The pick is Faine

Wow. Never would I have expected ALL of the players the Browns mightw ant to consider to be available at #21 -- Steinbach, Harris, Bailey, Faine and others. The run on defensive tackles left all these players undrafted and gave the Browns their choice. I think it's a great pick, although it is hard to judge him compared to some of the other possibilities especially Steinbach. Also, it will be interesting to hear what sort of trade options the Browns had available to them -- a trade with the Bills, Colts, Giants or 49ers would have still netted the Browns a top player considering how many good players slid.

Whew. My heart is still racing. I had a feeling that, as much as I was looking for Steinbach, that the Browns had someone else in mind. Faine is probably more of an immediate force at his position, although it is rare for a center to be drafted so high. Like said a few days ago, the initial impression of a draft doesn't mean much and we won't really know if this is the right pick until at least a few weeks into the 2003 season.

Faine has to be the guy the Browns wanted. Obviously they preferred him over all the other guys available at #21. And Davis knows he'll get some heat for drafting a center one year after drafting Melvin Fowler, which is now possibly a mistake if Fowler or Faine doesn't start at guard. Much of the draft pundits had very high things to say about Faine -- immediate starter, likely Pro Bowler, likely anchor for the next decade.
But the draft is all about getting the guy you want and by all account Faine is likely to be an immediate starter at center and possibly a Pro Bowl player for the next decade. It's tough to gripe about that. But of course everyone will be measuring Faine against the performances of Bailey, Steinbach, or Harris. I don't think the Browns will look too bad in that comparison. Now let's see what happens in the second round, where the team is likely to start picking defensive players.