2012 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns Know Whom to Draft With Fourth Overall Pick
In his pre-draft press conference on Thursday, Cleveland Browns general manager Tom Heckert explained that the team knows who to select with the fourth overall pick. Heckert said that there are “only two possibilities” with the pick, though they are considering a few other players just in case. One can assume by those two he means running back Trent Richardson and wide receiver Justin Blackmon.
However, Heckert refuted a report by Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King in which he said Heckert “loves” the idea of drafting Blackmon.
"“Everything you’ve heard is complete nonsense,” he said. “It’s that time of year and I understand that. It’s fun, I guess, for all you guys but … everybody is on the same page here with who we are considering.”"
Essentially, this pre-draft press conference was just another exercise in avoiding anything substantial. It’s no surprise that the Browns would know who they’re targeting, or that they’d probably like to stay at the No. 4 pick.
The only thing that should be surprising is that that anyone would think to believe much of what Heckert said on Thursday. The Browns have done a masterful job of masking their draft intentions and that’s going to last all the way up to next week, which can’t come soon enough.