Copycat draft

Apparently, "redundant" is not a four-letter word in the vocabulary of Browns General Manager Phil Savage.
Last year, Butch Davis used the Browns' first three picks on a receiver (Kellen Winslow Jr.), a safety (Sean Jones) and a quarterback (Luke McCown). This year, Savage used the Browns' first three picks on a receiver (Braylon Edwards), a safety (Brodney Pool) and a quarterback (Charlie Frye).
Last year's first three picks did little to help the Browns stave off a 4-12 record. Jones tore a knee ligament in spring mini-camp and saw no action in 2004. Winslow broke his leg on special teams during the second week of the season and was done for the year. McCown was thrown to the wolves after Kelly Holcomb and Jeff Garcia were injured late last season, and was scared into a boatload of bad throws and interceptions playing behind a rumor of an offensive line. The Browns went 0-4 with McCown under center.
It can be assumed Savage did not mean to indict Winslow, Jones and McCown by drafting Edwards, Pool and Frye. Depth at skill positions (or any position) can't hurt on a team as bad as the Browns have been. If anything, with what we in Cleveland all hope is a much more solid foundation in place than the one Davis provided, this year's draft could be able to augment last year's.
Edwards is an acceptable pick at No. 3. I expressed my belief before that third overall is too high to take a wide receiver for just about any team since wide receivers are reliant on the quarterback and offensive line make their plays. But Savage could have done far worse, such as getting fleeced by San Francisco in dealing their pick and more to get quarterback Alex Smith, as was rumored by ESPN while the Browns were on the clock. The last thing the Browns need is fewer draft picks.
Savage could have spent the third pick on a quarterback, which many teams apparently think would have been a mistake. After Smith went at No. 1, the next quarterbacks to go were Aaron Rodgers and Jason Campbell, to Green Bay and Washington at Nos. 24 and 25.
Savage went with the best players available during each pick as opposed to going the need-based route, which can dramatically overvalue some players by drafting them too high. The move appears to have been largely accepted by NFL gurus and media pundits. The Browns still have sizeable needs on the offensive and defensive lines, and their linebacker corps is weak overall. But at the end of the day, the Browns need talent. Overestimating the talent of players is a big reason the Browns are a bottom-feeding franchise in the league. To build a great team, you need at least some great players, and the Browns have woefully failed to this point, sending only one player to the Pro Bowl since re-entering the league in 1999 (Jamir Miller, after the 2001 season).
Edwards brings big-play capability and, with Winslow, could help give the Browns a receiver corps not seen in Cleveland since the late 1980s. Pool was a safety at Oklahoma, but could possibly move to cornerback in the NFL, the analysts say, giving the Browns a deeper secondary with Jones, Daylon McCutcheon, and free-agent additions Gary Baxter and Brian Russell.
Frye is probably a more polished quarterback than McCown was, learning in his seasons at Akron how to finesse the ball into a receiver's hands, when to roll out of the pocket, and when to stay in the saddle. McCown was a gunslinger coming out of Louisiana Tech, which didn't help his touchdown-to-interception ratio last year. But regardless of what McCown did last year, if he is still on the roster for training camp, the competition for Trent Dilfer's backup slot will be good for both he and Frye.
The first three picks of this year's draft might be a carbon copy of last year's, but given where the Browns have been in recent years, that might not be a bad thing. For last year's draftees, either.