1. Justin Blackmon, WR – Oklahoma State

“He’s not elite.” “He’ll be good but not great.” “He’s not worth a top-tier pick.” I’ve been listening to all the talk and for a long time, I was drinking the kool-aid. For weeks I’ve been mocking this draft and I’ve been coming back to Trent Richardson. So much so that I stopped watching tape of Justin Blackmon and started listening to the critics.

Then I went back to the tape.

Turns out, football isn’t played on paper and the critics aren’t coaches for a reason. Blackmon is a through and through stud. Just compare him to Michael Floyd. And I don’t mean just the measurables. The way Blackmon runs routes makes Floyd look like a tight end. And Floyd could be a top 10 pick in this draft! Truth is, Blackmon is exactly the type of player a west-coast offense needs (not a running back which many have noted, isn’t really needed for post-season success anymore). Adding Blackmon should free up Little to build on his successful rookie campaign and before long, our struggling passing attack has two legit wideouts. Sold.

Additionally it helps that Blackmon is a fantastic person. Forget the hospital visits and all the other PR stuff we’ve seen, in all the highlights Blackmon is always the first guy to help up a teammate and connects with the fans just like Haden did with Cleveland. He’s everything you want in a first round pick and that’s why I take him at 4.

1. Jonathan Martin, OT – Stanford

If Martin falls here like I’ve been seeing in recent mocks, this is a no brainer. People that have been getting down on Martin because he’s not Kalil (who is probably the best OT prospect since Thomas or Long) but to move him from the left to the right side would be an absolute godsend for a right side that has perpetually lacked a consistent right tackle. Martin is a good but not great run blocker, but isn’t this a pass-first offense now? If the draft goes the way people are projecting the Browns need not overthink this and let talent win out, which means Martin should be the pick at 22.

2. Lavonte David, LB – Nebraska

Usually when you target a “must-have” player it’s in the first round. For some reason, I find that not being the case in this draft. The one player the Browns absolutely must have in this draft is Lavonte David. Watch the tape of this kid and you forget that you’re watching just a single game and start thinking you’re watching a highlight reel. With plenty of size to man the will position in a pass-first league, David possesses the lateral speed to keep teams from bouncing the ball to the outside. Of course he’s great in coverage, but what impresses me is that David uses his body so perfectly to get into position and stick running backs. He’s a complete play making tackling machine. Put him next to D’Qwell and we’ll have a pair of linebackers that hawk just like you want them to. David is such a must have player that I’d be perfectly ok to trade up and get him or, if Martin is off the board, taking him all the way at 22. He’s that good.

3. Chris Polk, RB – Washington

Chris Polk is the reason that running backs shouldn’t be drafted in the top 5. Four seasons in a major conference. Over 1,000 rushing yards the last three seasons. Over 1,400 rushing yards the last two. Very good catching the ball out of the backfield. Ran a 4.45 at the combine. Great size at 5’ 11” and 222 lbs. (which is virtually identical to the measurables of Trent Richardson as reported by ESPN). He’s a team leader and doesn’t disappear in big games. He doesn’t fumble (only 4 lost in over 900 carries???). What am I missing here? He may not be Trent Richardson, but if Ahmad Bradshaw and BenJarvus Green-Ellis can carry you to the Super Bowl, a stable of Polk, Hardesty, Jackson can too.

4. Chase Minnifield, CB – Virginia

Alright fine, I’m a sucker. I’m totally falling for the Frank Minnifield connection. I did the same thing with Casey Matthews. Of course him being a legacy is helpful. But here’s the thing, he’s a steal for value here too. When people watched tape of him, Minnifield was considered a probable 2nd round and borderline first round pick. Then he stood next to a tape measure and now he can’t play football? I don’t buy that for two seconds. What really happened is he got hurt… late. If this injury happened his sophomore year no biggie, but it’s right before the draft. And admittedly he’s taken a bit longer to recover than expected. But the procedure he underwent was minor and something professional athletes come back from all the time. Maybe Chase won’t be the player that graded out as a 1st-2nd round prospect anymore. In the fourth round though, I’m willing to take that gamble. Especially if it takes me back to the glory days of the dawg pound.

4. Ryan Broyles, WR – Oklahoma

What can I say, I love cripples in the 4th round! All jokes aside Broyles looked real healthy at his pro day and may not be available at this point. If he’s there though the Browns would be real wise to get him. He’s the NCAA all time leading receiver, so I think he might know how to catch a football. Throw him in the slot and all of a sudden there’s Blackmon-Little-Broyles, and we don’t have to mumble when we speak about our wide-outs anymore.

