In NFL draft, Heckert a smart old Bird
BROWNS general manager Tom Heckert enters this year’s draft with plenty of ammunition — 13 overall picks, including three in the top 37 and six in the top 118.
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High & Inside will be devoted each day this week to observations and information related to the NFL draft:
BROWNS general manager Tom Heckert enters this year's draft with plenty of ammunition — 13 overall picks, including three in the top 37 and six in the top 118.
He also told reporters that he carries the lessons learned from mistakes he made with the Eagles, when he said he was influenced by pressure from within the organization and from outside with fans and media to make picks he should not have made.
The two he pointed to are trading up in the first round in 2003 to take Jerome McDougle from Miami with the 15th overall pick. Four years later, the Eagles took Victor Abiamiri in the second round after trading away their first-round pick.
"You just can't panic," Heckert said recently. "I've done it. I've made bad mistakes for that exact reason. I've traded up in the first round for both [pass rusher and defensive tackle] and they were bad moves.
"I am trying to avoid that. There's a lot of pressure from media, fans, people in your building, scouts, and it's my job to say,'Wait a minute. It's not the right thing to do.'
"I think that is the hardest thing to convey to the fans. It's not like we don't want those guys — we want them just as bad as they do — but we don't want to make a mistake doing it."
He also, though, has the benefit of two second-round picks who have become Pro Bowlers — DeSean Jackson (49th overall in 2008) and LeSean McCoy (53rd overall in 2009).
"I'm not tooting my own horn, but, if you can get those two guys in the second round . . ., " Heckert said, not finishing the sentence.
Former top Eagles
The Eagles' first draft picks in 2006 through 2008 are no longer with the team.
2006: Brodrick Bunkley, selected in the first round, signed a 5-year, $25 million deal with New Orleans last month after spending last season with Denver.
2007: Kevin Kolb, chosen in the second round, was traded to Arizona before last season. Fifth-rounder Brent Celek is the only member of the 2007 draft class still with the Eagles.
2008: Trevor Laws, chosen in the second round, signed a 1-year contract with St. Louis recently after four seasons with the Eagles. n