BEREA: What the Browns did Friday night was the real test of the new regime, the night that will determine the team’s short-term future.
Their decisions to trade down from Nos. 2 and 8 in the NFL Draft were part of a long-term plan, moves made to set them up with a load of selections the next two years. But with one second-round pick and three third-rounders on Day 2, they needed to net two or three starters to go along with 15th overall pick Corey Coleman, a wide receiver from Baylor.
That’s the number executive vice president Sashi Brown said last week he hoped to find in the seven rounds of the draft.
If Friday’s picks don’t turn out to be productive, all that wheeling and dealing was for naught.
Or for show.
When they rejected trade offers and elected to stay at No. 32, the first pick of the evening, the Browns filled an immediate need with the selection of Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah. His 28 career sacks made him the nation’s active leader; his 40 career tackles for losses were fourth in school history.
With the 65th overall pick, they took Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib, the 2015 Big Ten defensive player of the year whose 15½ sacks set a school record as he won the Lombardi, Hendricks and Lott IMPACT awards.
At No. 76, they selected Auburn offensive tackle Shon Coleman, who spent three years battling leukemia before starting his final two seasons.
Then they traded No. 77 to the Carolina Panthers, along with No. 141, for Nos. 93 (third round), 129 (fourth round) and 168 (fifth round). With that third-round pick, the Browns took USC quarterback Cody Kessler.
As Browns coach Hue Jackson discussed Ogbah’s speed and versatility as the 2015 Big 12 co-defensive player of the year prepares to make the transition from 4-3 end to 3-4 outside linebacker, part of me lost sight of the big picture. My mind drifted, the Browns’ dubious draft history came flashing back, especially to previous busts from Oklahoma State, quarterback Brandon Weeden and cornerback Justin Gilbert. I wondered if the Browns wouldn’t have been better off with Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa at No. 2 and OSU receiver Michael Thomas at No. 32.
Then I snapped back to reality, to the fact that the Browns need three drafts worth of picks to fill all their holes and the trades were the only way to accelerate their return to NFL relevance.
But that’s providing they get Friday night right. They need to hit on Nos. 32 (Ogbah), 65 (Nassib), 76 (Coleman) and 93 (Kessler).
Part of me also wished the Browns hadn’t been burned by bad boys Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon, by Armonty Bryant and Gilbert. If they hadn’t been through those circuses, they could have taken a chance on ex-Buckeye defensive end Noah Spence, whose Ecstasy use resulted in a permanent ban by the Big Ten and forced him to finish his college career at Eastern Kentucky.
Jackson made it clear at the NFL Combine that the Browns were emphasizing character and that was the theme on Day 2. Ogbah is the son of a Nigerian pastor who helped his family flee the country when Ogbah was 9. Nassib is a former preferred walk-on who sat for his first two years. Former Nittany Lions coach Bill O’Brien once told Nassib he would never play in the NFL. Coleman was diagnosed with leukemia in the spring of 2010.
“It’s an important, really central aspect of what we’re going to build here,” Brown said of the character issue. “We want guys who are passionate about football, but also good citizens, good members of the Cleveland community and good teammates.”
Part of me wished the Browns weren’t years from playoff contention and could have gambled on UCLA linebacker Myles Jack despite him being six month removed from a torn meniscus in his right knee. Or that they could have taken Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith, who suffered two torn ligaments and nerve damage in his left knee against OSU in the Fiesta Bowl that may sideline him for all of next season.
Smith went 34th overall (sigh) to the Dallas Cowboys, Jack 36th to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But as the Browns search for the building blocks that will be their foundation, they had to be risk averse. They had to find standouts who filled needs, but were also safe.
The choices may not have carried the same buzz as Jack or Spence or Smith would have. But Browns fans got excitement two years ago, and look what that wrought.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com.