“Things will be shaken up a bit when the league nullify’s the Redskin’s 1st round pick in punishment for Gregg William’s. Vikings will move to #2–Who will trade up? And for how much?”

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Maybe you wrote this before it was reported that the league found no proof of Bounty Systems in any other of Greg Williams’ coached teams. However, you still must have not payed attention to the other punishments that were draft pick based. The Patriots in Spygate were only deprived of their original 1st round pick, instead of the significantly better 1st round pick; I think it was number 7 that they received in a trade the previous year.

From the standard the NFL set in the past, they won’t take a pick that a team obtained from another team, so that rules that out; I guess the NFL could take away the Redskins original number one, voiding the trade with the Rams, and giving them back their number two pick.

Before you begin thinking that this is similar to what you had said and believe that it’s going to happen, the biggest offenders of this transgressions were the Saints; no team committed the amount of fouls like they did. When it came to draft pick forfeitures, they only lost their seconds for this and next year. The Redskins’ punishment would’ve not been more harsh.

So are you a stupid Cowboys fan or are you wishing that your team could land RG III?

“Minnesota is going to throw a curve ball… watch for it!”

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Yes; it’s called trading the pick.

“You can find an RB anywhere” forget that the Bucs had an alleged guy like that in LeGarrette Blount. They quickly found the difference between a guy who can just put up good numbers playing RB in a 16 game season (you only have to average 65 yards a game to get to 1000 yards) and having a special talent that makes his offense and team better.

Also, a lot of the teams that “find” these RBs later in the draft have excellent QBs like Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers etc. Richardson, who put up huge numbers against SEC defenses despite no passing game, makes a lot more sense than the latest product of those Big 12 spread offenses (Justin Blackmon today, see Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin yesterday, plus guys like Dez Bryant and Mark Clayton).

Richardson could rush for 1600 yards and 12 TDs a season, and give more single coverages for the Bucs’ average WRs to work against. It would be idiotic to pass him up just to maintain some “we don’t want to give no stinking RBs any money” nonsense.”

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^This except for the Browns. I am tired of hearing crap about RBs on the cheap. They can be had in later rounds. Oh yeah? Then why is Richardson projected 4-6? Anyone wanna wager he doesn’t make it out of the first round? The top 10? Past the Bucs?

Take that “it’s a passing league crap n flush it”. It’s a league where you can draft elite prospects at positions of need affordibly now.

And that’s exactly what the Browns need to do. Take the best skill player on offense @ #4. That is so blatantly obvious that it’s Richardson.

Someone said it’s a deep RB draft. Yeah? After T-Rich, it’s a grand canyon drop off. You know where it’s really deep at? WR. That’s where the Browns should spend pick 22.

You folks who continuously claim: “You can find an RB anywhere” forget that the Bucs had an alleged guy like that in LeGarrette Blount. They quickly found the difference between a guy who can just put up good numbers playing RB in a 16 game season (you only have to average 65 yards a game to get to 1000 yards) and having a special talent that makes his offense and team better.

Also, a lot of the teams that “find” these RBs later in the draft have excellent QBs like Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers etc. Richardson, who put up huge numbers against SEC defenses despite no passing game, makes a lot more sense than the latest product of those Big 12 spread offenses (Justin Blackmon today, see Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin yesterday, plus guys like Dez Bryant and Mark Clayton).

Richardson could rush for 1600 yards and 12 TDs a season, and give more single coverages for the Bucs’ average WRs to work against. It would be idiotic to pass him up just to maintain some “we don’t want to give no stinking RBs any money” nonsense.”

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^This except for the Browns. I am tired of hearing crap about RBs on the cheap. They can be had in later rounds. Oh yeah? Then why is Richardson projected 4-6? Anyone wanna wager he doesn’t make it out of the first round? The top 10? Past the Bucs?

Take that “it’s a passing league crap n flush it”. It’s a league where you can draft elite prospects at positions of need affordibly now.

And that’s exactly what the Browns need to do. Take the best skill player on offense @ #4. That is so blatantly obvious that it’s Richardson.

Someone said it’s a deep RB draft. Yeah? After T-Rich, it’s a grand canyon drop off. You know where it’s really deep at? WR. That’s where the Browns should spend pick 22.

You also forgot the very Joe Thomas you mentioned before who has made the pro bowl every year he’s been in the league. Cleveland has a history of trading down in the draft. Minnesota doesn’t. That’s enough of a reason to try to buy off the Browns #4 pick as they would be much more willing and want less.

“And my SKINS will the QB of the future. God love the Browns for being sooooo cheap.”

Or your SKINS for being soooo stupid.

Give it a few years and we’ll find out.

