Pro Football Weekly and Riddell present ...
2002 NFL draft
Cleveland adds a playmaker
RB Green should boost the running game at the source
By Andy Hanacek, Associate editor
April 20, 2002
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| This offseason, the Browns’ top priority has been to improve the
running game through whatever means possible. They cut OT Roman Oben and allowed the
Texans to select OG Jeremy McKinney in the expansion draft and replaced them with OL Barry
Stokes and OT Ryan Tucker. They’ve committed themselves to using more fullback sets
and will need to get a fullback. But the only running back they had added prior to the
draft was J.J. Johnson, whom they got via trade with the Dolphins.
After talk that the Browns would trade up to further improve their offensive line and
select Miami (Fla.) OT Bryant McKinnie, the Browns fell back on "Plan A" and
drafted RB William Green of Boston College.
Green was the top-rated running back on most draft boards, edging out Michigan
State’s T.J. Duckett. There was some thought that the Browns would go after the
bigger, Jerome Bettis-like Duckett, but Cleveland stuck to the script and took Green.
With the improved offensive line in front of him, Green should develop into a top back
eventually. He’s more of a raw talent than an established player, but he’s got
more potential than any running back currently on the Browns’ roster.
Green has a nice combination of speed and power, and he has nice size — he’s
not too big or too small. Green should fit in very nicely in the AFC North, where the
running game has a heavy emphasis, with running backs like Bettis, Corey Dillon and Jamal
Lewis.
The Browns will use him as a multi-purpose threat out of the backfield, not only
possessing excellent running skills but showing some nice pass-catching abilities as well.
It’s an area in which Green needs some work, but in the Browns’ offense, he
should get those opportunities frequently.
Cleveland has done a nice job since rejoining the league of building their offense, but
year after year, their running backs have not produced for them. Green is the latest
experiment at the position, but he’s also the highest-ranked running back the new
Browns have selected in the draft. QB Tim Couch and his receiving corps will no doubt
benefit from Green’s presence in the lineup, assuming he reaches his full potential. |
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