In his weekend mailbag, ESPN’s James Walker answered fans questions about the AFC North. One fan asked whether the Browns should address the defensive line or the wide receiver position with their first pick in the draft. Walker usually is against taking receivers high, but despite Cleveland being depleted on the defensive line, he might go against the norm. Here’s why:
↵↵↵I’ve pointed out several examples like receivers Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, who are arguably top five at their position and all play for losing teams. But the Browns have a young quarterback in Colt McCoy and an offensive-minded head coach in Pat Shurmur. In a West Coast offense, Cleveland is going to pass the football a lot more, and going into next season with the same group of receivers is a disaster waiting to happen. McCoy’s development and the progress of the West Coast offense are paramount for the Browns in 2011. If neither pan out over the next couple of years the Browns have no shot of catching the Steelers and Ravens. So this year might be the exception for my theory on drafting receivers in the top 10. I’m still torn on this.
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This will be a huge decision for Tom Heckert and company to make come April, undoubtedly affected by free agency probably not occurring on time.