It wasn’t until a conversation I had with Mike on Tuesday that we both realized just how pathetic the Browns’ 2009 draft has turned out to be.
Flush with picks and in full rebuilding mode, the Browns went into the draft that year thinking it could be the turning point for the franchise. Use those picks wisely, and the team would take a giant step toward clawing its way out of its own grave. Blow the draft, and sentence the franchise to not just one more year of garbage, but potentially several.
The stakes got even higher when the Browns turned down an opportunity at a potential franchise quarterback—something they frankly have not had since Bernie Kosar—by flipping the fifth pick (AKA Mark Sanchez) to the Jets, then trading down twice more in the first round to stockpile more draft choices.
At the time, we here at Mesa urged everyone not to jump to conclusions about the quality of the draft. I even went so far as to write a post after the Braylon Edwards trade to defend Mangini’s draft record with the Jets and suggest that his 2009 Browns draft had a decent chance of success.
A year later, I can say this unequivocally: the Kokgini regime crapped the bed to a biohazard level.
Here’s the list of the the Browns’ 2009 draft choices, along with their current status:
1st Round - #21 overall - Alex Mack, C
Mack is the lone indisputable bright spot of the draft: a consistent (and some have argued, potentially Pro-Bowl-caliber) starting Center. And yet even his acquisition is tainted by the fact that the rest of what the Browns got in exchange for the 5th pick was worthless. (More on this later.)
2nd Round - #36 overall - Brian Robiskie, WR
To date, Robiskie has been active for a grand total of 13 games. In that time he has racked up 9 catches for 124 yards. Only 35 players were taken ahead of him.
2nd Round - #50 overall - Mohammed Massaquoi, WR
In comparison to Robiskie, Massaquoi looks like Jerry Rice. Unfortunately, in comparison to practically every other #1 receiver in the league, Massaquoi looks like Brian Robiskie. Currently the Browns first option at wide-out, Massaquoi has 37 catches for 679 yards and 4 TDs in 18 career games. Not awful numbers, but it seems like a stretch to say that the Browns couldn’t have gotten someone to make more of an impact than this with the 50th overall pick of a supposedly loaded draft.
2nd Round - #52 overall - David Veikune, DE
After a career as a DE at Hawaii, Mangini drafted Veikune to convert him into a linebacker. He played in 10 games in 2009 and, for a time, was so bad that he wasn’t even getting time in practice. Cut during training camp this year. May have set the new standard for why it’s blatant idiocy to draft a “project” in round 2.
4th Round - #104 overall - Kaluka Maiava, LB
It’s entirely possible that Maiava is the 3rd best player the Browns got out of this draft. The problem? He plays almost entirely on special teams and is now out for the rest of the 2010 season.
6th Round - #177 overall - Don Carey, CB
Carey didn’t even make it to September of his rookie year on the Browns’ roster. He was waived by the team on August 6, 2009, then picked up by Jacksonville, who placed him on Injured Reserve less than a month later. He now appears to be out of the league.
6th Round - #191 overall - Coye Francies, CB
Francies’s biggest impact was the flurry of errant punches he threw in the locker room last fall after being pranked by Brandon McDonald. He managed to play in 6 games for the Browns in 2009 and was cut in the final days of 2010 training camp. He now plays corner for the Las Vegas Locomotives in the UFL.
6th Round - #195 overall - James Davis, RB
Davis earns the distinction of being one of the five 2009 draft picks still on the current Browns roster. As we all know, he missed the entire 2009 campaign due to the ever-mysterious “opportunity session” injury. He may have a chance to play more this season…but considering that in two 2010 games, he’s carried 4 times for 9 yards, I wouldn’t bet my life on an offensive explosion, unless I was looking for a way out and my friends and relatives had already removed all my shoelaces, razor blades, and pills.
In addition to the actual picks, the Browns also managed to snag the following gems via draft day trade:
Kenyon Coleman, DE
Coleman is still playing. He has 9 tackles and 1 assist so far in 2010. He played 13 games in 2009 before suffering a serious neck injury that threatened to end his career.
Bret Ratliff, QB
Found God in between the 2009 & 2010 seasons. Lost his roster spot in September to Colt McCoy. (Sidebar: going back through this draft has pissed me off enough that I’m now instituting my “Eldrick Woods” policy for McCoy. From here on out, I am referring to the kid as “Daniel” until he can prove he’s a worthwhile QB.)
Abram Elam, S
Another of the veteran players Mangini brought in to help institute his system and school the youth, Elam is easily the most serviceable player acquired in the trade for Mark Sanchez. It’s when I can offer such high praise as this that I know the KokGini regime really knocked the deal for the fifth pick out of the park. Jesus, these picks make me want to curl up into a ball like an armadillo.
2009 Draft Summary:
8 players drafted. 3 cut before week 1 of the 2010 season (Veikune, Carey, Francies). 1 on IR (Maiava). 2 who might as well be gone based on performance to date (Robiskie, Davis).
3 players acquired via trade. 1 cut before week 1 of the 2010 season (Ratliff). The other two contributing as veterans but not exactly turning the team into a contender.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is your 2009 Cleveland Browns draft class.
It’s not the source of every problem the team has right now, but it certainly suggests that to some extent Mangini has no one to blame but himself. Whether or not he’ll see it this way when he’s polishing up his resume this winter is another question entirely.
-T
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