFootballU DT Fletcher Cox

Pick 7) Jacksonville @DonnieSmith14 CB Morris Claiborne

Pick 8) Miami @SamDrewTakesOn DE Quinton Coples

Pick 9) Carolina @JeffHaseley DT Dontari Poe

Pick 10)Buffalo @BNQuinlan OT Riley Reiff

Lets take a break and look at how the top 10 went off the board.  Luck and RGIII were no big surprise at 1/2.  @TheOnlyMerkules made the first interesting pick in selecting Justin Blackmon #3 overall ahead of OT Matt Kalil.  This put me in a very interesting spot.  Going into the mock I was looking at going Blackmon at #4 and then the best RB prospect at #22 unless a big time talent at another position fell.  When Blackmon went #3 I was interested in trading the 4th pick to move down, however was unable to make a deal within the 5 min time-frame.  I chose to go with the best RB in Trent Richardson for a few reasons.  As good as Kalil is I am not going to use a top five selection on a RT.  The Browns have waaaaayyy too many needs at their skill positions to pass on getting a potential stud at a skill position.  I considered CB Morris Claiborne LSU, however ultimately I feel the Browns must get players that help build their identity on offense.  A Claiborne/Haden pairing is very intriguing, but I decided to get a player that could instantly make the offense better and take some pressure off whoever the starting QB is for 2012. 

 I was hammered over twitter on this pick a bit.  Here are few example tweets.

"@BurnRiverSports stupid pick. In a WCO you gonna take a RB that will touch the ball 10-12 times a game?  #SMH #mocktonight - from @CLELawAndOrder

"@CleLawAndOrder @SamDrewTakesOn @BurnRiverSports #SMH #mocktonight You are absolutely right" - from @kingodawg

"@CleLawAndOrder @burnriversports Agree! - from @TheSportsMarket

"@CleLawAndOrder @BurnRiverSports can't believe he passes on Kalil there - @CSFRadioDrew

Although there were a few supporters as well such as this tweet...

@BurnRiverSports @CleLawAndOrder Shady was a 2nd pick.  Get off the RB so hi nonsense that ESPN preaches. u make exceptions for special RBs - from @440Shane

Im not a big fan of drafting a RB in the top 10 in today's NFL, but again given our current roster I think this makes sense.  The comments that a RB cannot thrive in a west coast offense are pretty ridiculous in my opinion.  Running backs such as Roger Craig, Terrell Davis, Shaun Alexander, and LeSean McCoy have all thrived in variations of the WCO.  Some will continue to argue that I could have selected a RB such as Doug Martin out of BSU later in the draft, however again I want a true blue chip prospect on our offense.  Trent Richardson has the chance to be elite not only as a runner, but also as a pass catcher (51 receptions, 604 rec yrds, 7 TDs in 2010/2011).  I also want to remind everyone that Blackmon was off the board and a trade down wasn't happening.  With those two facts on the table I'm more than OK with adding Richardson to the fold and worrying about WR, CB, OT later.  I was not going to take Tannehill at 4 under any scenario.

One of the top ten picks that really left me scratching my head was the Rams taking Fletcher Cox DT Mississippi St at #6 overall.  The Rams have more pressing needs on the offensive side of the ball at both OT and WR.  Granted Blackmon and Kalil were off the board, but I simply don't see the Rams reaching for a DT at #6.  Reaching for WR Michael Floyd would make much more sense to me here if I were in the Rams shoes.

Lets continue on with the rest of the 1st Round shall we?

