Thoughts while watching the NFL Draft on a television in a Detroit hotel:

A center? All that trading down for a center? This guy better move some piles.

The immediate reaction on the Browns' move to trade down out of the fifth overall spot? Hoo hoo. The Browns needed players, and once Aaron Curry went, it was well worth getting an extra second-round pick. That gave the Browns a first-round choice that was less expensive than the one they had and three second-round choices.

The Browns traded down twice more, with Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, to get more picks. Again, it seemed smart. More picks meant more players. Even if they were sixth-rounders.

Then they took a center. C-e-n-t-e-r. Center.

This is a bit of a caught-in-the-middle scenario. Because I've never been one to say a team should not build a strong offensive line. But after all that trading, with two USC linebackers still available, the Browns wound up with a center. It might in the long run turn out to be a very wise move, but at the moment it happened, it certainly wasn't the most exciting pick.

Some folks, by the way, thought Louisville's Eric Wood was the best center in the draft.

And a lot of folks felt there were enough good centers in this draft that a team could have gotten one in the second round. Apparently, the Browns really liked Alex Mack.

All that being said ... if Eric Mangini and George Kokinis targeted Mack from the get-go, it's hard to be critical if they got him while still getting extra picks. That's a sound strategy. It's not exciting, but it's sound.

Picking receiver Brian Robiskie in the second round should bring no complaints. The Browns needed someone opposite Braylon Edwards, and Robiskie comes well-prepared. Which is good, because he might need to play in a hurry, given Donte Stallworth's situation.

Adding receiver Mohamed Massaquoi will do nothing to quell the Edwards trade rumors.

The Browns' offense now keeps its two quarterbacks, adds a needed receiver and (including free agency and the draft) has three new offensive linemen to throw in the mix. Mangini and Kokinis are shoring up a roster that needed players with numbers — even if the guys signed are not the most exciting. Did we mention the first pick was a center?

The Browns also acquired three (more) ex-Jets.

The Jets had to be either the unluckiest or most underachieving team in the NFL last season. New York did not make the playoffs, fell apart down the stretch and that led to the coach being fired. That coach wound up in Cleveland, and he's been filling the cart with Jets since. Pity Emerson Boozer was made an untouchable.

Who was acquired? Kenyon Coleman might start at end, but he's 30 and has been solid but certainly not spectacular in his career. Mangini liked safety Abram Elam enough to try to sign him as a restricted free agent. Brett Ratliff figures to be the Browns' third quarterback.

I was going to suggest the Browns be called the "Bretts," but perhaps that's not a good fit with Mangini either.

Word is the Browns asked for Joe Klecko, Ken O'Brien and Don Maynard, but the Jets said no.

Apparently, the Bucs and Eagles had no ex-Jets to send to Cleveland.

A team can never have enough sixth-round picks.

Steve Young told us on ESPN that the "X factor" for some players was whether they love football. "A lot of people don't know what I'm talking about," Young said. Apparently, the Jets really loved football last season.

As many as four of the Jets acquired could be starting: Coleman, linebackers Eric Barton and David Bowens and Elam. Defensive back Hank Poteat could be the nickel back.

Last season, the Jets ranked 16th in total defense, 29th in pass defense and seventh in run defense. That last ranking could be most encouraging, because if Mangini can get the Browns to stop the run, he'll be the first coach since 1999 to do so.

Now we know why Braylon Edwards is still a Brown. Philadelphia drafted Jeremy Maclin, and the Giants got Hakeem Nicks, both receivers.

Apparently, Rey Maualuga was overrated by a lot of folks. That he didn't go in the first round ranks as a shock. I actually had a fear that he'd go to Pittsburgh, and face the Browns twice a year. He wound up going to Cincinnati, where he'll face the Browns twice a year.

Final assessment: An OK day, not a great one. The Browns filled needs, but it's hard to see that they moved to the same level as Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Reaching that level still seems a ways away.