The Cleveland Browns off-season has had no shortage of speculation. The anemic activity in free agency, along with the controversy surrounding the race for RG3 have shifted the focus of this upcoming NFL draft squarely on the Browns offensive needs. But offense may not be the best formula of success for the Browns at the #4 pick. The best move that Cleveland can make is selecting Morris Claiborne with their fourth overall pick.

Morris Claiborne is a 6-foot, 185-pound corner-back for LSU and the #1 rated corner-back in this upcoming draft class. Claiborne is also one of the best defensive secondary players ever to play at LSU. And that is a list that includes players like Laron Landry, Ryan Clark, Corey Webster, Tyrann Mathieu, and Patrick Peterson just to name a few. In fact as a whole, LSU currently boasts a whopping 41 players on rosters throughout the NFL which makes the school one of the most well represented in the country. Morris Claiborne will make it 42 when he is selected this April. Listed below are a few of Claiborne’s achelaids while at LSU.

·         2011 Thorpe Award Recipient

·         2011 Consensus First-Team All-America (AFCA Coaches', AP, FWAA, Sporting News, Walter Camp, ESPN.com, Rivals.com, CBSsports.com, FoxSportsNext.com, SI.com)

·         2011 Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year (Coaches)

·         2011 First-Team All-SEC (AP, Coaches)

·         2011 Nagurski Award Finalist

·         2011 Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week (vs. Miss. State)

·         2010 Second-Team All-SEC (AP, Coaches)
But despite his qualifications, why should the Browns take a defensive corner with their 4th overall pick?

Any Cleveland fan will remember the Browns teams from the 80’s. Those teams were stocked with players like Bernie Kosar, Ozzie Newsome, Webster Slaughter, and Kevin Mack. But the centerpiece of those great teams was not on the offensive side of the ball, it was the defensive duo of Hanford Dixon, and Frank Minnifield.

With both sides of the field covered by this dynamic team the Browns defense was a nightmare for opposing offenses. Minnifield and Dixon were the only two corner-backs in NFL history to go to 3 Pro Bowls together. During the entire regular season in 1987, there were only a total of 7 passes thrown in the direction of Hanford Dixon. The tandem registered a total of 35 interceptions between 1984-1989 making them one of the best defensive back combos of all time. Dan Dierdorf was quoted once as saying “They (Dixon, and Minnifield) were, in many ways, the personality of that defense.”

Flash forward a generation and Cleveland has the opportunity to recreate that outstanding defense of the 80’s. With the potential of Claiborne joining with shut-down corner Joe Haden would instantly give Cleveland the best corner combo in the NFL. Adding to the mix would be Sheldon Brown, Dmitri Patterson, T.J Ward, and Usama Young and the Browns defensive secondary would have no equal.

In addition the Browns would still have another 1st round (22nd overall), and an early 2nd round (37th overall) picks to add offensive weapons to help out Colt McCoy. Plus an additional 10 picks from the 3rd – 7th rounds. Very few times in NFL history has a team had a golden opportunity to solidify their defense for the foreseeable future, and this is one of those times.

Michael W. Youngman

(Lead Analyst C.B.R.)