A) What's wrong with selecting an All-Pro Left Tackle who could easily be a rock for the next dozen years?
B) Because Thomas is so good, why even go "there"? Browns management is sweet!
C) AP is ridiculous, but he was often hurt at Oklahoma. Finished his college career getting shut down by Boise State and breaking his collarbone.
From the spectacular NationalFootballPost.com:
Joe Thomas or Adrian Peterson?
That was the deciding facing the Cleveland Browns during the 2007 NFL draft.
Ultimately, the Browns went with Thomas, who has developed into a Pro Bowl offensive tackle, over Peterson, the electrifying Minnesota Vikings running back who has emerged as one of the NFL's biggest stars.
A former Browns personnel department employee argued that the Browns screwed up.
"In my mind, it was a no-brainer," the anonymous personnel man told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Adrian Peterson was the best running back in high school football, the best running back in college football and now he's the best running back in the NFL. He was Rookie of the Year and led the NFL in rushing last season. We had a chance to draft the best player in the NFL outside of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and we blew it."
"What we should've done that season was move Eric Steinbach out to left tackle and draft Peterson, because we were paying Steinbach left tackle money and he's a better tackle than guard anyway. Joe Thomas was like hitting a double and Adrian Peterson would've been a home run. There was definitely some debate, and there was a faction in the organization that wanted to draft Peterson."
The source described the internal debate.
"Phil [former GM Phil Savage] wanted to try to get quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and there was a faction that wanted to draft Brady Quinn with the third pick," the source said. "In the end, because we were so fragmented, I think Phil went with the safe pick, which was Joe Thomas."
Browns coach Eric Mangini naturally expressed no regrets at the decision made years prior to his arrival.
"I'm really happy Joe Thomas is here," said Mangini. "You go into drafts and you look for needs and you make a decision on where you think you need to go organizationally. Not knowing what all those conversations were, I think they've both become really outstanding players. That's what you're always looking for, too, is the third draft pick to really play well."
