2014 NFL Draft - First Round

Draft Selection

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/rounds/_/year/2014

May 8, 2014

Nerding out with my all-time favorite TV show, except for this event, I used a radio, since we don't have cable / satellite TV.

Tuned into AM 850 over the Internet at 8:07 p.m. Wall-to-wall Browns draft coverage all day today. I listened to AM 850 on the radio while working in the backyard this afternoon.

Although, 2014 draft talk for the Browns began last September on AM 850.

The NFL is the only sport that I follow. It's a fun, relaxing escape.

The "thinking" is the Browns will take Sammy Watkins WR Clemson at #4 and T. Bridgewater QB Louisville at #26.

Another thought is the Browns will trade down their #4 pick and trade up their #26 pick.

It has to be pretty wild in the Browns draft war room.

At 8:10 p.m., Aaron Goldhammer reported that the Houston Texans will take Jadeveon Clowney DE S Carolina at #1 overall. Tony Grossi just said that he thinks Clowney will be a bust. That's also the thinking of Jerod Cherry, who I enjoy slistening to. Jerod played for three Super Bowl winning teams at New England. Tony Rizzo is also on hand. They're all broadcasting on location at the Hard Rock Rocksino at Northfield Park.

At 8:14 p.m., Tony Grossi thinks St. Louis with the #2 pick will try to trade down with Atlanta who has the #6 pick.

At 8:15 p.m., NFL commissioner announced the first pick, which was Clowney. He's a physical specimen.

Jerod said he would have chosen Khalil Mack OLB Buffalo or one of the other offensive tackles.

It is strange that Clowney only had three sacks in his final year in college.

Scouts Inc rated Clowney as the best player in the draft.

At 8:19 p.m., Aaron said St. Louis plans to take Greg Robinson OT Auburn. Scouts Inc ranks Robinson as the second best player in this year's draft.

The Top 10 rated players per Scouts Inc.:

1. Jadeveon Clowney DE S Carolina
2. Greg Robinson OT Auburn
3. Khalil Mack OLB Buffalo
4. Sammy Watkins WR Clemson
5. Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M
6. Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh
7. Mike Evans WR Texas A&M
8. Taylor Lewan OT Michigan
9. Zack Martin OT Notre Dame
10. O. Beckham Jr. WR LSU

At 8:23 p.m., Aaron said a photo is circulating on social media of Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M drinking a beer, a Coors Light possibly. No problem with the dude drinking a brewski, but he needs to upgrade to something else.

I' chowing down on pasta with DD's sauce that she made and canned last fall. I'm drinking a tasty brew: North Peak Brewing Company, Vicious American Wheat IPA. It's a Michigan brewery.

At 8:25 p.m., commish announces offensive tackle Robinson going to St. Louis.

Actually, Grossi is reporting from Browns HQ in Berea.

Aaron reports at 8:27 p.m. that according Pro Football Talk, the Browns will trade down their #4 pick. Rizzo asked the crowd for thoughts, and the crowed booed.

At 8:28 p.m., Aaron reports that Jacksonville may take Blake Bortles QB UCF. Scouts Inc ranks Bortles as the 18th best player in the draft. This seems like a surprise pick. Aaron said the first "bombshell" of the draft. The QBs are ranked low, relatively speaking.

So will the Browns still trade down their #4 pick. The AM 850 gang thinks the Browns should take WR Watkins or OLB Mack.

Aaron is getting his info from his "sources" or his social media stream.

At 8:31 p.m.Aaron said the Johnny beer photo was photoshopped.

At 8:31 p.m., the commish announces the Jags taking Bortles. So far, Aaron's early reports have been correct. This was a biggie. Rizzo said he did not see one mock draft that had Bortles going three or that high in the draft.

The Jags need a QB. Bortles seems to be the biggest, size-wize, among the top QBs in the draft.

At 8:33 p.m., Rizzo announces, "The Browns are on the clock." And the crowd hoots and hollers.

