Harry Buffalo Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Since the season is finally over I thought we could go ahead and give grades for the 2011 draft picks taking into account performance, playing time, need, and round selected. 1st Round: Trade with Falcons: Final Grade: Incomplete With 2 more selections that the Browns still need to make in the up coming draft it is quite hard to evaluate this trade. Currently the Browns Have gotten Phil Taylor, Greg Little, and Owen Marecic for Julio Jones and they still have a late 1st round pick and a 4th round pick to use. You can come close when you compare Jones stats (54 rec, 958 yards, and 8 TDs) to both Greg Little's and Phil Taylor's in this post. I will make a point to mark them to remind you all. Phil Taylor DT: Pick Received from Atlanta Trade Final Grade: B+ Final Stats: 59 Tack, 4 sacks, 1 FF (plus one trip to ESPN's Top 10 Worst plays of the week for his hilarious FR where he just drops the ball so he can stiff arm/punch a guy right in the face. Didn't matter cause the original fumble was over turned on a review). Our first selection was used on a big DT who was going to be used to eat up double teams and pair with Rubin to keep runs from going up the middle. That is exactly what he did. Even though we had one of the worst run defenses in the league (30th over all) just from watching games you could see that those runs were not coming up the middle with Rubin and Taylor cause huge road blocks up the middle. An even bigger plus is that he came in with no one expecting him to do much in the pass rushing department and he still registered 4 sacks. Other positive notes besides his play are that two of his concerns coming in (weight and injury) were a non concern. Stats considered he played almost on the level of Rubin the whole season and he should continue to grow and get even better. Round 2: Jabaal Sheard DE: Final Grade: A Final Stats: 55 Tack, 8.5 Sacks, 5 FF (Most notable was he streak for 5.5 Sacks with 5 FF he had going on during the season). 2 DL taken in this draft to mirror the 2 DB's take the year prior, Sheard was brought in to be the teams primer pass rusher. Just like Taylor, he ended up performing his selected job to a T. Helped out by his pre season battles with Pro Bowl LT Joe Thomas, Sheard ended up breaking out of his shell after being switched over to his more natural position of RDE. Through out the season he showed not only speed rushing moves but also his power moves and a nice quick inside spin to gain the quick route to the QB. Over the season he continually got better and better stopping the run and gained a knack as a ball hawk on the sack, always seeming to knock the ball out of the QB's hands. Like Haden the year before I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the DPOY ballot but I also won't be surprised when he doesn't win. His 8.5 sack slightly exceeded my personal estimate on his season sack totals and they would have earned him a B+ to an A- grade, but his 5 FF just put him over the top. He is only going to continue to get better and once we find another DE to play opposite him, he should constantly be putting up 12 sack seasons. Greg Little WR: Pick Received from Atlanta Trade Final Grade: B- Final Stats: 61 Rec, 709 yards, and 2 TD (Most notable for leading all rookie WR in receptions for most of the season, and having a lot of drops when he first got the starting nod). Having past on Julio Jones in the first in order to grade many draft picks and just missing out on the targeted speedster Torry Smith right before we picked, the Browns settle on Greg Little. To tell you the truth most of us cussed this guy out during the season. If it wasn't for drops he would have been the leading rookie WR instead of getting passed by A.J. Green in the final two weeks. Having said that though there were several things we have saw that made us very happy. Moving from the bottom of the depth chart to the top through out the season, making hard catches in tough coverage, always putting up tough effort, and have several long catches down the field... and this was the first time he has gotten to play in over a year and a half. Just like our first two picks he is very young and should continue to grow. Once he gets a good WR on his other side it shouldn't be hard to think that Little could start to reach 1000+ yards and 10+ TD seasons. Fix those hands and we can jump this grade up some... it also wouldn't hurt to make sure your up to date on all your parking tickets while your at it. 4th Round Jordan Cameron TE: Final Grade: C Final Stats: 6 rec, 33 yards I had a hard time deciding on whether I should give him a C or an incomplete. This guy wasn't even active most game and didn't start to see playing time as the 3rd and then 2nd TE until the final two weeks after Watcon and then Smith went out. With all factors counted in I decided to give him a grade. Playing time and production drives his grade down, but his potential and his amount of actual football experience keeps him from getting an F. He's got all the physical tools of Jimmy Grahm and just as much football experiance that Grahm had going into his rookie season. The only difference between Grahms final few games his rookie year and Cameron's... Wallace and Bree's. With the importance of TE being realized again thanks to last years amazing TE class, this position is getting an all new premium in the draft. In the next few years TE will start to be selected sooner and sooner so grabbing a potential Grahm/Gates TE in the 4th doesn't hurt his grade either. Hell who knows if Watson will even be able to play next year? Good thing we got this guy when we did. Owen Marecic FB: Pick Gained from Trade with Atlanta Final Grade: D Final Stats: 4 Car, 8 yards. 6 rec, 33 yards. 