Cleveland Browns 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 4 (104): Beau Bell, ILB, UNLV
Round 4 (111): Martin Rucker, TE, Missouri
Round 6 (190): Ahtyba Rubin, DT, Iowa State
Round 6 (191): Paul Hubbard, WR, Wisconsin
Round 7 (231): Alex Hall, DE, St Augustine

The Good: Even though the Browns didn't have a pick in the first three rounds, they added five players who all address current roster deficiencies. Beau Bell was considered one of the best inside linebackers in the country this fall, but he does have some medical issues that obviously scared off a lot of teams. Martin Rucker's presence could usher in more passing situations out of two-tight-end sets, something many teams in the league are moving to.

The Bad: It's tough to build a roster with Day-2-only selections, but general manager Phil Savage did pretty well with what he had, although Cleveland would've had a first-round pick if they hadn't traded it to Dallas for Brady Quinn a year ago. Quinn will be an NFL starter at some point in his career, but with Derek Anderson coming off a Pro Bowl season, the Browns could've used that pick to address other needs.

The Grade: C+. If you consider Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers the teams' second- and third-round picks -- which is what it cost to acquire them via trade -- the draft was a resounding success. If you're not a fan of watching three rounds go by without the team making a selection, you were less excited about how things played out.

Click here to read other Draft Grades.

I don't think anyone construed the Browns giving up a 2009 third-rounder to move up in the fourth round of yesterday's draft to take tight end Martin Rucker as an indictment on Pro Bowler Kellen Winslow.

The 2007 Pro Bowler has hinted that he wants a new deal, but such proclamations have become part of the off-season ritual: free agency, the Combine, player asks for more dough, NFL Draft, minicamp, training camp, so on and so forth.

Instead, the Browns have added another pass-catching threat. Just as there is a shift to running back by committee, many teams are featuring more multiple-tight end formations, which, oddly enough, require more tight ends. The Colts, Patriots and Steelers are the most obvious examples, but Cleveland may have other motives for selecting Rucker:

The fact Savage did not hesitate to pay the third-round price for Rucker speaks to concerns about Winslow's recurring knee problems and his stated desire for a new contract. "We really like Martin Rucker, but I think that always has to be in the backdrop," Savage said of the Winslow issues.

One of the storylines heading into Day 2 of the NFL Draft is that the Ravens, after trading out of the eighth pick, moved back up to No. 18 to grab their latest franchise quarterback, Joe Flacco. FanHouse's Josh Alper, like most of us, is skeptical of the selection, but NFL Network's Mike Mayock is here to assuage your concerns, Ravens fans accustomed to mediocre quarterback play.

Here's what he had to offer during this morning's Total Access recap/preview show:

"I had some people make comments to me last night, 'Why did they go back to [the] 18[th-overall pick]? Did they really need to get [Flacco] like that? Come on, how good a football player is this guy?'

Let me put it in perspective: Brady Quinn -- everybody thought was a top-10 pick last year -- Brady Quinn, as far as physical skill set, can't carry his jock."

Um, yeah, Brady Quinn disagrees.

Mayock, apparently not actually referring to junk-grabbing abilities, adds: "[Flacco] throws the ball naturally, he's got Pro Bowl potential all over him. Now, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron: it's on you, pal." And if it doesn't work out, just blame Brian Billick.

The Dolphins may have the No. 1 pick, but the Falcons are the team that should clean up the most when next weekend's draft is over. Browns fans, on the other hand, might as well plan a weekend away from the TV considering how few picks Cleveland has.

To get a full understanding of who has the most valuable picks coming into the draft, I took the new draft value chart, which assigns a numerical value to each pick throughout the draft, and then just added up each team's picks. A little tinkering with the chart had to be done, as it doesn't assign a trade value for compensatory picks. I just assigned each picks value based on its spot in the draft, then assigned a one point value to the final seventh-round compensatory picks.

What jumped out from the results are that the Falcons (3,848 points), with six picks in the top 100, will have the ammunition to make whatever moves they want come draft day. If they want to move around in the first, second or third round, they'll have the picks to move up. If they want to drop down in any round they'll have enough picks to start building a bankroll of extra 2009 picks as well. For more on who is bereft of picks and complete values for everyone, click the link.

After a busy 12 months that included trading up into the first round of the 2007 draft for Brady Quinn, and trading their second- and third-round picks last month to bolster the defensive line (hi, Corey Williams, Shaun Rogers; adios Leigh Bodden), the Browns won't make their first selection in next week's NFL draft until Round 4.

To hear general manager Phil Savage spin it, Cleveland wouldn't have done better than Quinn, Williams and Rogers with picks in each of the first three rounds, so in that sense, they're better off. Fair enough.