Aaron wants Johnny. Jerod wants Sammy Watkins. Rizzo wants Johnny. The crowd is mixed. No actually, the crowd wants Sammy more than Johnny. Watch the Browns trade down.

At 8:34 p.m, the crowd boos. Uh oh. The Browns have traded their #4 pick down with Buffalo who had the #9 pick. So far, nothing mentioned as to what else the Browns may get.

At 8:35 p.m., Rizzo said the Bills will take Sammy Watkins. Not popular move for the Browns fans. Jerod does not like it. He said the Browns should not pass up on great talent.

Aaron said the Browns will get a first round pick from Buffalo for 2015 and a fourth round pick for 2015. No additional picks for this year's draft.

The Browns already planning for next year???

What about the Bills? They made an aggressive move by giving up their first round pick for next year.

Aaron said the Browns like WR Evans.

Aaron said that Peter King said that it was a great trade for Cleveland. Browns still have a top-10 pick in this draft, and they will have two first round picks next year like this year, unless the Browns trade down again.

At 8:39 p.m., commercial.

At 8:43 p.m., commish said Raiders take Mack, linebacker from Buffalo.

Browns may take a cornerback at #9.

Allegedly, the Browns were high on both Watkins and Mack, but the Browns passed on both.

The NFL rules are slanted to favor quarterbacks and wide receivers. Those are the positions that I would draft in the top 10, if a need exists. And the Browns need another wide receiver. I think taking Watkins would have been better than trading down even with getting another first round pick in 2015.

Browns media guy Vick Curuchi thinks the Browns will take Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma at #9. Scouts Inc. ranks Gilbert the 20th best player.

Aaron said the Falcons are expected to take Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M. Commish confirms. Scouts Inc ranks Matthews the 5th best player. Rizzo said Matthews is the best player in the draft. Matthews is part of the Matthews NFL family.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Matthews

He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews and the younger brother of Kevin Matthews, a center who also played for the Aggies. His younger brother, Mike, currently plays center for the Aggies as well. He is also the cousin of Clay Matthews III, a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers and Casey Matthews, a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Matthews_III

His father Clay Matthews, Jr. played 19 seasons and 278 games as a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons while earning 4 Pro Bowl selections. His uncle Bruce Matthews also played 19 seasons in the NFL, playing 296 games an offensive lineman for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise after being drafted out of USC in 1983, Bruce was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Amazing football family bloodline.

Tampa Bay is up next.

Apparently, Johnny is getting a lot of face time on TV, ESPN.

At 8:59 p.m., the commish announces the Bucs taking Mike Evans WR Texas A&M, the 7th ranked player for Scouts Inc.

At 9:00 p.m., Cleveland is on the clock because the Browns traded up to get the #8 pick. Why?

Grossi think the Browns moved up to #8 to take a cornerback. Wow. That's exciting. The NFL is more likely to tinker with the rules in the future to favor the offense more than the defense.

At 9:02 p.m., the Browns are about to have their first pick of the 2014 draft announced. The Browns swapped picks with the Vikings. The Browns gave up their 5th round pick.

Aaron said the Browns will take cornerback Gilbert from OK State.

Browns top-notch CB Haden got burned at home vs lowly Jacksonville, and the Jags won. The best CBs can still get burnt. It only takes one play. One smart, savvy play by a veteran QB.

At 9:04 p.m., the commish announces that the Browns will take Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma St. who Scouts Inc. rated as the 20th best player in the draft. So Gilbert did well, but the Browns reached down.

The best NFL QBs complete passes to catchers who are not open. The pass receiver needs to run a strict route and get position. The top-flight accurate QBs will laser beam that pass to the receiver even if an excellent CB is covering the receiver. And the receiver can push off a little and has a good chance to draw a pass interference penalty from the CB.

Look at what happened in the New England game, late, when Haden was flagged for a bad pass interference call. The best CBs cannot overcome the NFL's bias toward QBs and WRs.

