The Browns finished off their 2009 NFL Draft with 3 sixth round selections. They took two cornerbacks, Don Carey from Norfolk State and Coye Francies from San Jose State. They then took RB James Davis from Clemson with their final selection. Carey comes from a non-Bowl Subdivision school in Norfolk State, but he was a four-year starter and has good size at corner at 5'11". The concerns with him are unsure hands, too much physical play that may draw flags, and lack of strength. Francies is another corner with size at 6'0" and he has good speed. He only has 15 starts under his belt at college, and again physical play is an issue. He also needs to add weight at just 185. Davis was part of a "Thunder and Lightning" combo with C.J. Spiller at Clemson. He's 5'11" and 218 pounds. Davis had 2 1,000 yard seasons in college (his sophomore and junior years). He had 751 yards, a 4.4 yard average, and 11 TDs in his senior season. He is not a good pass blocker, but his game-breaking ability and when he gets out in space, he can be dangerous. He sounds like an attempt to replace third-down back Jason Wright who left for free agency.

J.V. will be writing a post-draft analysis article in the next day or so. Stay tuned. CofC

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Day 2 for the Browns kicks off with the Browns finally getting their USC linebacker. Unfortunately, it's not Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, or Clay Matthews III; it's the fourth starter of the bunch, Kaluka Maiava. Maiava impressed many scouts when those scouts came for his fellow linebackers. Maiava is only a one-year starter and is undersized at 5'11" and 229 pounds, but he is an excellent special teams player. He can play all three (four in the Browns' case) linebacker positions, and he had 66 tackles with 1 interceptions last season for the Trojans. He's not a pass rusher necessarily, but he has good instincts. He sounds to me a lot like D'Qwell Jackson and the departed Andra Davis. I don't think he'll come in and start, but he'll be in the mix at linebacker and be a key guy on special teams. The starters at linebacker will most likely be Kamerion Wimbley and Alex Hall on the outside and former Jet Eric Barton and D'Qwell Jackson on the inside. The Browns do not pick again until the sixth round where they have three selections. Expect the Browns to take some chances on guys there. CofC

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Yes! The Browns have finally attempted to address their defensive woes with the pick of David Veikune, DE from Hawai'i.Veikune had 9 sacks last season with the Warriors and 16 in the last two seasons. He recorded 73 tackles and 16.5 tackles for a loss in his senior season. He's moved around from Colorado to Fresno City College to Hawai'i, but his motor runs high according to scouts and he is undersized at 6'2" and 257 pounds but gutsy. He is ranked as the number 10 overall defensive end by ESPN/Scouts Inc. Let's hope he can provide some pass rush for the Brownies as they liked waited around too long to get an impact blitzer. He could convert to an OLB in the 3-4 scheme that the Browns will employ. CofC

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Apparently, the Browns are satisfied with their defense, because they continue to pick offensive players. This time it's another wide reciever, Mohamed Massaquoi of Georgia. Massaquoi was projected as a late first or early second round pick, so he's good value at 50. The only thing I can suspect here is that the Browns feel VERY uncertain about their receivers and they may still be looking to deal Braylon Edwards for something. They now add Robiskie and Massaquoi to Edwards, Stallworth (in his orange jumpsuit), Cribbs, Steptoe, and Patten. Someone's got to go there. Massaquoi is supposed to be a good blocker but with uncertain hands at times. He had 920 yards receiving and 8 TDs. He's 6'2" and 210 pounds, so he has good, physical size. In my opinion, 920 yards is pretty good for a run-heavy conference that is low-scoring like the SEC. CofC

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The Cleveland Browns get lucky by having Rey Maualuga slip to them at number 36, then they pass on him and let the Bengals take him at 38. Instead, the Browns do pick up a solid wide reciever that I know plenty about, WR Brian Robiskie from THE Ohio State University. Robo will help right away with the receivers, and I think he will be a solid number two possession receiver in the NFL for years to come. He could be perhaps the most NFL-ready WR, but I still would've rather had Maualuga here. Robo's hands are excellent, and while he doesn't have breakaway speed, he has the body and work ethic of an NFL player. I'm more disappointed in the 21st pick than this one. But, enough teams were concerned about Rey's off-the-field issues that he fell all the way to the Felons, ahem Bengals, at 38.

