Heading into his second season as the Browns general manager, Phil Savage has only 14 players left on the 53-man roster who were here when he took the job.

This truly is becoming Savage's team, and Browns fans have to admire his boldness -- even if they don't always agree with his decisions.

Savage hired coach Romeo Crennel, and neither pretended the Browns were anything except one of the NFL's worst franchises. They didn't tell us the team was better than the 4-12 record they inherited. Nor did they claim the Browns were something other than the 6-10 team we watched last year.

Admitting the truth is crucial if this franchise is ever going to be a success. It has been poorly run, wasting a staggering amount of draft picks.

Consider that not one No. 1 draft choice from the first five years is still with the team. Tim Couch (1999) is injured and out of football. Courtney Brown (2000) is with the Denver Broncos, where he had arthroscopic knee surgery a month ago and is questionable for the opener. He had two sacks in 13 games as a starting defensive end in 2005.

Gerard Warren (2001) also is in Denver, where he starts at defensive tackle. William Green (2002) will soon be off the Browns roster. Jeff Faine (2003) was traded to the New Orleans Saints, where he is expected to start at center.

The only top pick from the pre-Savage era is Kellen Winslow, who finally seems healthy after playing two games in two years.

It's too early to know if Savage's top picks will be impact players, but Braylon Edwards (2005) and Kamerion Wimbley (2006) at least seem to have that find of special talent.

Of all the 50 players the Browns drafted in their first six years before Savage, none has made a Pro Bowl appearance. Keep in mind that about 85 players are selected each year, so it's not a super-exclusive club. It's more like the National Honor Society in school, a sign of achievement -- but not genius.

At the moment, only seven draft picks from the pre-Savage era are on the roster. That's seven from six drafts. One of them is long-snapper Ryan Pontbriand, that infamous fifth round pick in 2003.

When the heat was coming down on Butch Davis in 2003, he had his public relations staff put together a chart showing how little talent was left from the Carmen Policy/Dwight Clark regime.

There wasn't much from those two years.

But Davis did no better in his four seasons. Two of Clark's picks are still starters -- Daylon McCutcheon and Dennis Northcutt. Clark also signed kicker Phil Dawson and defensive tackle Orpheus Roye, who may be the two best players since the Browns returned.

The only certain starters from the four drafts of Davis are Winslow and Andra Davis. Sean Jones may start at safety, and Chaun Thompson remains in the mix at linebacker.

Yes, some of his picks are playing elsewhere as Warren (Broncos), Faine (Saints), Anthony Henry (Dallas Cowboys), Chris Crocker (Atlanta Falcons) and Melvin Fowler (Buffalo Bills). But none of those players are stars.

The point of this story is that the most important man in an organization (other than the owner) is not the quarterback, not the running back, not the coach.

It's the guy who picks the players.

This is the year when we should begin to see some early returns from the two Savage drafts. From 2005, Braylon Edwards, Brodney Pool and Charlie Frye are the top three picks and key players.

From the 2006 draft, D'Qwell Jackson may start, Wimbley should play a lot. Fourth-rounder Leon Williams has impressed at linebacker, and you can see the speed from third-down back Jerome Harrison, who should be a steal in the fifth round.

Now is the time when the Browns must get it right when it comes to drafting and signing players. It seems Savage is off to a good start, and it's hard to believe he can be any worse than what came before him.