The NFL Draft is a mere 84 days away, but who's counting.  With the fifth selection in the draft, the Browns have a shot at drafting some great talent.  Without recouping picks via trade, the Browns are lacking a third, fifth, and seventh round selection.

Hitting on their first round pick is a necessity this year.  So every week I'll round the various mock draft across the internet and see who the Browns are rumored to be taking.

Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest – Greatest head of hair in sports & Walter Football

Curry is an interesting linebacker, and a Mangini type player.  He would likely move to the strongside to bookend Kamerion Wimbley, where the Browns could take advantage of his versatility.  Curry may not be a sack machine in the 3-4, but he's smart and versatile.

On the flip to that is the idea that Curry is actually an ILB if the Browns draft him.  Don't buy into the hype of "he could play either inside or outside," because that's not likely.  So I think Walter has the right idea, just not quite there.

Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State – Scott Wright

This is a fairly popular pick, but not one I agree with.  Mangini favors zone coverage schemes with his corners, and Jenkins is a rough and tumble bump and run guy.  I like Jenkins pro potential, just not on this pick.

Everette Brown, DE/OLB, Florida State – Draft Daddy

I've made it known that I love Brown.  He's an amazing pass rusher and should have no issue moving to outside linebacker.  He's quick off the snap and pretty savvy for a youngster.  I know some folks would worry about drafting another Florida State pass rusher, but Brown is the real deal.

Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State - Pro Football Weekly

Wells would be a wildly popuplar selection.  He's from Akron, he went to Ohio State, and the team needs a running back.  I wonder if the Browns have him on top of their draft board after anothe season slowed by injuries.  Also, Wells is facing stiff competition from other junior running backs like LeSean McCoy (Pittsburgh), or…

Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia – NFL Draft Dog

It's hard to pick between Moreno or Wells, but my heart would go with Moreno.  He's more durable, and more versatile.  Moreno may not be graded this high in April, but he's a real talent.  If the Browns were able to trade back in the first round, he'd be a nice selection around pick ten or so.

Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech – NFL Draft Bible

Lost in all of the confusion from this season is the uncertainty at wide receiver.  Braylon Edwards could be on the trading block, Joe Jurevicius has only one more season left if he does return, and Donte Stallworth could be cut for financial reasons.  Crabtree is a monster on the field, and is drawing comparison to the Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald.  It's an intriguing posssibility, no matter how it's sliced up.

Like a season of Rock of Love, the Browns have gone out with the old, and in with the new. Do you wonder what has happened to the juicy characters from last season? Let's get an update.

Phil Savage is in Tampa for the Super Bowl, presumably looking for employment. Don't ask him about the breakup with the Browns, though.

Much maligned offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski is returning to the Chargers, to be their tight ends coach and assistant head coach. In what can only be an experience similar to the movie Ground Hog Day, Chudzinski is going back to the job he had before he became the Browns offensive coordinator (minus the assistant head coach tag).

Former head coach and quote machine Romeo Crennel will be having hip replacement surgery.

As previously reported, Mel Tucker is going to the Jaguars to be defensive coordinator. Given Jack Del Rio's history with assistants, look for Tucker to be back on the market in a year, maybe two.

Star-crossed wide receiver Braylon Edwards has been following through with his threat to only do charity work in Michigan. Okay, I can't confirm that but he recently took part in a charity basketball game run by Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson.

Former prodigy quarterback Derek Anderson is not doing much, but per reports the Browns will not trade him for less than a second round pick. Derek, please say hello to your $5 million roster bonus. Spend wisely, the economy is down.

A minor staph infection isn't the only thing that kept Joe Jurevicius busy. He runs a hunting and outdoor adventure business with former teammate John Howell.

This morning the Browns introduced George Kokinis as the new general manager of the franchise.  It was mostly a bland presser, but there was a few interesting thoughts on the matter.

-  Team president Mike Keenan introduced Kokinis.  Was it too much for owner Randy Lerner to be there?  Or new head coach and former roommate Eric Mangini?

- A bit of clarification came from the two day visit he made.  The Ravens team charter was late coming back from the AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh, and they did not get in until 4 AM.  Kokinis insisted on coming to Cleveland that day even though team officials were willing to reschedule.  He arrived at noon that day, and then stayed another day overnight to finish up.

- In the hiring process, Kokinis mentioned that former Browns general manager Ernie Acorsi was part of the interviews.

- Kokinis said he's been "fortunate" to work around so many good coaches, and was very grateful towards Ozzie Newsome.

- He does not think there is a time-table in place to make the team a contender, they will take it one day at a time.

- Twice when asked about final roster say, Kokinis danced around the issue.  He made sure to imply that both he and Mangini would need to come to a "consensus."

- The best answer of the day came about the quarterback situation.  Kokinis gave a refreshing answer, where he said he would need to meet with coaches to establish what the system would be, and who would be the best fit for it.

- When asked about evaluating the current roster, he said that it was too early to evaluate.