The Browns now MUST go defensive line or linebacker at 50. Let's hope Everette Brown of FSU falls that far, because there is some dropoff after that. CofC

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And the Browns continue to pull surprises out of the bag as they pass up Clay Matthews III and Rey Maualuga to pick a center of all things in California OL Alex Mack. I liked The Secret World of Alex Mack as a TV show, but as the 21st pick after trading down three times? I'm not sure. The Browns could have really done well with a linebacker here, because Matthews was picked at 26 and Maualuga will be gone before the Browns pick at 36.

Mack is strong and quick for a lineman and stands at 6'4" and 311 pounds. He is a three-year starter, a two-time All-American and All-Pac10 center while winning several academic awards.  The Browns wanted to replace Hank Fraley, but I didn't think it was necessary to do so in the first round. He's smart, strong, quick, and he'll help anchor the Browns O-line. Time will tell how good this one is.

The Browns need to hope that Maualuga drops or Beanie Wells is still there. If not, a plethora of receivers, headlined by Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina could be there. CofC

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And the Browns have traded down AGAIN! Three times in one draft; this is incredible. We can still get Matthews III or Maulaga or Beanie, because the Eagles want Jeremy Maclin. Let's see what we have in store at 21.

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Probably one of the two USC linebackers.The Browns trade down for their partner to take a QB once again with Josh Freeman from Kansas State. They just went down two spots and picked up a 6th rounder. They must like their chances at getting whatever they wanted at 17 by moving down two spots and going through the Broncos. I think Maulaga is the pick here; if not, go with Matthews III from USC too. CofC

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With Aaron Curry taken just ahead of them at No. 4, the Browns felt they had no choice. With all of the buzz and multiple suitors for USC QB Mark Sanchez, the Browns chose to deal the fifth pick to the New York Jets for the 17th overall pick, 52nd overall pick, DB Abram Elam, DE Kenyon Coleman, and QB Brett Ratliff. Here's my first-look analysis.

The Browns did good in trading down here, because there are still many quality players on the board at 17 that I feel aren't much different than what was available at 5. They also add another second rounder; they now have three of them and 4 of the top 52 picks in the draft. As bad as the Browns are right now, it is better to get multiple picks slightly lower than one stud and try to build a team that way with depth.

They also snag a starting safety in Elam to replace the departed Sean Jones. Elam had 69 tackles last season, and he is in his prime at 27 years old. The Browns actually tried to sign him this offseason, but the Jets matched the offer on the restricted free agent. This ends the imminent need for a safety draft pick.

With Coleman, they get added depth on the D-line, but Coleman shouldn't start for the Browns. He had 53 tackles last season and 0.5 sacks while playing all 16 games last season. He is 30 years old and is 6'5" and 295 lbs.

Ratliff is an interesting pickup for the Browns. He was an undrafted free agent out of Utah where he threw for 2,796 yards, 23 TD, and 9 INT for the Utes in their 13-0 season. He has good size, a strong throwing arm, and he sounds like a Derek Anderson clone. This means one of two things: the Browns want two quarterbacks with similar style (Anderson and Ratliff) or they want to replace Anderson with an Anderson clone and go with Quinn. I believe now that either DA or Quinn is surely on their way out as Ratliff was expected to compete with Kellen Clemens for the Jets' starting job after being the third-stringer last season.

Now, the Browns shift their focus to who will be there at 17. As I write this (with Denver at 12 on the clock), Brian Orakpo, Jeremy Maclin, all three USC linebackers (Malagua, Matthews III, and Cushing), and Malcolm Jenkins are all still available. I think the Browns go linebacker now after adding the safety and D-lineman in the trade. At 36, I expect a wide receiver between Britt of Rutgers, Nicks of North Carolina, and Massaquoi from Georgia to slip to them. I'll be back soon with an update when the Browns pick at 17.CofC

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