NFL Network's Mike Mayock is one of the preeminent draft minds out there when it comes to talking about the NFL Draft. Last Thursday he had an interview with Charlie Yook, talking about pretty much everything and anything related to this season's draft including a lot on the Cleveland Browns and how he thinks that they should take Alabama RB Trent Richardson with their fourth overall selection. He cited the toughness of the division the Browns play in as to why a solid tailback was a necessity.
So long story short, this is a big boy division. It's all about physicality, toughness, and winning games 17-14, not winning games 42-39. So to me, if you get a tailback that's as good a tailback as I think Richardson is, you can shorten the football game.
And when you have to go to Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and play them twice a year, sometimes in bad weather, you might not even be able to get the football out to Justin Blackmon, whereas you can turnaround and hand the ball to this kid and stay in the game.
So that's a long way of saying that I think Richardson is a guy at four.
Later in the interview, Mayock also says that the Browns could get to the playoffs based on defense and a solid running game, citing Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco's early successes in their careers. Colt McCoy is also a young QB that hasn't seen as much success as those two, partially because of a slight lack of talent around him in Cleveland.
I mentioned a little while ago, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco when they went to the playoffs, they had a run game and they had a strong defense. You have a pretty good defense, by the way. You get a run game, you've got a chance.
If all it will take is a Trent Richardson type to get the Browns with Colt McCoy at the helm to the playoffs, why not pick him up?
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