Pick 11) Kansas City @cgrn731 DE Melvin Ingram

Pick 12) Seattle @DaPhins LB Luke Kuechly

Pick 13) Arizona @azdoughboy1 OG David DeCastro

Pick 14) Dallas @FFootballU CB Stephon Gilmore

Pick 15) Philadelphia @Bill_Riccette DE Michael Brockers

Pick 16) New York Jets @rjconn007 DE Courtney Upshaw

Pick 17) Cincinnati @DaPhins CB Janoris Jenkins

Pick 18) San Diego @azdoughboy1 WR Michael Floyd

Pick 19) Chicago @snotick DE Nick Perry

Pick 20) Tennessee @BrewPython27 C Peter Konz

Pick 21) Cincinnati @DaPhins OT Cordy Glenn

Pick 22) Cleveland @BurnRiverSports OT Jonathan Martin

Pick 23) Detroit @GrindMark CB Dre Kirkpatrick

Pick 24) Pittsburgh @5ish_ LB Dont'a Hightower

Pick 25) Denver @bron1cos DT Devon Still

Pick 26) Houston @wcsteelerfan LB Bruce Irvin

Pick 27) New England @Redsoxnation88 S Harrison Smith

Pick 28) Green Bay @FFootballU RB Doug Martin

Pick 29) Baltimore @cgrn731 S Mark Barron

Pick 30) San Francisco @Fatkat52 OG Kevin Zeitler

Pick 31) New England @RedSoxNation88 DE Whitney Mercilus

Pick 32) New York Giants @DaPhins OT Mike Adams

I liked a number of selections from Pick 11 to Pick 32.  Kuechly, DeCastro, Brockers, Floyd, Kirkpatrick, and Doug Martin I think all made sense and presented good value at the picks they were taken.  I was interested in trying to move up a few spots to land Michael Floyd WR ND as I watched him continue to drop towards my spot at 22, but again I was unable to pull off a deal.  @SamDrewTakesOn (in control of Miami) was also interested in moving down to the 22 from the 8 hole, however at the time I balked.  He was looking to deal the No. 8 pick for my 22, 37, and 99.  I was really interested in trying to fill three holes with my first three picks, however in hindsight I may have done this deal.  I could have taken Michael Floyd at 8 (who fell way to far in this mock) and really loaded up my offense with blue chip prospects at both RB and WR.  I still would also have had my 3rd round pick to fill a hole at OT, LB, QB, or CB.  I instead chose to stand pat and selected Jonathan Martin OT Stanford.  Many people thought I was going to go Tannehill here, but I just do not think he is a 1st Rd talent.  He will most likely go top 12 in April, but in this particular mock I was willing to roll the dice that he would be around later in the draft.  By selecting Martin I have now shored up the Browns offensive line.  Thomas, Mack, and Martin will be able to open holes for newly acquired Trent Richadson as well as protect the passer.  As much as I do not want to go into 2012 with Wallace or McCoy as my starter I felt this was a better long term move than taking a chance on Tannehill. 

As the rest of the 1st Round played out three very intriguing names remained available.  Ryan Tannehill QB Texas A&M, Kendall Wright WR Baylor, and Stephen Hill WR Georgia Tech.  The Browns sit as the 5th overall pick in the second around with the Rams, Colts, Vikings, and Bucs selecting ahead of them.  I see no chance that any of these teams take Tannehill in the 2nd round of this mock ahead of me.  It is possible that the Colts or Rams add a WR to their roster for Luck and Bradford, but I think I am sitting in a great position.  I can either continue to pass on Tannehill if say Kendall Wright continued to fall or I finally pull the trigger on Tannehill and escape this mock with Richardson, Martin, and Tannehill as my first three selections.  In the third round I would look towards the defensive side of the ball or WR in players such as Sanu, Minnifield, Toon, Quck, etc.

Overall this was a very interesting live mock.  There was some questionable selections and some players that probably will not fall like they did, however that happens in the real thing too.  Every draft a few players fall that nobody anticipates falling and someone gets taken in the top 10 that nobody mocked that high.  These things happened in this mock which I think made it very life like.  Overall I accomplished what I wanted to do.  I wanted to add talent to the offensive side of the ball for the Browns.  We will see what happens as the 2nd and 3rd rounds play out. 

32 days and counting.  Go Browns.