The Browns should have taken Watkins at #4. I think this is a bad move for the Browns.

Bevis was the best corner in the game with the Jets. He played in a couple AFC championship games with the Jets. But the Jets have sunk since. Bevis plays elsewhere.

According Aaron, the Vikings will take Anthony Barr OLB UCLA. Scouts Inc ranks Barr the 25th best player. So the Vikings reached like the Browns. If this pick is true.

At 9:12 p.m., commish announces Barr.

At 9:14 p.m., the 10th pick is announced. The Lions take Eric Ebron TE N Carolina. Scouts Inc ranks hime 11th best player in draft. Lions looking to build on offense. That's the league. I'm sure the Lions have holes on defense.

The Browns need to score more points. The AFC North QBs: Rothlisberger, Flacco, and Dalton. Those QBs are talented enough to complete passes to targets who are covered.

A top-flight CB is already behind the top-flight WR because of the NFL rules and bias that favors the offense.

Tennessee is up next. At 9:24 p.m., the Titans take Taylor Lewan OT Michigan. Scouts Inc ranked him the 8th best player. Good pick, seemingly, for the Titans.

Giants up next with the 12th pick. The Cowboys pick at #16. Will Dallas take Johnny to backup Romo for a couple years or so?

Aaron said that someone said the Browns tried to trade up to #11 with Tennessee. That is Cleveland's #26 pick, trading up to #11. But TN said no, and the Titans seemed to get a good player.

At 9:30 p.m., the commish the Giants' pick.

At 9:30 p.m., Aaron said that according to Pro Football Talk, the Browns are trying to move up ahead of Dallas possibly to take Johnny. Aaron is excited.

Giants took a WR. I think it was O. Beckham Jr. WR LSU, but I'm not sure. Yes. The Giants took Beckham.

Aaron said the Rams will take Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh. Scouts Inc ranks Donald as the 6th best player in the draft. Nice pick for the Rams, it seems.

Next picks as of 9:33 p.m.

14 Chicago Bears
15 Pittsburgh Steelers
16 Dallas Cowboys
17 Baltimore Ravens
18 New York Jets

It would be great if Cleveland managed to move up to snag Johnny. The crowd may go nuts. Too bad Cle did not take a WR too with their earlier pick. Will Cle trade their #8 pick to move up?

At 9:38 p.m., the Rams pick was announced. It was Donald per above.

The Bears are up next.

At 9:44 p.m., commish announced that the Bears took Kyle Fuller CB Virginia Tech. Ranked 15th by Scouts Inc.

The Steelers then the Cowboys. I doubt the Steelers would trade with Cleveland.

Aaron said the Steelers with the 15th pick will take Ryan Shazier OLB Ohio State. Scouts Inc ranked 17th.

The Browns may trade up with Dallas. The Cowboys should be set with Romo for a few more years, at least. So maybe Dallas has no need for a circus-like atmosphere backup QB.

At 9:47 p.m., commish announced the Steelers pick, which was Shazier.

Romo is 34-years-old, and he's had two back surgeries. Troy Aikman retired at or around the age of 34 after one back surgery.

Next picks:

16 Dallas
17 Baltimore
18 NY Jets
19 Miami
20 Arizona

Grossi thinks Dallas will take Johnny. Aaron is in agony.

It's 9:51 p.m. Still waiting. Will a trade occur?

Grossi said watch out for Philly at #22 who may take Johnny.

At 9:52 p.m., the pick is in, and they don't think it's Johnny.

Grossi thinks Browns GM Ray Farmer has been aggressive in this draft. I say no way. Browns at #8 took a 20th ranked player, according to Scouts Inc. A CB??

At 9:53 p.m., commish announced Dallas took Zack Martin OT Notre Dame. Scouts Inc ranked him 9th.!! Wow. Maybe a big score for Dallas. Aaron was delighted.

Baltimore is up next.

It's now 10:00 p.m. Still waiting for Ravens pick.

