| Since their return in 1999, the Browns have aggressively draft cornerbacks in the middle rounds of the draft. The corner corps is currently led such mid-round picks as Lewis Sanders, Anthony Henry, and 1999 third-round selection Daylon McCutcheon. In 2003, the Browns added two more in Chris Crocker and Minnesota's Michael Lehan.
Lehan brings some important physical assets to the Browns at the corner position: size and speed. He stands two inches taller than current starter Daylon McCutcheon and offered up a fine 4.39 40 time prior to being drafted.
These attributes have not resulted in a large number of interceptions, however, as Lehan managed ten during his college career. Lehan does, however, hold the Golden Gopher record for pass deflections. He had 31 for his Big Ten career. Lehan also managed 132 tackles, with five for losses.
The book on Lehan is that he has good ball skiils (which the deflections certainly show) and plays the run well. Lehan needs to work on his decisiveness and his cover skills in order to increase his opportunities to generate interceptions. Regardless of his development points, however, Lehan has the raw skills which intrigue the Browns coaching staff, and should intrigue fans as well. - AB |