You also gave up 48 to San Francisco, 37 to Houston and 38 and 48 to Carolina.

…but it was Freeman’s fault you guys sucked.

Since the Browns already have Thomas at LT I would really question if they would take Kalil for two reasons. First, Kalil doesn’t have the desired power teams typically look for in a RT. Second, RT is not a position valued enough to be selected in the top ten of a draft. Two have been taken in the past dozen drafts: Levi Brown & Mike Williams (Andre Smith was considered a candidate for either tackle spot). And how did those work out? They should get their RT a little later in the draft for the appropriate value.

Maybe the Vikings are putting out signals they’re willing to trade down so they can swap with the Bowns, Bucs or Rams; get an additional pick and still get Kalil.

Like I said, there still could be some drama at the top of this draft.

What if the Browns take Blackmon, thus giving McCoy a true weapon at WR, so they can see if he is their future or not. They can go RB at the top of the second round with Wilson, Miller or Martin; while not considered as good a prospects as Richardson, still thought of as potential franchise backs.

What if the Bucs then take Claiborne; also leaving the selection of a RB to one of the formentioned in the second round.

This leaves the Rams with Richardson? While they need to replace Jackson at some point down the road, do they want to pick his (for now) back-up with the sixth pick in the draft when they have so many holes to fill on their roster? For everyone saying they could trade down: you need to have someone willing to trade up and a player worth trading up for. Not sure Richardson would be that type of player and the next tier of players is fairly deep and all rated about the same.

For as much that we think we know about the top of the draft there sure are some interesting decisions still going to be made.

The Browns NEED Richardson to replace Hillis. The Bucs NEED Clairborne to replace Talib. The Rams NEED Blackmon to fill the void at WR.
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You DON’T try to become relevant in the AFC North by trying to run the ball on the Ravens and Steelers and even the Bengals. That just won’t work for the Browns.

They need to upgrade that defense most importantly, but Blackmon is too good a prospect not to take because he will make whatever QB they end up playing have a much easier time. Even if he can’t replicate what AJ Green did last year for the Bengals… he’s still an awesome red-zone target. And that’s something any QB would love. Trying to run the ball against the defenses in that division is the least of their concerns. Pick up some free agent for that foolishness if you want.

Dez Bryant’s problem is that Tony Romo is getting him the ball. But this years cowboys might win even with Romo.

Dez Bryant’s problem is that he’s an idiot. Solid Veteran’s on the team can’t stand him or his childish behavior… just wait for a Plexico Burres esq. moment in the future, its going to happen

For one, there’s no indication that the Browns desire a “workhorse” running back (25 carries per game) in their WCO. Indeed, they just let Hillis walk and a big reason for him falling out of favor with the team was the dissatisfaction he showed over the bell cow back no longer being the center-piece of the offense, as it was under Mangini in 2011. Can you say “running back by committee”?

Second, many scouts are saying that the 2012 NFL draft is extremely deep at the running back position. Plus, Browns’ GM Tom Heckert has a successful history of finding productive backs after the first round (LeSean McCoy, Brian Westbrook). So, while the Browns are expected to try to add depth to the running back position through the draft, it’s doubtful they will invest the #4 pick on Richardson, especially when he’s coming off knee surgery (ask Browns’ fans about Montario Hardesty).

Finally, Blackmon is just too logical pick for the Browns at #4. Essentially, when they traded down with the Falcons in last year’s draft they forewent the opportunity to add a top flight receiver for one season (giving up Julio Jones in 2011 for Justin Blackmon in 2012) in exchange for an additional first round pick in 2012. Now, if Blackmon lives up to the hype and the Browns can also add an impact player at #22, it will have been well worth the wait and a season of hand ringing headlines.

So, the only scenario whereby it is likely for Blackmon to fall to the Rams at #6 is if the Browns choose Claiborne over Blackmon and the Buccaneers then choose Richardson. The problem with this picture for Rams fans is that if as team like the Browns–which ranked 29/32 in total yards and 30/32 in scoring in 2011 and envisages itself as a “passing” team (WCO, hello?)—takes a pass on Blackmon after giving up the chance to get Julio Jones last year, one has to wonder if Blackmon is even worthy of the #6 pick.

Oh, and you can forget about Tannehill at #4–that ain’t happening.

That is precisely the issue. It took the Texans almost a decade of looking before they FINALLY found a good RB later in the draft, and in the process they got David Carr, their #1 overall draft pick, pummeled and wasted the potential of Andre Johnson and a great passing game. The Texans have gone to the playoffs once despite all that talent; their approach is not one that should be emulated.

