Mid March 3rd Round

The Browns have 67th, 72nd, 76th, and 78th picks in the 3rd round. With the 67th pick the Browns should look at RB Kenny Irons of Auburn, OG Arron Sears of Tennessee, RB Chris Henry of Arizona, or RB Lorenzo Booker of Florida State. Since Irons, Sears, and Henry are likely to be gone the selection should be Lorenzo Booker. Booker has great hands out of the backfield as well as a great burst. Booker would be a great change of pace for Jamal Lewis and would solve the question about who would be the 3rd down back.

With the 72nd pick the Browns should select DT/DE Marcus Thomas of Florida. Thomas has 1st round ability but has a questionable past behavior wise. But with so many picks it is ok to take a chance on such a talent. He has the ideal speed and quickness to be a pass rusher at DE in the 3-4.

With the 76th pick the Browns should take the best available DB. At this point in the draft that player is likely Eric Weddle from Utah. Weddle has the speed and hips to play CB or the instincts to play FS and he can hit. Weddle should battle Brodney Pool for the starting FS or win the NB slot. His versatility will prove quite useful if injuries decimate the secondary as they did last year. If Weddle is gone the team should take a hard look at CB Johnathan Wade of Tennessee or CB Fred Bennett of South Carolina.

With the 78th slot the team should look for a trade partner in the mid 80s. I will arbitrarily select the Broncos as the trade partner. For this trade the Browns receive the Broncos 3rd and 5th rounder. With the 86th pick the Browns should select OL Manuel Ramirez of Texas Tech. Ramirez projects as a OG at the pro level but played tackle in college. He provides some young depth and versatility at the position for the Browns.

The Browns add the 148th pick in the 5th round with the trade.