Ravens took C.J. Mosley ILB Alabama. Scouts Inc. ranked him 14th.

18 New York Jets
19 Miami Dolphins
20 Arizona Cardinals
21 Green Bay Packers
22 Philadelphia Eagles
23 Kansas City Chiefs
24 Cincinnati Bengals
25 San Diego Chargers
26 Cleveland Browns

At 10:04 p.m., Jerod said that he thinks Johnny will fall to the second round!!

Aaron said he believes the beer photo of Johnny was photoshopped.

All the teams above the Browns' #26 pick do not need a QB. But earlier, Grossi said Philly may take Johnny.

I can't believe the Browns traded down from #4 to grab a cornerback at #8. Weak.

At 10:07 p.m., Aaron said that Adam Shafter thinks that the Kansas City Chiefs may take Johnny. Chiefs pick at 23. Current Chiefs QB Alex Smith will be in the final year of his contract in this upcoming season.

At 10:08 p.m., Aaron said the Jets will take Calvin Pryor S Louisville. Ranked 21st by Scouts Inc.

At 10:10 p.m., commish announced Jets taking Pryor.

Aaron thinks the Dolphins are a potential trading partner with the Browns.

The Dolphins are up next with the 19th pick.

At 10:18 p.m., the commish announced the Dolphins picked offensive tackle James. I don't see James on the Scouts Inc top 32 list.

At 10:20 p.m., the AZ Cardinals traded their pick with the Saints who had the #27 pick.

Apparently, Bridgewater and Johnny are on their phones, so maybe the Saints will take one of those QBs.

Johnny maybe in New Orleans?? Jerod still thinks that Johnny and Bridgewater will fall to the second round. Will the Browns take Bridgewater? That's what some have said all day today that the Browns would take a CB or a WR with their first pick and QB Bridgewater.

But Rizzo said that he was told at 6:00 p.m. today that the Browns would take Carr at 26.

Rizzo said the Saints took a wide receiver. Wow. The Saints with a lot of good offensive players took another offensive player. I guess the Saints understand the league.

So the Cardinals traded down from 20 to to 27 with the Saints.

Radio commercial at 10:24 p.m.

Holy crap. Still advertising at 10:31 p.m.!! Trying to get ahead so they don't have to advertise later when the Browns pick.

Anyway, the Saints took Brandin Cooks WR Oregon St. Ranked 19th by Scouts Inc.

Green Bay is up next with the 21st pick.

The Packers selected Ha Ha Clinton-Dix S Alabama. Ranked 13th by Scouts Inc.

Next up is Philly. Will Grossi be correct with his hunch or thought that the Eagles will take Johnny.

The biggie may be the Chiefs. Will KC take Johnny? Head coach Reid.

The Browns have moved up by taking the Eagles pick.!!! Rizzo thinks the Browns got word that the Chiefs were planning to take Johnny, so the Browns moved up.

Why move up to take a QB if the Browns are not taking someone who they heard the Chiefs might take?

Aaron is going berserk. He said Jay Glazier thinks the Browns will take Johnny.

At 10:41 p.m., it's announced by media, that the BROWNS HAVE SELECTED Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M!!!

Now it's being announced officially on TV by the commish at 10:43 p.m. The Browns take Johnny, and the place in New York goes nuts! Aaron goes nuts! The crowd at the Rocksino goes nuts too!

Fun time in Cleveland tonight.

Grossi said he is "stunned beyond words. It's going to be exciting."

I think Grossi is delighted too, but he's staying reserved like a real professional media person. Aaron is more fan, which is okay.

Wow! What an exciting draft day for Cleveland. The Browns moved down, moved up, and then moved up with their second pick. Three moves in the first round with two picks for Cleveland.

Johnny is being interviewed on TV. "Dog Pound, here we come." Johnny said that he feels that he was meant to be at Cleveland.

I'm glad they got Johnny. Cool first name like mine. Plus, he played well against good competition. He's a grinder. It could be a bust, but it's exciting. What the hell. By passing on Watkins, the Browns have two first round picks in next year's draft.