That said, teams do enjoy building the roster through the draft and via free agency. Which is why it wouldn't be completely shocking if the Browns traded their way back into one of the earlier rounds. Except, well, it ain't happening. At least according to Savage:

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting (via PFT) that Browns receiver Joe Jurevicius developed a staph infection several weeks after having knee surgery in January, making him the sixth Browns player in the past four years to have a staph infection.

For Jurevicius, it does not appear serious. He is expected to participate in organized team activities in May and minicamp in June, and the surgery was just a clean-up of the knee, a very common, very minor procedure for NFL players.

But the larger issue of athletes battling staph infections -- and of the Browns' peculiar inability to steer clear of them -- is serious. Jurevicius learned that he contracted the infection in the knee about two weeks after the surgery, and he could have picked it up anywhere, but when it happens over and over again to the Browns, you wonder what in the world is going on.

Previously, center LeCharles Bentley, tight end Kellen Winslow, receiver Braylon Edwards safety Brian Russell and linebacker Ben Taylor all had staph infections while playing for the Browns. Cleveland Clinic infection specialists have visited the Browns' facilities and the team used a special anti-staph agent to disinfect the locker room, weight room and other places where players congregate. And yet another staph infection has struck.

The NFL has invited LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston, Virginia defensive end Chris Long, Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden and Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan.to attend this year's draft.

All six players have accepted the invitation to hear Commissioner Roger Goodell call their names in person, stroll onto the stage at Radio City Music Hall, put on a baseball cap and hold up their new team's jersey. It might seem like a no brainer that the players would agree to show up, but last year Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas decided to skip the draft to go fishing. The Browns chose Thomas third overall.

Also last year, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn ended up wishing he had skipped the draft to go fishing; he lasted a few hours longer than he thought he would before the Browns finally chose him 22nd overall. I don't think any of the six players at this year's draft will last that long, but of those six my money is on Ryan to be the last off the board.

Gib Shanley, who spent nearly a quarter-century as the radio voice of the Cleveland Browns, died Sunday. Here's a look at Shanley during his days as a 1970s sportscaster, in a local news promo that no Ron Burgundy parody could top:

Shanley called the Browns' 1964 NFL Championship Game victory over the Baltimore Colts, and he stayed with the team through the mid-1980s.

But he is best remembered for the night in November of 1979 when he ended a newscast that had reported on the American hostages in Iran by burning an Iranian flag on live TV. He told Iranians that if they were offended by his actions, they should leave the country. The TV station said it received hundreds of calls about the incident, almost all supporting Shanley.

Shanley was 76 years old and had been suffering from an undisclosed illness.

Last week, Lions head coach Rod Marinelli couldn't quit gushing about cornerback Fernando Bryant and how he will immediately upgrade the Patriots' secondary. Of course, Marinelli loved Bryant so much he cut him earlier this off-season, although that had more to do with salary-cap considerations than on-field performance (or may Marinelli understands just how bad New England's defensive backs are).

On reason the Lions may not miss Bryant is because they traded for the Browns' Leigh Bodden. Bodden's still not that well known outside of the AFC North, but he's one of the league's best cornerbacks and will be a welcome addition to a Detroit defense that finished 30th against the pass last season.

And if it matters, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis approves of Bodden's awesomeness:

"I know he's a competitive player against us and one of the better corners we face week-in and week-out," said Lewis... "He's a big guy. He's talented. He plays with great leverage. He can run. He plays square at the line. He doesn't play scared. He's very competitive."

Interestingly, the Browns ranked 19th against opponents No. 1 receivers and sixth against No. 2 receivers last season. Which indicates that maybe Eric Wright, the team's second cornerback last year, is ready to move into Bodden's job (despite what some jerk might've written earlier).

Still, even if Bodden had an off year in '07 (Cleveland ranked fifth in the league against No. 1s two seasons ago), he'll be a huge upgrade on a Lions defense that ranked 30th against No. 1 wideouts and 26th against No. 2s.

Many of the league's most respected players were in Washington, DC, on Friday to be honored at the 2008 NFL Players Gala featuring the JB Awards. Hosted by CBS' James Brown and former Steelers head coach turned CBS analyst Bill Cowher, the event is an annual awards presentation benefiting Special Olympics District of Columbia.

A group of the players being honored at the evening's award show spent the morning at Catholic University playing football with 75 or so local Special Olympic Athletes. Players involved on Friday morning included Marques Douglas, Chris Draft, Warrick Dunn, Braylon Edwards, Israel Idonije, Kassim Osgood, Mack Strong, James Thrash and Brian Waters.

With guys like Chris Henry and Matt Leinert in the news for questionable decisions lately, I think it's important to recognize many of the league's good people. DC was lucky enough to be full of them on Friday.