If He's There, Browns Should Snag Calvin Johnson

There is no doubt that the Browns have bigger needs, and there is no doubt that wide receiver is one of the few spots that Cleveland would be OK without a talent upgrade. But even with all that, if Calvin Johnson is available with the third pick, the Browns should race to take a card with his name up to the podium.

On the board, I've seen a lot of comments that make the point that the Browns need to fix their offensive and defensive line problems first, since being strong in the trenches is a key for nearly every Super Bowl team. While that's true, it's also true that Hall of Famers help win championships, and there is one player in this draft that doesn't take a giant leap to imagine as the best player in the NFL at his position--it's the athletic freak from Georgia Tech.

Everyone else the Browns could take has flaws. Wisconsin's Joe Thomas seems to be a safe bet to be a solid starter at offensive tackle, but he's also had some knee problems. Running back Adrian Peterson has great skills, but he's been injury prone, and runs a little too upright. (Although the fact that he hasn't fumbled in three years is extremely impressive). Jamarcus Russell has a great arm, but he's shown a tendency to throw into double coverage and will need to work on seeing the field.

The biggest knock on Calvin Johnson is that he's not a great runner with the ball after the catch. But he'll make every catch possible. There is no NFL receiver who has the combination of size, speed and athleticism to compare to Calvin Johnson--he's Randy Moss but an inch taller, 25 pounds heavier and with a better vertical leap. His hands are like giant baseball gloves snatching passes thrown ahead, at, and behind him (check out the highlight video on his Georgia Tech bio page to see him completely reverse his body to snatch a bad pass thrown behind him). Simply put, he catches everything.

"He caught them in front of him, behind him, over his head," an AFC scout who witnessed his workout said. "It was one of the most impressive workouts I've ever seen."

Consider that Johnson's impressive numbers (178 catches for for 2,927 yards in a three-year career) came despite the fact that his quarterback was the wildly inaccurate Reggie Ball (who finished his career with a 48 percent completion percentage) and he seems even more impressive.

Oh and he's great in the locker room as well. And over his summer last year, he helped design a new solar-powered latrine to help solve sanitation problems in third world countries--the patent for the invention is pending.

I know that the Browns have bigger needs, but no draft pick is going to put the Browns in the Super Bowl in 2007. If you're looking for a player who could help put them there in 2009 or 2010, there's no one better than Calvin Johnson. When you have a chance to draft a Hall of Famer, you do it, and worry about filling your other holes later.