1 Fumble When you have to come in and replace such a beloved player who played at a pro bowl level, things are not really in your favor. It also doesn't help when the guy you had a pre season battle with gets cut, signed to a different team as the starter, and plays much better than you for the whole season. Marecic by all accounts had a horrible start to the season. The first two balls thrown his way he dropped, when he finally caught one he fumbled, and there was no 100 yard rusher or healthy starter going into the second half of the season. He finally calmed down, allowed two solid rushing games for our 3rd string RB, and helped Hillis step his game up in the final weeks of the season... but you really couldn't call his game any better than average the second half of the year. He was brought in to be a pass catching FB, but they didn't throw his way enough to warrent taking him. Clutts who we cut during the pre season was by all accounts a better blocker and pass catcher. Marecic keeps from getting a F by his ammount of playing time, his improvement in the second half of the season, and the fact that even though most fans won't admit it he played just as well as Vickers did his rookie season. If he doesn't continue to improve though I wouldn't expect him to be her after next season. 5th Round: Buster Skrine CB: Final Grade: B Stats: 18 Tack, 1 INT (most notible was his game against Arizona where he played great special teams and recorded his first INT). You might be looking at my grade and be thinking "What the hell is this guy smoking!" Well hear me out real quick. We are now in the 5th round hear, clearly no CB selected behind him did any better this season and he came in and accomplished the job that was given to him. They selected him to play in Dime and some nickle situations and he did a good job in that role not to mention the great job he did on special teams. To recap on this guys college career he had to work with 4 different CB coaches in 4 different seasons. He needed some solid coaching to say the least and he is finally getting that with the Browns. Plus he has value as a back up returner and he gives this team what it has been lacking... SPEED! This guy deserves this grade. Jason Pinkston OG: Traded 2 6th round picks for this selection Final Grade: B- Stats: Started all 16 games, did not give up a sack. Once against you have to be saying what the hell is this guy thinking. Just look at the stats I put down and you can begin to understand my grade. A 5th round pick came in and started every single game he played in and was the only played to not give up a sack... and our QB's got sacked a lot. The only reason he doesn't get an A+ is because of his poor run blocking. It sucks cause if he played at RT, he would have more than likely gotten a A grade, but at guard he can't pull to save his life which forced our run game to constantly run up the middle. It also wasn't odd to see someone run right around him and into the RB while he was still in the back fiend. We get this kid moved to the RT spot and he continues to improve on his run blocking, he could be good if not great. Hears hoping. 7th Round: Eric Hagg FS/SS: Final Grade: C+ Stats: 8 Tack, 1 PD (Would have 2 FR but both were reviewed and deemed dead plays). Basically when you pick any 7th round pick and he doesn't get cut, he should get at least a C grade. Our first season that I can remember where every single draft pick actually made the team! Hagg gets a C+ cause he was a guy that shouldn't have been starting, that should have been learning, but was forced in because of injuries to the Safeties. You can't blame the guy for poor play. He's a damn 7th round pick. He gets the + cause honestly he could have done a lot worse. What's your guys opinions? Honestly so far I'm thinking the trade with Atlanta is worth it. We got a good DT who could and should be a pro bowler in 3ish years and a solid WR in Little. I honestly think if we can give Little the same things Atlanta gave Jones, he would be just as good (he needs a good QB and a good WR on the other side of him) with the first round pick gained from Atlanta we could get Wright and that could make this trade more than worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrb12711 Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Good analysis, I was going to post something like this. Sheard was a monster of a pick. He had a great game against the Steelers and with more experience I could see him being a 12-15 sack guy every year. I think Taylor did a great job and your analysis was completely right. The reason we were getting run on all year was due to getting beat to the edge consistently. Little has really good potential but he HAS to hold on to the damn ball. Those drops are inexcusable, but I really like his seperation and YAC ability. I think we also got some good depth guys in Skrine and Pinkston. I respect Pinkston coming in as a late round rookie, but his run block skills severely lack and even as a OL he's slow. However, I think he's a good depth guy and hopefully someone emerges as a starter. Same with Skrine, I like him as a nickel DB or depth guy. I think we did well in this draft but this season shows how crappy the team was before. Now it's time to draft offensive talent and fill (hopefully) DE in Free agency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdl15 Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Good post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USFBrown Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Good analysis. I agree with pretty much everything except id give Little a C just due to the drops. He had a lot of drops late in the season and you can't say its because he was rusty. But I believe he has the potential to be a great 2 or maybe even a decent 1 receiver with some time. Hopefully we can pick up another decent wr opposite of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Buffalo Posted January 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Good analysis. I agree with pretty much everything except id give Little a C just due to the drops. He had a lot of drops late in the season and you can't say its because he was rusty. But I believe he has the potential to be a great 2 or maybe even a decent 1 receiver with some time. Hopefully we can pick up another decent wr opposite of him. Agreed but at the same time he still had catches you wouldn't expect someone to