Professor

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?C...ID=284077&r=19

Savage: Green still is Browns’ second-string tailback
Thursday, May 4, 2006
By Steve Doerschuk REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER


BEREA - Rookie fifth-round pick Jerome Harrison won’t necessarily blow former first-rounder William Green out of town. General Manager Phil Savage said Green heads to minicamp as the top backup to 1,200-yard rusher Reuben Droughns.

“I think William is the incumbent as the second-string tailback,” Savage said on a WTAM-AM draft show. “Someone’s going to have to beat him out.

“The drafting of Jerome Harrison probably doesn’t effect William Green as much as it would Lee Suggs or Jason Wright. Suggs, Wright and Harrison are slated to be third-down backs.

“If Harrison is that good, then maybe Jason and Lee have to compete with William.”

Harrison was a 1,900-yard rusher at Washington State in 2005. Browns scout James Kirkland boosted Harrison’s grade as the evaluation season wore on.

“He’s understated as a runner,” Kirkland said. “You can think he’s just a scatback, but you watch him, and he can make his way inside. He can make big runs. He can grind some.

“(In predraft sessions), he passed every test. He ran well, caught the ball well and tested well.

“He’s from Michigan, a blue-collar guy, a good fit for us. The weather won’t bother him.

“People look for flash and what not. You’re gonna get some flash, but he’s more substance than anything.”

Head Coach Romeo Crennel seems intent on keeping Droughns fresher. Droughns carried a franchise-record 309 times in 2005.

Several personnel men addressed draft picks on the WTAM show. Bill Rees, Savage’s top assistant, said he thinks wideout Travis Wilson will be “a very, very key player for us this year.”

A third-round pick, Wilson is likely to be one of the top four wideouts coming out of training camp, along with Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius and Dennis Northcutt. Edwards’ recovery from knee surgery factors into Wilson’s situation.

“He’s an aggressive player with good toughness and a lot of savvy athletically,” Rees said. “He has excellent size and excellent hands.”

The Browns emerged from the draft with no new quarterbacks but stirred the pot by participating in trade talks for Joey Harrington.

That might have chafed veteran Trent Dilfer and unnerved Charlie Frye.

“I don’t think Trent is unhappy in terms off losing the starting job, because he hasn’t lost it yet,” Savage said. “It’s an open competition. Until Romeo says one or the other is the starter, it’s an open competition.”

It will be interesting to see which quarterbacks work with the offensive newcomers in a rookie minicamp this weekend. Unless the Browns sign an undrafted quarterback, there is no rookie to throw to Wilson.

Meanwhile, indications are that the Browns selected 230-pound fullback Lawrence Vickers in Round 6 to groom him as a short-yardage ball carrier more than a smash-mouth blocking role. Incumbent fullback Terrelle Smith has seldom touched the ball. This could mean few short yardage TD's

gruntbygod

Probobly not this year though,IMO Rueben is still a solid pick

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J-Unit

I am going to say no on that one. The Browns have been last in rushing touchdowns the last two years.

Professor

well they did really only sign two lineman, in shaffer and bentley, I am not sure that that will make all the difference, crennel really focused on making the defense good this year and I think thier rund defense will be pretty good. However, I still think they are last place material for now.

bigboy

They may be but, I liked what Droughns did last year and adding those 2 lineman on top of what he did last year could potentially make him a top 10 FFB RB IMO

chris_36824

i dont plan on drafting Droughns.. hes going ot be good i just dont think that the Browns will score that many touchdowns this year, and if they dont score, that means that Droughns dont score..

vikingsfan2006

no beacuse he had only 3 touchhdowns last year

Professor

minnyfan, you can't always base what you think that a player is going to do this year on what they did last year, but I understand your point. I personally don't think that the team will be a force this year, but if frye matures and the team grows, droughns could be something to look at 2 seasons from now.

ABuccsFan

Depends what you consider high? We start 3 RB's in my league, and I'd selcet him as my #3. I usually grab my #3 around round 6

Professor

if we started 3 backs, I would have my third by round 4