#brownsgoodkarma - that has been AM 850's main hash tag for today.

Johnny Football.

The AM 850 media team thinks the Johnny pick was mainly driven by team owner Jimmy Haslam.

At 10:54 p.m., Rizzo said, "I'm still in shock."

Browns #8 pick Justin Gilbert CB is rated the best CB or defensive back in this year's draft. Browns got a #1 pick in next year's draft for that CB and Johnny at 22.

I think the Browns gave up a third round pick in this year's draft to move up to take Johnny.

Who cares about the rest of the draft?

KC Chiefs at 23 took Dee Ford DE Auburn. Ranked 29th by Scouts Inc.

Browns moved up from 26 to 22 to take Johnny. The Browns jumped ahead of:

• Kansas City - Alex Smith in the final year of his contract.
• Cincinnati - QB Andy Dalton - 4th season in 2014.
• San Diego - veteran Philip Rivers who is still playing high quality football.

AM 850 is interviewing Johnny. It seems that Johnny is peeved that he sunk so low in the first round. He may have a "chip" on his shoulder. Big deal. The players on defense for opponents have big shoulders. The chip-thing is not sustainable. That's overplayed. But hey, whatever motivates the guy to play well is fine.

No official word yet, but it seems that the Browns got word that KC planned to take Johnny at 23. If so, how did the Browns get that inside info. Good job on that if true. And smooth move to jump up in time.

Maybe the Browns didn't expect Johnny falling down in the draft like that, so Cleveland decided to jump up instead of waiting at 26 to take Bridgewater.

Cincy at #24 took Darqueze Dennard CB Michigan St. ranked 12th by Scouts Inc. Seems like a fine pick by the Bengals.

San Diego at 25 took Jason Verrett CB TCU ranked 23 by Scouts Inc.

Up next is Philly with the 26th pick that they traded down for with Cleveland. I think Philly gets a 3rd round pick this weekend from Cleveland.

That's was an exciting period when the AM 850 gang announced that the Eagles had traded picks with Cleveland. Then explosion time.

Jerod said about Johnny: "He's pissed off. He'll have a cinder block on his shoulder."

Jerod about Gilbert: "He doesn't tackle guys. He body slams them."

If Gilbert is a rough player, that's pretty good to have in the defensive backfield. Unfortunately, the NFL rules and the bias toward wide receivers will catch up with an aggressive CB. I don't know.

Clearly, the Browns got a fine defensive back. Maybe Gilbert went higher than he should have at #8, but hopefully, he starts and plays well. He should at #8. I still think a WR would have been better with a top 10 pick. But the Browns have two first round picks next year, so it could be a good deal in the long run.

With the #26 pick, Philadelphia took Marcus Smith defensive end from Louisville.

The Browns could have selected a WR with their top 10 pick and Johnny at 22. Browns head coach Mike Pettine came from the defensive side of the ball. That CB pick was probably a Pettine pick. An offensive-minded coach may have selected a WR.

With the 27th pick, Arizona selected Deone Bucannon, Safety from Washington State.

With the 28th pick, Carolina selected Kelvin Benjamin, Wide Receiver from Florida State. Carolina like New Orleans, adding offensive talent.

The Browns getting a first round pick in next year's draft by trading down and not taking Watkins could make for another exciting draft for Cleveland. Hopefully, the Browns are good enough not to have their normal first round pick be in the top 10, but Buffalo has had some tough years, so who knows, maybe the Browns will have a top 10 pick next too because of the deal with Buffalo.

During the season in 2013, the Browns traded RB Trent Richardson to Indianapolis for the Colts first round draft pick in the 2014 draft. That's how the Browns got a #26 pick and the opportunity to move up to take Johnny. A lot of people and/or fans were displeased with the Browns management, Joe Banner, trading away Richardson, but Trent did little with the Colts, and the Browns got the Colts' #26 pick in this year's draft.

