By Ben Knisley
And with the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft…the St. Louis Rams have traded the pick to the Cleveland Browns and they select… Hold the phone. Let’s try not to think about Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, Gerrard Warren, Willie Green, well the list goes on and on and on. And on.
With ten drafts picks in the 2010 NFL draft. Mike Holmgren and the new regime have plenty of opportunities to address a multitude of needs and steer this franchise in the right direction for years to come. And not by “mortgaging the farm” as Holmgren puts it.
Most fans would agree that the most pressing need is the secondary, whether at cornerback or safety, leading us to the debate over Tennessee’s Eric Berry or Florida’s Joe Haden. Berry would be the ideal choice with the seventh overall pick, but if Kansas City grabs him with the fifth pick, look for Cleveland to go one of two ways. 
The first being to take the best available player, which would most likely be an offensive tackle. There are three or four tackles likely available, such as Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung, Oklahoma’s Trent Williams and Maryland’s Bruce Campbell. All could sure up the right side of a good, but not great offensive line. The second way Cleveland could go could go is trading down three to five slots to take Haden; as long as they can find a willing partner.
The Browns’ next pick should be their future leader at the quarterback position. My money would be on the Browns packaging a couple of picks to move up into the late first round, a la Brady Quinn, and take Colt McCoy who fits the West Coast style offense that Holmgren plans on implementing in the coming months. McCoy is a smart, accurate passer that would be well served spending a season learning the system behind Delhomme and Wallace.
The biggest adjustment for McCoy would be learning to take snaps and then change his footwork within his drop back from under center.
With several choices in the first ninety six, and needs at almost every position, the rest of the draft will be interesting for Cleveland fans. Holmgren wants to find a burner at the wide receiver position like Golden Tate or Damian Williams. Depth at the linebacker position is also a priority if the Browns plan on increasing both their sacks and take aways from a year ago.
Either way, Cleveland needs players on both offense and defense. The splash that Mike Holmgren and the Cleveland Browns will make this year likely won’t be in draft day blockbuster trades, but by adding four or five players from this draft class who can impact a struggling franchise, and finally produce the consistent winner that Cleveland fans deserve.