When Mel Kiper speaks, people listen. ESPN's resident draft expert makes the NFL Draft his life. And he has an opinion on the direction the Cleveland Browns should take come April.
"I think it's pretty easy to project the Cleveland Browns in terms of what they need and what will be there," Kiper said on a conference call today. "A.J. Green and Robert Quinn would be the two candidates.
Kiper goes on to say that drafting a WR is not as much as a faux pas as people think.
"I look back at Larry Fitzgerald. Would you have been shy about taking him? Would you have been shy about taking Andre Johnson? I don't think so," he said. "There's been other examples of guys going pretty early that have done very very well. I don't shy away from it. "You look at the sixth pick, it's not the first, second or third pick. A.J. Green is worthy of being one of the top guys. He's no. 3 on my board. Julio Jones (of Alabama) I have at 10. It's not like you're taking him No. 1 overall or No. 2. So I don't see the fear at six."
Of course, who gets taken in the first five picks will have a definite impact on the Browns' strategy in the Draft. There is no clear-cut number one, and each of the five teams ahead of the Browns have multiple needs both offensively and defensively.
The talent is very DL-heavy at the top of most mock drafts, but new coaches and their schemes come into play heavily as to which players fit the system best.
Regardless, no matter which player the Browns end up taking, they should be able to help immediately.