So two first round picks next year could be big too. But it would have been nice to have Watkins and Gordon at wide outs with Johnny slinging the ball.

Hopefully, the Browns can snag a WR in the second round, which is pick number 35.

Already, NFL.com team shop is selling Johnny Manziel Cleveland Browns jerseys.

I'll be looking forward to preseason football, assuming he does not get injured between now and then.

A year ago, Brian Hoyer was the third string QB for Cleveland. He proved to be the better QB with his three starts before getting injured. But how did last year's coaching staff and management misfire by having Hoyer listed as the 3rd string QB?

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, a 3rd round selection in the 2012 draft, surprised the Seattle coaching staff in the 2012 preseason.

I think that it's possible for Johnny to surprise the Browns coaching staff and become a starter for Cleveland at some point in the 2014 season if not starting at week 1.

With the #29 pick, the New England Patriots selected Dominique Easley, defensive tackle from Florida.

Johnny was a feisty player in college. He's spunky. Hopefully, Johnny can become the new Drew Brees of the NFL.

Next 3 selections:

30. San Francisco
31. Denver
32. Seattle

Will those teams choose defensive players?

San Fran selected Jimmie Ward, safety from Northern Illinois. Pretty cool. A Huskie gets selected in the first round. I wonder if Jay recruited him.

Denver selected Bradley Roby, cornerback from Ohio State. Multiple defensive backs taken in the first round. I guess teams are stocking up with defensive players to combat the offensive-minded league.

Seattle has the last pick in the first round.

I logged into Facebook to message Jay about Jimmie Ward, and a few minutes before I logged in, Jay posted a photo of him and Ward from last night. I guess that they had dinner together on Wednesday night. That answers my question about whether Jay recruited Ward for N. Illinois. I wonder if Ward redshirted a year or did Jay get to coach Ward for only one season.

At 11:59 p.m., the AM 850 media crew is signing off, but I think more Browns talk continues after Midnight.

Wow. The first round ended with a trade. Seattle traded down with Minnesota. The Vikings moved up, and with the 32nd pick, MN took QB Teddy Bridgewater from Louisville.

MN Gopher defensive lineman Ra'Shede Hageman did not get drafted in the first round. Jay shared a photo on Facebook a couple hours ago of Coach Kill with Hageman at the draft in New York City. I wonder if Jay is there too. How did he have dinner with Ward last evening, unless he's in New York.

Browns radio continues after Midnight. At 12:20 a.m. on Fri, May 9, the Browns management/coaching staff are conducting a press conference about Gilbert and Johnny.

I think the press conference is held by Browns GM Farmer and head coach Pettine.

Grossi asked about Hoyer's reaction or thoughts about the Browns taking Johnny. I guess Hoyer said something like, "Bring him on."

Maybe CB Gilbert will be the Ndamukong Suh of defensive backs. Maybe he will make the opposing receivers nervous.

The Browns press conference ended at 12:25 a.m. The local AM 850 sports radio people are talking.

At 12:42 a.m., AM 850 Browns recap continues. Greg Brinda came on at Midnight. He's replaying the radio broadcast of Rizzo and Goldhammer when the commish announced Johnny being selected by the Browns. It's funny. Rizzo was ecstatic, but Goldhammer blew a gasket with excitement. Goldhammer has been on the Johnny Football bandwagon since the start of the 2013 college football season.

Brinda preferred Watkins over Gilbert. He said Gilbert is still a good pick, but Watkins was a better pick.

The problem with shutdown corners is that the top half of the league, the playoff teams, have good enough QBs and WRs to make enough plays to overcome the shutdown CBs.

If the Browns were a playoff team, and they only had one pick in the first round, and they were picking #25 or further down, then fine, a CB may be a good pick if the Browns were loaded with offensive talent.

I'm done for the night. It was fun listening to the NFL draft from a Browns perspective on radio over the Internet.

#sports - #nfl - #browns - #blog_jr