Saturday, April 25, 2009
By TONY GROSSI
CLEVELAND — The smoke clears today on the first Browns draft of the Eric Mangini-George Kokinis era.
So many questions will be answered, after which we will know the direction chosen by the super-secretive new regime.
U Does Mangini intend to select the quarterback he believes will lead the Browns to the Super Bowl? The moment of truth will come if USC’s Mark Sanchez is still on the board when the Browns’ No. 5 overall pick comes up.
U Does he intend to cast aside fan favorite Brady Quinn and trade him to the highest bidder? Denver and the Jets remain hungry for Quinn, despite a report out of Denver that the Browns said Quinn was unavailable.
U Can he pull off a trade of receiver Braylon Edwards and still field a lineup of competent wideouts?
New York and national media reports insist the Giants won’t part with their first-round pick for Edwards. That could change when the clock’s ticking on their 29th overall selection and they’re staring at a handful of flawed wideouts.
U Will Mangini follow the draft pattern of mentor Bill Belichick and seek to build his defense from the inside out?
When in doubt, Mangini can peek at that imaginary WWBD rubber bracelet all Belichick disciples wear and make his selection based on “what would Belichick do?” If it comes to that, he would select Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji or LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson.
U And who will be the next Browns starter to be displaced after the draft concludes on Sunday?
More than one close observer of the Browns believes it will be center Hank Fraley.
By virtue of former GM Phil Savage’s aggressive dealing, the Browns are limited to five draft picks; one was retrieved by Kokinis in the trade of Kellen Winslow to Tampa Bay for its second-round selection — No. 50 overall.
The Browns are without picks in the third, fifth and seventh rounds. Only New Orleans (four) has fewer picks than the Browns.
Rebuilding his team through extra picks has been a mantra of Mangini as he went about tearing down walls in the Browns’ locker room and moving his video room at great expense. Exercising that plan may be contingent on events out of the Browns’ control.
For instance, the player attracting the most chatter about a trade into the top five is Sanchez, the USC field general who has all of 16 career college starts. St. Louis (at two), Kansas City (three) and Seattle (four) are said to be happy to move down.