The Cleveland Browns are coming off of another losing season in the AFC North and this April's draft is going to a very important one for the future of the franchise and new owner Jimmy Haslam, which is one reason why the team promoted Mike Lombardi to general manager ahead of the event to decide what to do with the future at quarterback.
The team has a number of options to do in the draft at quarterback and ESPN.com is reporting that the team is now interested in Geno Smith, as both NFL Network's Mike Mayock and Sports Illustrated's Peter King says the team could take him with the sixth pick despite reports that they like Ryan Nassib better.
The team was linked to Dee Milliner, but that has faded since the team has a young cornerback and owner Jimmy Haslam wants to make a splash. If they lose out on Geno Smith, they could turn to two trade options in Tim Tebow or Ryan Mallett, as there were reports leading up to the draft that the Browns were interested in trading for the Patriots backup. While the Tebow deal is unlikely, the Mallett one could be interesting because the Browns could get him without giving up their number one pick and they still could take someone like Tavon Austin or Milliner and then trade for the quaretrback to give Brandon Weeden more competition heading into next season.
According to the Associated Press, the Browns have reshaped their front office under owner Jimmy Haslam, bringing in Ray Farmer from the Kansas City Chiefs to serve as assistant general manager. The team announced the news this week and also saw Mike Lombardi's title changed from vice president of player personnel to general manager of the Browns.
CEO Joe Banner made the announcement and said that the plans were in place for "a little while" and that Farmer was promoted as part of his deal from coming over from the Chiefs. Banner said that Lombardi would have the same responsibilities as before and that Farmer would assist in scouting and personnel.
"He adds a voice," Banner said of Farmer to the AP, "and as a top-tier player evaluator in the NFL."
The Browns are under a completely new regime with owner Jimmy Haslam, who brought in head coach and Rob Chudzinski, Lombardi and Banner to help turn around the franchise.
Lombardi is known as one of the best personnel evaluators in the league and he spent the past five years as a television analyst. He has a connection to Bill Belichick from when he was in Cleveland and be brings a similar attitude to his work in player personnel.
"There's no change in Mike's position at all," Banner said during a conference call. "It's purely an add of Ray. The title change just facilitated our getting permission from Kansas City."
Banner said that he previously worked with Farmer in Philadelphia and that he was someone who he had planned to bring with him to the Browns when he was hired. He played in the NFL previously in 32 games as a linebacker before his career ended with a
"He's a very bright, hard-working guy," Banner said. "He understands the elements of putting together a team versus just picking players."