5. DaJohn Harris – DT, USC

At 300+ Harris has a lot of burst that will provide great depth behind Rubin and Taylor. Has a lot more talent than technique, but again it’s depth we’re talking about here. Also I think the Browns might be high on him. He’s never had an issue with injury but a Cleveland Browns doctor kept him from working out at the combine for an oft-benign heart defect. The heart defective is congenital (exists from birth) and has never stopped Harris from playing before. After the combine Harris’ own cardiologist e-mailed all NFL teams to assure them that Harris was fine. Who knows, maybe the Browns were genuinely worried. Or maybe the Browns wanted to keep one of their hidden gems from shooting up the draft boards…

5. Tom Compton – OT, South Dakota

He’s got the size at 6’5” and 314 lbs. He ran the 4th fastest 40 at the combine for OTs. He’s a good run blocker and he’s got long arms. He never went up against top-tier competition at South Dakota, but he killed the people he did line up against. The thing I like most about him is that he really is a tackle, not one of those college tackles that will have to move to guard in the pros. It’s not like we have a ton behind Thomas or the newly acquired Martin. I say sign him up.

6. Brandon Lindsey – LB, Pittsburgh

A former teammate of Jabaal Sheard, Lindsey is a bit of a tweener. A little too small for a DE and not quite good enough in coverage for a LB (although he did make some impressive interceptions while he was in college). One thing that is undeniable though is that he can get to the quarterback. People though Lindsey was going to struggle when Sheard and Romeus left for the NFL, but he still managed to turn out 8.5 sacks. Those sacks usually came in the bigger games too, like West Virginia, Notre Dame, Cincinnati. Lindsey reminds me of Marcus Benard but a little better in coverage. In any case, it’s always a good thing to be able to get to the quarterback.

6. Emil Igwenagu – FB, Maryland

Just in case this whole Owen Marecic thing doesn’t work out as well as we’d hope. Igwenagu has good size at 6’1” 249 lbs. His best quality may be his hands though. He’s a great athlete and would fit like a glove in the west coast offense. If Marecic does work out, Igwenagu is a great guy to have on your practice squad or special teams. If Marecic doesn’t work out, we have options.

7. Frank Alexander – DE, Oklahoma

Another guy who mysteriously had a “previously undiagnosed heard condition” that kept him from working out at the combine that later turned out to be false reports. At 270 lbs. he has decent speed clocking in at 4.76 at his pro day. Played at a big time program and produced, posting 8.5 sacks his senior year. What did we say about being able to get to the quarterback?

7. Chris Owusu – WR, Stanford

He’s fast. And… fast. And he plays wide receiver. He did help Luck get to become the first overall pick in the draft, so there could be some value here. Most likely a practice squad guy, but could provide some value. It’s not exactly like we’re stocked with speed guys at the WR position anyway.

7. Randy Bullock – K, Texas A&M

Sooner or later Phil Dawson won’t be around anymore. Taking the 2011 Lou Groza Award winner and consensus All-American means we’ll have another Texas kicker to step in when that crappy day comes when we say goodbye to Phil.

Not sure if anyone cares after all that, but this is what I think our depth chart could look like. I like how the draft turned out, not so sure about this depth chart. We'll have to see though. Thanks for reading and go Browns!

QB: Colt McCoy Seneca Wallace Thaddeus Lewis

RB: Chris Polk Montario Hardesty Brandon Jackson

FB: Owen Marecic

LT: Joe Thomas Tom Compton

LG: Jason Pinkston

Alex Mack

RG: Shawn Lauvao John Greco

RT: Jonathan Martin Oniel Cousins

TE: Ben Watson Evan Moore Jordan Cameron

WR: Justin Blackmon Joshua Cribbs Mohamed Massaquoi

WR: Greg Little Ryan Broyles Carlton Mitchell

DE: Frostee Rucker Juqua Parker Marcus Benard

DT: Phil Taylor DaJohn Harris

DT: Atyhba Rubin Brian Schaefering

DE: Jabaal Sheard Frank Alexander

SLB: Chris Gocung Scott Fujita Brandon Lindsey

MLB: D’Qwell Jackson Titus Brown

WLB: Lavonte David Kaluka Maiava

SS: T.J. Ward Ray Ventrone

FS: Usama Young Eric Hagg

CB: Joe Haden Dimitri Patterson Sheldon Brown

CB: Chase Minnifield Buster Skrine James Dockery

K: Phil Dawson

P: Reggie Hodges

LS: Christian Yount