The NFL draft

Less than 48 hours before the fact, and I finally get around to acknowledging the existence of the NFL draft.
(I still can't believe Mel Kiper Jr. has parlayed two days on the calendar into a career, but that is another rant for another time.)
If you are a Browns fan, you probably know this team has more problems than just one draft can cure. But general manager Phil Savage hitting on the majority of his picks, unlike Dwight Clark and Butch Davis, ensures that future off-seasons won't require binoculars to see the end of the rebuilding tunnel.
It's a chess match with the haunting past for Savage. He has to plot his moves carefully. When one inherits a team in as bad a shape as the Browns were in at the end of last season, sometimes the flashiest move isn't the best move. Draft czars have to be pragmatic.
With that in mind, I'm going to give you some players the Browns could, and might take, with the third overall pick. I've divided the picks into three categories: Yes (I approve), Maybe (I'll reserve judgment until I see what else Savage does to improve the team) and No (Savage's middle name is now "Paxson").
(Most of the college player information below is courtesy of Street and Smith's draft guide.)

Yes: Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas; Alex Barron, OT, Florida State; Antrel Rolle, CB, Miami (FL).
The Browns have not been able to replace linebacker Jamir Miller since his career was ended by an ankle injury in 2002. Butch Davis dismantled the veteran linebacker corps that helped get the Browns to the '02 playoffs in favor of young, fast, but raw athletes. Of those, Andra Davis looks like the only real long-term keeper. Going into a 3-4 defensive alignment means the Browns need a fast, hard-hitting, solid-tackling linebacker more than ever. Johnson might not be Ray Lewis, but he fits the bill.
Barron could be Jonathan Ogden, or he could be Bryant McKinnie. If the Browns draft Barron and let him learn the left tackle position from Ross Verba for a year, they could have that money left tackle they have always been missing. But Barron does have an extensive injury history and a quiet demeanor, two Courtney Brown red flags waving.
Rolle is slower-that-average for a corner, but at 6'-1", he has above-average height. He is physical and cam jam receivers along the line of scrimmage. In a division that throws Hines Ward and Chad Johnson at your defense, it is nice to have a big corner who can play rough.

Maybe: Braylon Edwards, WR, Michigan; Mike Williams, WR, USC; Trade the pick down.
I am never a fan of taking a wide receiver with a pick as high as Cleveland's No. 3. Wide receiver is a reactive position on the football field, unlike quarterback, running back or linebacker. Sure, good receivers can make the catches bad ones can't, but receivers can only do what the offensive line and quarterback lay the groundwork for. Having said that, the notion of having Edwards or Williams lining up alongside Kellen Winslow next year is intriguing. If they do the last option above and trade the pick down to, say, Washington at No. 9, I'd be more inclined to accept a wide receiver selection.
If they do, in fact, trade the pick, they don't need to get multiple first-rounders in return, but an extra second-rounder and a lower-round pick next year along with a first-rounder this year would be nice.

No: Any quarterback; Mike Nugent, PK, Ohio State.
We love Nuge, and he is a rare kicker talent. But the local yokels calling up the sports talk shows in Cleveland with fantasies about trading down to the low first round to draft Nugent are shacking up with Teletubbies in a dream world. Loyalty to Ohio sports has to be limited somewhere.
Now if Nugent should somehow slip to the fourth round, that's another story...
Drafting Nugent would be warm and fuzzy for Buckeye fans, but should the Browns even kick the tires on a quarterback in the first round this year, somebody needs to have their head examined.
The lemming-like pursuit of a "franchise quarterback" is a big reason the Browns are in the mess they are in right now. They have Trent Dilfer as a capable stopgap, and if they want to add another QB for the upcoming season, it should be another veteran stopgap along the lines of Jeff Blake.
Utah's Alex Smith brings the brains, and Cal's Aaron Rodgers brings the athleticism. Akron's Charlie Frye brings the hometown-boy appeal. But all these guys are project players, and none should be serving as a second-stringer on a rebuilding team with an injury-prone veteran starter (reference Tim Couch, 1999).
There are plenty of ways to get all different kinds of quarterbacks. I think the Browns need to be a little further along in their rebuilding process before they worry about who's going to be holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the Super Bowl photos.