Quarterback

Colt McCoy is not the long term solution. He was a great college quarterback, but there’s a reason he fell to the end of the 3^rd round in 2010 behind Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, and Jimmy freaking Clausen. He doesn’t have the tools to make it as an NFL quarterback. His first 2 years have proven that. He’s got a 6-15 record in 21 starts and has completed 58.4% of his passes for an average of 6.3 YPA and 20 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. Mike Holmgren drafted him, but it’s not like he was in love with him. He didn’t take him until his 5^th pick of that draft class. Meanwhile, head coach Pat Shurmur, who Holmgren expressed faith in, was not there when McCoy was drafted and probably wants his own guy after seeing McCoy start for a year. Ideally, they probably want Robert Griffin to fall to them at 4. They could also trade up for him. If they can’t land him, Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler make sense with their 22nd overall pick or their early 2^nd round pick.

Wide receiver

It’s not like McCoy had that much help though. His top receiver this year was Greg Little, a promising young player, but a raw 2^nd round rookie who led the league in drops. After him, they’ve got nothing. If they can’t get Robert Griffin, Justin Blackmon is probably the pick at #4. If not Blackmon, then they’ll spend one of their early picks (22^nd overall, early 2^nd rounder) on a receiver. They could double dip on this position, but they have so many other needs.

Defensive end

Rookie 2^nd round defensive end Jabaal Sheard had an awesome rookie year with 8.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 15.5 tackles for loss, and 42 quarterback pressures. However, the Browns still managed just 32 sacks as a whole. A big part of the reason why, left end Jayme Mitchell couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback. The big left end was good against the run, but managed just 5 quarterback pressures in 738 snaps. They’ll look for a young end opposite Sheard fairly early in the 2012 NFL Draft.

 

Offensive tackle

More help for the offense, whoever the new quarterback is, they can’t let him get hit as much as Colt McCoy did. Despite having an elite left tackle in Joe Thomas, the Browns still allowed 39 sacks last season. A big part of the reason why, veteran journeyman right tackle Tony Pashos allowed 7 sacks, despite missing 4 games with injury. Look for them to find a new right tackle in day 2 of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Running back

Peyton Hillis seems to have worn out his welcome in Cleveland and will likely not be resigned. That leaves them with Montario Hardesty and Chris Ogbonnaya at running back. Hardesty has yet to prove he can stay healthy in 2 years since being taken in the 2^nd round in 2010, while Ogbonnaya really struggled on the occasions he was asked to carry the load this season. The Browns have bigger needs, but luckily they can find a rotational back in the mid rounds. They don’t necessarily have to spend a high pick on this one.

Guard

Right tackle isn’t their only position of need upfront, both guards, Shawn Lauvao and Jason Pinkston, really struggled last season. Their guard play was awful with Eric Steinbach missing the whole year with back surgery. Steinbach could be a cap casualty this offseason as he’s owed 6 million, a lot for a 32 year old coming off major back surgery. In that case, they need to get at least one new guard in, maybe two. Even if he’s brought back, guard is still a need because of how uncertain Steinbach’s future is.

Cornerback

The soon to be 33 year old Sheldon Brown could move to safety next year. Brown wasn’t awful last year opposite Joe Haden, but really started declining down the stretch. After him on the depth chart, they have Dmitri Patterson, who was solid as a nickel last year, but really struggled the year before as a starter in Philadelphia, and Buster Skrine, a 6^th round rookie who played limited snaps as a dime back. They need cornerback help opposite Joe Haden.

Outside Linebacker

Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita aren’t terrible, but they could be upgraded. Besides, Fujita turns 33 this offseason as well.

Safety

TJ Ward should return from injury in 2012, a very good thing as he is a promising young strong safety. However, neither free safety Mike Adams nor Ward’s replacement Usama Young were very good this year. Sheldon Brown could move to free safety, but he’ll be 33, so if a safety makes sense for them, they could draft one.

Middle Linebacker

D’Qwell Jackson is a talented linebacker and should be their #1 priority to resign this offseason.