The Cleveland Browns received poor marks from WalterFootball.com for pinning their future hopes on quaterback Branden Weeden and using a late first round pick to select the Oklahoma State QB who will soon turn 29. For that the Browns recieved a C- grade overall.
There's nothing worse than targeting one player in a certain spot and then panicking when that prospect is plucked off the board a selection or two earlier. That's exactly what happened to the Browns at No. 22. They were set to take Kendall Wright, but then had to reach for Brandon Weeden when Tennessee took him at No. 20. Mike Holmgren did not have a Plan B.
If Weeden can be a franchise quarterback, this will be a good draft class. However, that's unlikely. He'll be 29 soon, and by the time he figures things out, he'll be in his 30s. He'll be 33 when his first contract is up. Oh, and then there's the dubious history of Big XII quarterbacks flopping in the NFL. Weeden should not have been a first-round pick, and Cleveland must be heavily downgraded for that.
The grade also reflected the feeling that the Browns reached to take DT John Hughes and WR Travis Benjamin too high with more valuable players on the board.
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