The 6th round is a round in which many teams will gamble. It’s a round in which you can take a risk on a player without it costing you a lot. The best known example of this is New England’s own Tom Brady who was selected 199th overall in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Clearly that selection worked out for the Patriots, but obviously not all players selected in the 6th round wind up like Brady. But many have had productive careers.

This year the Browns wound up selecting twice in the 6th round. Heckert and company used those two selections to strengthen a defense that performed well last year.  The 2011 Browns defense was ranked in the top ten in net passing yards per game (184.9), red zone touchdown percentage (20.8), points-per-game (19.2), yards-per-play (5.1), and total yards per game (332.4). But there is always room for improvement and that is the direction the Browns went in the 6th round.

The first pick in the 6th round for Cleveland was Linebacker Emmanuel Acho (204th overall) from Texas. Acho, to me is a project player. He will be able to contribute on special teams right away, but as far as on the defensive side of the ball, it may take some time. He has great instincts and makes full use of his first step towards the ball. He works well in the box and can shoot the gap well. But he also has issues at times shedding blocks from larger offensive lineman and also has difficulty in coverage situations. He is a little undersized for a middle linebacker at 6-foot-1, 238 pounds but is very coachable. With time in Dick Jauron’s defensive scheme and with D’Qwell Jackson as a mentor he could end up becoming a solid starter if given the time.

Next with the 205th overall selection in the 6th round, the Cleveland Browns selected defensive lineman Billy Winn from Boise State. At 6-foot-4, 294 pounds Winn is a force on the D-line. He shows excellent speed for a man his size and displays pure talent at the position. Winn was arguably the best talent at defense on Boise State’s team over the years and easily could have gone in the 2nd round. However he has been known to be lax at times and occasionally takes plays off which may have scared some teams away. But as a 6th round selection Winn’s upside is well worth the pick. If there is one area of Winn’s game that needs work it is his technique. He relies more on his natural talent and quickness instead of hand, or foot work which hurts him at times. If he is coached properly, and can adjust to playing at the professional level there is no telling how good he can be provided he focuses play in and play out. He will very likely fit in nicely as a rotating piece of the Cleveland Browns D-line hopefully helping to stop the run which is the one area that the Browns defense struggled in last year.

So with the two selections on defense in the 6th round the Browns appear to be tweaking the roster hoping to have even more success on the defensive side of the ball. If the Browns perform on defense the way they did last year, and can find a way to score just a few more points, they will win plenty of games in 2012.