This is the eighth straight year that a Browns draft selection was the first player taken at his position. It’s the first of those times, though, that that player was taken in the second round. Maybe that will break the jinx, because Ryan Pontbriand obviously couldn’t do it alone.
D’Qwell Jackson may not have all the measurables, but he was a very productive middle linebacker at Maryland, a first-team All-American. At his position, instincts, aggressiveness, technique and discipline matter more than sheer size or speed, so I’m looking forward to seeing him in action, as he’s surely have an opportunity to earn a starting spot very early at the very thin ILB position.
No hard feelings to Jeff Faine, the top-drafted center of 2003. I’m sorry he never quite fulfilled his promise, but his style never seemed a good fit for power running attack that the Browns needed to establish. He may very well flourish in New Orleans blocking for Brees, Bush and McAllister.
Interesting coincidence: Faine and Jackson, the man he was traded in order to draft, are both graduates of Seminole High School in Sanford, Florida.