make. Ya he reminds me of a Braylen Edwards, but this time around we aren't paying Old CBA tops 3 money for him. If Edwards was on this list I would have given him a D for value compared to drops. When you compare Little's value compared to drops it's way better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrownsFan Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I wouldn't exactly think Sheard would take too kindly to being referred to as a "she" in your original post.... Other than that, good stuff...... I would give Taylor more of a C+ as he was a little non-existent for a two or three game stretch but started to come back around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Buffalo Posted January 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I wouldn't exactly think Sheard would take too kindly to being referred to as a "she" in your original post.... Other than that, good stuff...... I would give Taylor more of a C+ as he was a little non-existent for a two or three game stretch but started to come back around. It's the hair the confuses me HaHa I think I went to type Sheard and just stopped half way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soju Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I give Taylor a B- Many of those big runs DID in fact go right up the gaps in the middle. Taylor got held up at the line of scrimmage and even got pushed back many times. He was not constantly double teamed like you pointed out, too. He disappointed me with our first overall pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CantonLegend Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Very generous grades...they are to be expected tho Taylor and Sheard played really well Maricic played well considering he was a fullback in a west coast offense...it's about as useful as an 11th toe Pinkston started as a rookie but that doesn't mean he played well. The browns line is one of the worst in the league and Pinkston didn't do anything to help change that Little....had some flashes but had entirely too many drops. He looks like he has some upside if he cleans up his mistakes but he's a solid #2/#3 guy.....not a true #1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Buffalo Posted January 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I give Taylor a B- Many of those big runs DID in fact go right up the gaps in the middle. Taylor got held up at the line of scrimmage and even got pushed back many times. He was not constantly double teamed like you pointed out, too. He disappointed me with our first overall pick. I will agree that there was like a 2-3 game span in the first half of the season where he got pushed around and generally just didn't play well, but the rest of the season he was great, especially the 2nd half. I always watch the rookies over the other guys and besides for those few bad games I didn't see him getting pushed back and run past. Very generous grades...they are to be expected tho Taylor and Sheard played really well Maricic played well considering he was a fullback in a west coast offense...it's about as useful as an 11th toe Pinkston started as a rookie but that doesn't mean he played well. The browns line is one of the worst in the league and Pinkston didn't do anything to help change that Little....had some flashes but had entirely too many drops. He looks like he has some upside if he cleans up his mistakes but he's a solid #2/#3 guy.....not a true #1 Pinkston got as high a grade as he did cause of his draft position compared to his amount of playing time and pass blocking ability. If he had been selected 3rd or higher I would have given him around a D. The problem when people look at how good rookies are is that they treat every one like they were first round picks. That's just not the case and each person should have their draft position/value factored in when judged. Same reason if I graded all the rookie WR's my highest grade would go to Doug Baldwin from Seattle. Even though Green (A+ 98%), Jones (A-) and Torry Smith (A-) statistically were better, Baldwin was an un drafted rookie and he still put up numbers that were slightly better than Little's and had 4 total TD's and he's only making rookie minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsympathetic Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Taylor deserves a B+. Yes, we were 30th in rushing - but Taylor was a big part of why the Browns were #2 in the NFL in pass defense. Run defense will get better only when we bring in better LB's, and I'd hope this year's offseason brings a better RDE as well - perhaps in the third round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CantonLegend Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I will agree that there was like a 2-3 game span in the first half of the season where he got pushed around and generally just didn't play well, but the rest of the season he was great, especially the 2nd half. I always watch the rookies over the other guys and besides for those few bad games I didn't see him getting pushed back and run past. Pinkston got as high a grade as he did cause of his draft position compared to his amount of playing time and pass blocking ability. If he had been selected 3rd or higher I would have given him around a D. The problem when people look at how good rookies are is that they treat every one like they were first round picks. That's just not the case and each person should have their draft position/value factored in when judged. Same reason if I graded all the rookie WR's my highest grade would go to Doug Baldwin from Seattle. Even though Green (A+ 98%), Jones (A-) and Torry Smith (A-) statistically were better, Baldwin was an un drafted rookie and he still put up numbers that were slightly better than Little's and had 4 total TD's and he's only making rookie minimum. I wasn't grading them as first round picks...I was just grading them as rookies. If guys like cam newton and Andy dalton are A's then you grade down from there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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