The WFAA Bloggers' NFL mock draft
4. Cleveland Browns: QB Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M)
This is a bit of a reach at this position, and I'm sure it will lead to a lot of questions. With Andrew Luck gone to Washington, and Robert Griffin III to Indianapolis, the quarterback market drops off immensely. Tannehill is next on the quarterback board and is said to be heavily coveted by the Miami Dolphins. Browns head coach Pat Shurmur recently proclaimed that Cleveland is sticking with quarterback Colt McCoy, but this is draft season. Anytime a coach or a general manager speaks, they probably aren't telling the truth -- or at least all of it.
Cleveland is pretty much a football wasteland right now, and the Browns could use a new direction to build on. Running back Peyton Hillis left for Kansas City in free agency, and the team has lacked a playmaking Wide Receiver for a long time. So it's conceivable that Cleveland would look to take Alabama running back Trent Richardson or Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon at four. However, Cleveland football czar Mike Holmgren doesn't like taking wide receivers this high in the draft, which rules out Blackmon. Richardson is a nice player, but though Cleveland could plug their running back hole with him I just don't see Cleveland taking him.
This could be seen as the chance to give Cleveland the franchise quarterback they haven't had recently, and with the AFC North getting stronger at signal caller (Dalton in Cincinnati, Flacco in Baltimore, and Big Ben in Pittsburgh) Cleveland will be a little blind and reach for the former Aggie. It's a classic risk-reward proposition. It could either be the move that revitalizes Cleveland back to NFL relevance, or it could plummet them further into oblivion. It's a big risk, but it's one I see Cleveland making come late April. -- SAM HALE
(Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images)
