253 draft picks taken over the weekend transformed NFL rosters in a matter of days. Around the League will examine the aftershocks by asking one post-draft burning question for all 32 teams.
Did Cleveland solve longstanding QB issues with the Weeden pick?
The Cleveland Browns went for it in last week's draft. After trading up one spot for running back Trent Richardson at No. 3, the team used the 22nd overall pick on quarterback Brandon Weeden.
After months of guarded praise for Colt McCoy (amid whispers he's in their dog house), the Browns are once again rebooting the machine at quarterback -- but will it work?
It remains to be seen to whom the rookie quarterback will throw. After the Browns selected Richardson and Weeden, many expected the team to upgrade its abysmal receiving corps. The failure to do so remains a baffling footnote to an otherwise solid haul.
With wide receivers Stephen Hill, Alshon Jeffery, Ryan Broyles and Reuben Randle still on the board in the second round, Cleveland instead addressed a need at right tackle with the addition of Mitchell Schwartz. Fair enough.
What happened next led to hundreds of remote controls being launched at television sets along the shores of Lake Erie. With the receiver class shrinking at a rapid clip, the Browns selected defensive tackle John Hughes with the 87th pick. Hughes was as surprised as we were and later admitted he didn't expect to be drafted -- at least not anywhere near No. 87.
The Browns finally grabbed speedster Travis Benjamin in the fourth round, but it's almost as if the rival Cincinnati Bengals -- taking receivers Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones -- stole Cleveland's playbook. Coach Pat Shurmur was quizzed about the decision-making.
"An outstanding quarterback brings synergy to the whole team. Just like the addition of a running back helps the quarterback," Shurmur told the Akron Beacon Journal. "If a quarterback that throws the ball accurately, on time, makes the receivers looks good. Receivers that make circus catches or make the hard catches make the quarterback look good. When the quarterback has a little bit more time to throw it, because the line is doing their job, it makes everything look good. I think that it is all connected, I really do."