- Finally, he said that in week to week preparations, he was heavily involved in getting a scouting report to the coaches.

In what will likely end up being an era of shrowded silence in Cleveland, Kokinis didn't give up too much.  He didn't seem uncomfortable talking to the media, but he wasn't exactly Bob Barker.  I think it's way too early to jump on board with him, or throw him over.  Patience will be key.

Finally, after a week of stalling, the Browns have hired a new general manager. But, was it the right choice? You tell us. Vote and if you pick no, tell us who you would have wanted.

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Also see:

- Patrick McManamon: Meet the new GM, same as the old GM

- Terry Pluto: Eight thoughts on the Kokinis hiring

Notes:
Want to have a groan? Read about how Eric Mangini had a mural of Browns legends painted over. From the perspective of fans, this seems petty and frustrating. More on this after Kokinismania stops running wild.

Make sure to read Luke's previous post for some thoughts on the Kokinis hiring.

George Kokinis is finally the general manager of the Browns.  The real story is the mountain of work before him.  While a deal took some time to put together, Kokinis comes in behind the eight-ball.

Former Director of player personnel, T.J. McCreight and his staff were the ones putting together initial scouting info at the Senior Bowl this week, before McCreight was fired on Friday.   There was some funny business to McCreight and his phone calls, per PFT's Mike Florio.  End of story, it wasn't Kokinis' staff at Senior Bowl.  That's a tough first step.

The next step is determining what the identity of the Browns is going to be, on the field.  There is a lot of speculation, but hardly anything concrete.  I'm sure internally there is some idea, but as Terry Pluto writes, the new assistant coaches aren't talking to media.  Given the culture of confusion and lack of communication that has followed Mangini in the past, there certainly is some question if internally the Browns know who they are.

With the NFL Draft in high gear, the Browns have only eighteen days till the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.  Teams usually lay the ground work at the various all star games for this event, but without a solid staff in place, the initial homework has not been done yet.

On the field, the Browns have holes to fill.  The most pressing factor is deciding on a quarterback.   It seems that Brady Quinn would be the man for the job, but the Browns have limited options with Derek Anderson.  His $5 million roster bonus in March is fully guaranteed.  That means that even if he is cut in March, he's getting paid.  The only the Browns can get out of the deal is if Anderson is traded.  Thanks, Phil Savage!

Elsewhere on the field, the Browns have to possibly re-tool their entire linebacking corps.  It's possible only D'Qwell Jackson will return to his regular starting spot in 2009.  Kamerion Wimbley may keep his job, but he could face competition from a rookie. If  the Browns did draft Wake Forest's Aaron Curry and put him opposite Wimbley, it would seem that the new regime will have taken a page from Savage and Crennel by holding down the development of Alex Hall. One other interesting note:  if the Browns do decided to draft Florida State's Everette Brown as competition to Wimbley, the two of them will share an agent.  No matter what, the Browns need to do something to revamp this broken unit.

Another quiet issue will be Joshua Cribbs.  He's already out-played his six year extension he signed in 2006, and has made quiet rumblings in the past about wanting a new contract.  Cribbs plays with the most heart and hustle of anyone on the team.  He was slowed by a high ankle sprain this season, but if he repeats his 2007 success this year, he'll be looking for Devin Hester money.

Welcome to Cleveland, Mr. Kokinis.  Please get to work.

Eric Mangini's staff in Cleveland has started to take shape finally.  The following assistants were hired this week:

1. Bryan Cox, Defensive line coach
2. Carl Smith, Quarterbacks coach
3. Rick Lyle, Assistant strength and conditioning coach
4. Jerome Henderson, Defensive backs coach
5. Andy Dickerson, Defensive quality control coach

All are former associates of Mangini's from his time with either the Patriots or the Jets.

Mangini is not getting a ton of positive press the past few days though.  With the Jets hiring Rex Ryan to take over as head coach, they were able to retain Brian Schottenheimer as their offensive coordinator.  The New York Daily News put this quick slam on Mangini:

Sources said he was forced to modify his offense the last two years to incorporate new elements introduced by two Eric Mangini hires – Brian Daboll (Patriots) and Bill Callahan (a West Coast proponent). Callahan was retained by Ryan.

At first that may look like a pot shot, but the hire of Callahan paid off well for the Jets.  Their offensive line was able to play much better with Callahan's zone blocking scheme, and the Jets running game flourished in 2008.  While Callahan may be a "West Coast Offense guy" his help to the staff was beneficial.  As far as Daboll goes, it's hard to teach mechanics to a gun slinger like Favre, so a pass on that one might be best.

The second piece of news on Mangini is that he's apparently not talking to holdovers from Crennel's staff.  Several assistants have not heard from the coach since his hiring on January 7, 2009.  I'm not sure if Mangini is taking the Office Space "fix the glitch" approach to his staff, but it sure does seem that way.

Finally, the Browns lost a member of it's family this week, Dante "Glue fingers" Lavelli.  Lavelli was obviously before my time, but he was a great receiver who had been very popular in the Northeast Ohio area throughout his lifetime.  He had resided in Westlake for the majority of his life after retiring from the Browns.

