With the Browns on the clock and both Boss Bailey and Eric Steinbach available, I would have been happy with either one. I doubt I am the only one surprised by the selection of Notre Dame center Jeff Faine with the 21st pick in the first round. That’s the highest draft slot for a center since the Patriots picked Damian Woody in 1999.

Notre Dame’s local paper, the South Bend Tribune, had this draft preview of Faine today, including a few workout photos.

Here’s Sports Illustrated’s interview of Faine from February.

Is he a stretch for this pick? The word “nasty” seems to follow him around. That’s good. He got scoped in January following a knee sprain. That’s bad.

So who among the pundits predicted this pick? Few, mighty few.

The official site didn’t steer us wrong on April 13: “Notre Dame’s Jeff Faine headlines a quality class of centers. Faine, a powerful player who left Notre Dame a year early, is a first-round talent and could be a top 25 selection.

Greg Mastin of Bengals Insiders almost pulled the trigger.

Likewise, Sean McClelland of the Dayton Daily News: “Notre Dame center Jeff Faine would be a no-brainer had the Browns not chosen Melvin Fowler in the third round last year.”

Here’s what Jeff Schudel of the Lorain Morning Herald wrote, midway into his draft preview story today:

It would not be a shock to see Davis take Jeff Faine, the 303-pound center from Notre Dame. Faine is regarded as an immediate starter, which can’t be said for Dave Wohlabaugh’s potential replacement, Melvin Fowler, a third-round choice from Maryland last year. Faine can also play guard, but center is his home. Fowler can also play guard.

”Out of the draft eligible centers again this year there is an awful lot of versatility,” Davis said. ”Probably most of these guys at some point early in their college careers or sometime in high school played a different position.”

As expected from a coach before the draft, Davis shed more smoke than light. There will indeed be questions about the fate of Fowler — he’ll probably compete for a guard spot — but I do like the pick, because the kid is graduating from Notre Dame. He passed the Browns’ “very intense” psychological interrogation at the scouting combine. He’s from Sanford, Florida, near where I used to live. I liked the last center the Browns picked in the first round, Steve Everitt. It’s also an advantage to be able to take the best player at a position. They did that last year with running back William Green.

Now we’ll see if the Browns go for linebackers and corners for the next few rounds.