Also, the mid-low picks and UFA types are notorious for having 3 or 4 good years and then falling completely off the map and having to be replaced. Two good examples of that: Rudi Johnson of the Bengals and Brandon Jacobs of the Giants. If you want an RB to give you good production for 8-9 years so that you can address other areas of your team, just go ahead and pull the trigger on one with 1st round ability. Otherwise you will be looking for RBs in the draft every 2-3 years. Remember: the Bucs had what they thought was the next star UFA RB in LeGarrette Blount, and he was horrible last year when teams figured him out. And Blount took the position of a couple of similar guys that the Bucs had, like Dedric Ward.

Incidentally, if you look at the rushing leaders last year, Maurice Jones-Drew was a 2nd rounder, and so was Ray Rice. Michael Turner came to the Falcons in the biggest free agency contract given to an RB in years. LeSean McCoy: 2nd round. Marshawn Lynch? First round. Willis McGahee? First round. Steven Jackson? First round. Ryan Matthews? Reggie Bush? Cedric Benson? Chris Johnson? Beanie Wells? First round. Matt Forte? 2nd round. Adrian Peterson? 1st. Ben Tate? 2nd. Rashard Mendenhall? 1st. DeAngelo Williams? First. Jonathan Stewart? 1st. For all the claims that RBs are “fungible”, 17 of the top 25 rushers last year were 1st or 2nd round picks, and #18 was a big money free agent. Further, Frank Gore had Trent Richardson type talent. The 49ers took a gamble that his knees would get better and they did. That does more for the idea of getting premium talent at RB than thinking that you can get a BenJarvus Green-Ellis and do fine, so that is #19. So that leaves 6 guys, and even some of those (Shonn Greene, LeGarrette Blount) had their limitations exposed last year despite their numbers, and had huge roles in their teams’ struggles on offense.

Taking an RB later in the draft because of Arian Foster makes as much sense as getting your QB in that region because of Tom Brady, Brad Johnson and Kurt Warner. It doesn’t pay off nearly as often as everyone thinks it does.

vondoom2:

There is a deeper pool of solid RBs? OK fine. Name the guys in this pool. The #2 RB in the draft according to a lot of sources: LaMichael James, an 185 lb. product of a gimmick offense. Is that who you want McCoy to hand the ball off to 20 times a game? Meanwhile, you want them to use the #4 overall pick on yet another Big 12 spread offense WR that will fail to produce 1000 receiving yards a year in the NFL? Blackmon isn’t even as good as the last hyped Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant, who was supposed to be “the next Randy Moss”, and Bryant hasn’t made an impact even with Tony Romo getting him the ball.
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Ever heard of Arian Foster? Many of the best running backs of recent drafts were mid-low picks or UFAs.

There is a deeper pool of solid RBs? OK fine. Name the guys in this pool. The #2 RB in the draft according to a lot of sources: LaMichael James, an 185 lb. product of a gimmick offense. Is that who you want McCoy to hand the ball off to 20 times a game? Meanwhile, you want them to use the #4 overall pick on yet another Big 12 spread offense WR that will fail to produce 1000 receiving yards a year in the NFL? Blackmon isn’t even as good as the last hyped Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant, who was supposed to be “the next Randy Moss”, and Bryant hasn’t made an impact even with Tony Romo getting him the ball.

Getting Trent Richardson would be a 2-for-1 deal.
1. You get one of the best RBs in the NFL to move the sticks, put points on the board and help your suspect defense by keeping them off the field.
2. You take pressure off your QB and give him time to develop.

You folks who continuously claim: “You can find an RB anywhere” forget that the Bucs had an alleged guy like that in LeGarrette Blount. They quickly found the difference between a guy who can just put up good numbers playing RB in a 16 game season (you only have to average 65 yards a game to get to 1000 yards) and having a special talent that makes his offense and team better.

Also, a lot of the teams that “find” these RBs later in the draft have excellent QBs like Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers etc. Richardson, who put up huge numbers against SEC defenses despite no passing game, makes a lot more sense than the latest product of those Big 12 spread offenses (Justin Blackmon today, see Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin yesterday, plus guys like Dez Bryant and Mark Clayton).

Richardson could rush for 1600 yards and 12 TDs a season, and give more single coverages for the Bucs’ average WRs to work against. It would be idiotic to pass him up just to maintain some “we don’t want to give no stinking RBs any money” nonsense. Plus, the Bucs’ new coach relied heavily on the running game at Rutgers. It is a no-brainer.

Heckert needs to get on the phone to Snead and tell him he’s taking Blackmon. See if the Rams will give a #2 to move up for him. Is Blackmon to the Rams worth more than Claiborne and a #2?

Both huge positions of need but I think Blackmon is what they need most right now as the signing of Finnegan and the return of Fletcher will help some with the Cb issues