Sure, George Kokinis isn't officially the general manager of the Browns, but the team has a small army of scouts in Mobile, Ala. taking a look at the top senior talent in the nation.

Luke gave a good look at Monday's activities. Here's how things have shook out the last two days:

The venerable Scott Wright reports that the team looked at the following players Tuesday:

- William Beatty, OT, Connecticut
- Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State
- Tim Jamison, DE, Michigan
- Tyrone McKenzie, OLB, South Florida
- Louis Delmas, FS, Western Michigan
- Marcus Freeman, OLB, Ohio State
- Patrick Chung, SS, Oregon
- Zack Follett, LB, Cal
- Xavier Fulton, OT, Illinois
- Chip Vaughn, SS, Wake Forest
- Derek Pegues, FS, Miss. State
- Arian Foster, RB, Tennessee
- Michael Hamlin, SS, Clemson
- Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss
- Troy Kropog, OT, Tulane
- Rashad Johnson, SS, Alabama
- Herman Johnson, OG, LSU

On Wednesday, Wright reported the following observations:

- William Moore, FS, Missouri
- Tony Fiammetta, FB, Syracuse
- DeAngelo Smith, CB, Cincinnati
- Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech
- Domonique Johnson, CB, Jackson State
- Moise Fokou, LB, Maryland
- Anthony Hill, TE, North Carolina State
- Pat White, QB, West Virginia
- Rashad Jennings, RB, Liberty

So, given the amount of players scouts were seen either closely watching or interviewing, it's hard to pinpoint what kind of players the Browns are looking at. Also, it's interesting to note that none of these players are necessarily worthy of the fifth pick in the draft.

Scout.com reports that the Browns actually requested a second interview with Jennings and notes that he went to the same school as director of player personnel T.J. McCreight.

Scout also notes the Browns have checked out Navy fullback Eric Kettani.

Notes…
The Browns are reportedly going to name University of Southern California quarterbacks coach Carl Smith to the same position.

Thinking about rooting for Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl? Then you're not a true Browns fan.

Former defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is expected to be given the same job with Jacksonville.

This week the annual Senior Bowl is being held in Mobile, AL.  The game typically features the top senior talent in the NFL Draft, and is a considered the kickoff of the scouting seasons.  Every team sends scouts and representatives to get a grasp on the talent, and to meet with agents.

The Browns are not being represented by new head coach Eric Mangini or the rest of his staff.  Director of player personnel T.J. McCreight is the Browns top official in attendance.   Tony Grossi speculates the Browns may be the only team without a general manager or head coach there.  Yikes.

While there, the Browns are actively viewing prospects.  Per Scott Wright of DraftCountdown.com, the Browns have taken a viewing to the following players:

• B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College
• Keenan Lewis, CB, Oregon State
• William Moore, FS, Missouri
• Cedric Peerman, RB, Virginia
• Kraig Urbik, OG, Wisconsin
• Nathan Brown, QB, Arkansas
• Patrick Chung, SS, Oregon
• Andy Levitre, OT, Oregon State

That list should be fluid, and will be updated throughout the week, so keep checking back.  The name that jumps off that initial list is Raji.  He's being projected as a nose tackle, but could have the speed to be a DE in the Browns 3-4 defense.

Zac Jackson also did a great preview of the Senior Bowl for Browns fans.

Per Tony Grossi, George Kokinis is expected to be in Cleveland today to have a second interview with owner Randy Lerner.  He will likely be offered the job, and accept.  Not much else to speculate on this matter, but I'll be interested in seeing what level of control Kokinis will receive.  Terry Pluto says that Kokinis will likely command a degree of control, should he take the job.

In coaching staff news, former quarterbacks coach/assistant head coach Rip Scherer has left the team. He will be joining the Panthers as their quarterbacks coach, joining former Browns coordinator Jeff Davidson on the Carolina staff.  This moves likely signals the hiring of Carl Smith as the quarterbacks coach

Also, the Browns are expected to interview Jets assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox, presumably for the defensive line coach job.  Cox will certainly bring an aggressive attitude to the coaching staff.  My fondest memory of him was the infamous double middle finger salute he gave to Bills fans in September 1993.

A few random bits…

The Browns should draft Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry (or Southern California's Rey Maualuga), per Casey Drottar.

The Arizona Cardinals are heading to the Super Bowl, leaving the Browns, Texans, Saints, and Jaguars as the only NFL teams who have never appeared in a Super Bowl.

As if seeing the Steelers win the AFC wasn't enough, Tony Grossi ponders what would have happened if the Browns had never left Cleveland.

PFT's Mike Florio reports that Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers, who does not want to play for the team further, wants to play in a 3-4 defense.  Peppers probably isn't in the Browns plans, but it's an intriguing idea.

Les Levine feels like the Browns fans need to be more informed.

Recently, pictures surfaced of Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James in a Browns jersey. The reason is the following: