Draft day strategy employed by general manager Tom Heckert his first two years on the job has set the defense up to be the strength of the Browns.
Heckert used the first two picks in 2010 on cornerback Joe Haden and safety T.J. Ward and his first two picks on defensive tackle Phil Taylor and end Jabaal Sheard last year.
Would Heckert dare take a defensive player with his first pick April 26? If the Browns do enough to help the offense in free agency he just might. Cornerback Morris Claiborne from LSU could be a tempting pick.
First things first, however. The Browns have some decisions to make, particularly at linebacker where team captain and 2011 tackle leader D'Qwell Jackson will be a free agent.
Jackson started every game after missing 26 straight with pectoral injuries. He led the Browns with 158 tackles and had 3.5 sacks. He totaled three career sacks before his pectoral injury in 2009.
Some skeptics wondered what the Browns were thinking when they signed Chris Gocong to a three-year extension in September. No one wonders anymore. Gocong moved from weak-side linebacker to strong side when he replaced Scott Fujita, who missed the last five games with a broken hand. Gocong finished with a career-high 67 tackles and a career-high 3.5 sacks.
After Jackson and Gocong, though, the Browns need a serious upgrade at linebacker. The Browns forced 13 fumbles in 2011 and only three were forced by linebackers - one each from Jackson, Kaluka Maiava and Gocong.
The coaches say they want Fujita to play in 2012. He was among the team leaders in tackles before the hand injury cut his season short. He finished 2010 on injured reserve (knee), too. Heckert could use the 37th overall pick on a linebacker to compete with Fujita for a starting job.
The biggest decision to make in the secondary is whether to stick with Sheldon Brown as the starting right cornerback for another year. Brown, 33, has never missed a game in his 10-year career and missed only one start in the last eight years.
Brown isn't fast, but he is a leader and a player every member of the secondary looks up to. Coaches tried to keep him out of one-on-one situations against speedy receivers last season. When Brown did get in those matchups, as he did when he was one-on-one with the Steelers' Mike Wallace, he was exposed.
Brown could be the nickel back next year if the coaches decide speedy Buster Skrine is ready to start or if Heckert plucks a starter from the draft or free agency. Dmitri Patterson played well as the nickel back in 2011 after being signed in the preseason, but he is headed to free agency as is reliable safety Mike Adams. The Browns have some depth at safety with Ward coming back from a foot injury, Eric Hagg entering his second season and Usama Young back for his second season with the Browns.
Haden is determined to become an elite cornerback. He says he has to work at getting his hands on the receiver at the line of scrimmage.
Haden intercepted six passes as a rookie in 2010 but none last year. The coaches were not discouraged, however. They showed that my matching him against the opponent's star receiver each week. If that receiver went to the other side of the field Haden usually followed him.
Jayme Mitchell, the starting right end, lost his job in midseason to Emmanuel Stephens and got it back when Stephens went on injured reserve with a pectoral injury. The rest of the line is the foundation of the defense with Sheard, Taylor and defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin all signed through 2014.
Sheard led the Browns with 8.5 sacks and five forced fumbles. Rubin finished with 83 tackles. Only Jason Pierre-Paul of the Giants (86) had more among NFL defensive linemen.
