Garay Takes the Fifth Too

OK, so all draft picks, except for the injured Lee Suggs, have now been signed to 5-year contracts. I give credit to Policy for sticking to the team's position -- all the picks came through in the last five days. If most of these players pan out, the team will be in a somewhat better cap position in 3-4 years (though it's nowhere near enough to offset the burden of C Brown's contract).

Garay is an interesting prospect -- one of those guys who would have had a much higher profile if he wasn't injured so much in college. He's probably not going to offer much other than a little depth this year, but you never know. In his own words, Garay "can do anything anybody else in the league can do." There's reason to believe he can really play, unfortunately it goes along with long list of injuries.

The speculation that the team intentionally had a "draft high/sign long" (draft sleepers + projects higher than expected, sign them to longer than usual contracts) strategy is probably going to be more widespread now. Who knows? If they did, it is pretty ballsy and would represent an amazing confluence of great scouting and shrewd business dealings. The verdict won't be in for a couple years, but I think the ratio of risk to reward is in the Browns favor. For instance, if Thompson really does turn into a good or great player the Browns will get his services at least one more year than expected at a bargain price. And when it comes time to renegotiate an extension after a player's 3rd or 4th year there will be no competition to drive up a player's salary to absurd levels. I, for one, will be rooting hard for Chaun Thompson to develop into an All-Pro type player and for the Browns to reap big rewards on the playing field and the salary cap. Man would that be nice.