For some people – particularly those who need something to talk about over Cleveland’s airwaves – this is a wonderful thing. In Klosterman’s piece, he writes about many aspects of the Browns, but in particular he lays out a trade scenario that nearly happened: the Browns would have given up their sixth overall pick in this year’s draft for a 2013 second-rounder, a first-round pick in 2014, another first-rounder in 2015 and two other future selections to a “marquee franchise.”

No doubt this blockbuster trade would have been the talk of the entire draft. And it would have given the Browns some firepower for the next two years.

But it didn’t happen, so everyone should just forget about it.

Sure.

This is Cleveland, and the amount of time that has now been spent bemoaning last month’s draft is reaching a nuclear level.

That’s not to say Klosterman’s piece isn’t interesting or valuable or well-written, because it is all of those things and more. But for a city that second-guesses unlike any other, this piece is a bit of a nightmare. How many fans are going to lie awake at night and dream about what could have been? Probably the same amount who call into radio shows fumbling, flustered and kind of just yelling at no one in particular, like a drug-addled drifter wandering the streets.

It seemed as though we were past the point of nitpicking this draft, at least until the players step on the field for a real game. Call it insecurity or just plain ol’ insanity, but this year’s draft haunts the city like some insatiable force.

This city needs a winner now more than ever.

I was going to write about how the Browns’ draft this year is like any other draft and you need to just calm way down about it because you won’t know the results for at least a year, and probably more like three. But Steve nailed that here. Instead, let’s just soak in what’s going on.

Fans are stuck in a time of embracing the team. We’ve been stuck in this situation oh, I don’t know, every year for as far back as I can remember. Here’s a little breakdown of what we’re dealing with (it’s juicy):

• The new ownership is using phrases like “it’s a process,” “a few years away,” and “we’re just doing this to piss you off”*
• The new front office basically took a pass on the draft, prompting my brother to make a terrible “it’s a passing league” joke
• Weaknesses have only sort of been addressed, even though the busy part of free agency and the draft are already over
• The team is fully expecting to be middle-of-the-road again and they’re expecting the fans to be top-of-the-line…again
• The backup quarterback with eight years of experience in the league is less than two years older than the guy just coming off his rookie season
• Neither of those guys listed above are particularly good (yet?)
• First-year coach
• One of the five youngest teams in the league
• The defending Super Bowl champ is in the same division as the Browns, and even the Bengals were good last year – and they’re supposed to be good this coming year, too
• Four guys start in an NFL secondary, so here are the guys (post-draft) who aren’t Joe Haden and T.J. Ward who are vying for those other two spots: Trevin Wade, Tashaun Gipson, Buster Skrine, Eric Hagg, Ricky Tunstall, Kent Richardson, Chris Owens, Prince Miller, Josh Aubrey, Johnson Bademosi, Kevin Barnes, Leon McFadden, and Jamoris Slaughter

Go Browns.

*They didn’t actually say this one verbatim…but they said it.

The Browns kept it simple this year. They drafted Barkevious Mingo with the sixth overall pick and plan on making him an outside linebacker. Many thought the Browns would look at a cornerback like Dee Milliner with that pick, but the team opted instead to build serious depth in its front seven. While the secondary remains a question mark, it’s hard to argue with that philosophy.

But it was the Browns’ late-round trading that seems to have really divided everyone. The Browns wound up trading their fourth-round pick to the Steelers for a 2014 third-round pick and their fifth-round selection to the Colts for a fourth-round pick next year.

Here is why those were great deals for the Browns: too much emphasis is placed on the later rounds of the draft. Can good players be found in the depths of the last four rounds of the draft? Sure, but it would appear that Tom Brady has spoiled us. More often than not, later rounds offer little more than roster fillers, unrealistic expectations and future trivia answers to questions about obscure players.

Yes, the Browns could have found a serviceable starter in those traded picks, but they instead chose to give themselves leverage in 2014. They could package those picks to trade up or could simply use them to add more depth. When one factors in the free agent acquisitions of this offseason – including linebacker Paul Kruger, defensive lineman Desmond Bryant and linebacker Quentin Groves - along with the trade for wide receiver Davone Bess, there is no denying that the roster isn’t better. The Browns could afford to trade a few draft picks and still bring value to the team.

As always, though, trying to dissect a draft only a few days after its conclusion is an exercise in futility. No one knows if Mingo will work out or if Leon McFadden will become a serviceable starting cornerback. If he does, that alone could make this year a success.

The Browns’ roster will look quite different in 2013. This was going to be a polarizing draft no matter what, and for one that was deemed to be thin on talent, the Browns did the right thing. True judgment will be reserved, but the Browns didn’t reach or make an outlandish move (like, say, drafting quarterback Geno Smith), so that alone should be applauded.

Pundits need something to say about every team, though, and it’s much harder to dissect the teams that don’t do something flashy. We’re all clueless about how top prospects will turn out (and even more so on everyone else selected past the first round), but everyone has agreed that Mingo has the tools to succeed in the NFL.

When you have the sixth overall pick, that’s all you can ask for.