For part three of this five part series we will turn our attention to the fifth round. This round is the “meat” of the third-day draft sandwich. The 5th round particularly has been good for Cleveland traditionally having produced three Hall of Famers. QB Bob Waterfield (1944 Cleveland Rams),  DT Henry Jordan (1957 Browns), and CB Dick LaBeau (1959 Browns) were all selected by Cleveland teams in the 5th round. In this year’s 5th round of the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected OL Ryan Miller from Colorado with the 160th overall selection.

Miller, who is a 6-foot-7, 321 pound offensive lineman is a “steal” for Cleveland in the fifth round. Miller was a very large, very active, and productive offensive guard for Colorado over the past two seasons and was expected to be taken no later than the 2nd round. Miller is not only a good pick up to add depth and skill to the offensive guard position, but Miller is also a large and physical specimen which (size wise) is more of a prototypical offensive tackle rather than guard. He has the skill-set needed to make that transition and may be asked to play that role here in Cleveland. Miller is considered to be a “tweener” meaning he has the size, talent, and ability to play at any position along the offensive line. Given some time, Miller will develop into a solid starter. Physically Miller is very similar to former Colorado team mate OT Nate Solder who was drafted in the first round last year by New England. Regardless of which position that Shurmur and company ask Miller to play, he is a valuable piece and a bargain selection for the Browns.

Last year the offensive line struggled with injuries as well as opposing defenses ranking 16th in the NFL in sacks surrendered. Their issues also contributed to a poor running game which finished 28th in the league with a 95.7 yards per game average.

Clearly Holmgren, Heckert, and Shurmur, recognized the offensive line as being a weak part of last year’s team as they took 2 offensive linemen in this year’s Draft (Schwartz 3rd round, and Miller 5th round). Hopefully these selections will solidify a line that will be asked to open holes for rookie running back Trent Richardson (3rd overall selection), and protect the new investment at quarterback Brandon Weeden (22nd overall pick).

Next in Part IV of this series we will examine the 6th round of this year’s draft and see how the Browns faired with their 2 selections.