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Phil Savage said after day 1 of the NFL Draft that anyone that could be had on day 2 will have a hard time making the team anyways, so Phil was okay that he gave up a bit to grab a starting caliber CB via moving up to round 2 with Dallas.  Dallas's GM and owner Jerry Jones and Browns GM Phil Savage became very close friends on Saturday when the Browns traded up with Dallas in the first round (22 overall) and get slipping and sliding Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn. The two would trade two more times throughout the two day draft.
 The Browns gave Dallas their sixth round selection for an additional seventh round pick and Dallas' pick 5 spots lower in round six. With the added picks, Phil Savage helped his struggling defensive line by selecting DL Melila Purcell from Hawaii and DL Chase Pittman from LSU in rounds 6 and 7 respectively. With the Browns last selection of the day and the one they received from Dallas, they selected Syndric Steptoe, a WR/kick returner from Arizona.
 Purcell and Pittman were both starters for their team and will help in the rotation of the Browns defensive line. It's important to rotate your lineman in the 3-4 defense.
Steptoe will add that Dennis Northcutt presence to the roster. The versatile guy who can return kicks and despite his 5'9" frame is build like a ton of bricks. It was important for Cleveland to add another kick/punt returner to the roster due to the departure of Dennis Northcutt, who as a UFA signed with Jacksonville in the off-season. For complete Bios' on the new Browns players, click...
For Immediate Release
April 29, 2007
BROWNS SELECT DE MELILA PURCELL IN THE SIXTH-ROUND
MELILA PURCELL
Defensive End
University of Hawaii
Ht. 6-5
Wt. 266
Feb. 5, 1984
Leone High School (Pago Pago, AS)
OVERVIEW
Three-year starter awarded All-Conference honors since his sophomore campaign. Senior totals were 60/15.5/9.5 after 34/1/1 as a junior…Posted a career-high 74 tackles as a sophomore.
SCOUTING REPORT
Positives: Fluid, athletic lineman coming off a solid senior campaign. Quickly gets off the snap, plays with terrific pad level and displays good technique with his hands. Smooth moving out to the sidelines, makes plays down the line of scrimmage and redirects to the action.
For Immediate Release
April 29, 2007
BROWNS SELECT DE CHASE PITTMAN IN THE SEVENTH-ROUND
CHASE PITTMAN
Defensive End
LSU
Ht. 6-5
Wt. 273
Evangel High School (Texas)
Shreveport, La.
CAREER: Played in 25 games for the Tigers, starting 24 times ... Transferred to LSU in 2004 after spending two seasons at the University of Texas ... Finished LSU career with 61 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for losses and 8.5 sacks ... Invited to play in the 2007 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
SENIOR SEASON (2006): A key member of the Tigers’ defensive front, starting all 13 games at right end ... Finished year with 27 tackles, 6.5 tackles for losses and 5.5 sacks ... Added a pair of quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery ... His 5.5 sacks ranked as second-highest total on team ... Named the SEC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week following the Tulane game where he was credited with four tackles, including one for loss, a sack and a forced fumble ... Turned in his best game of the year against Mississippi State, recording a season-high five tackles, including two for loss, and a career-high two sacks ... Recovered a fumble in the Tigers’ win over Alabama ... Had four tackles, including one for loss and a sack, against Ole Miss ... Capped career with one tackle in 41-14 win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
JUNIOR SEASON (2005): Played in all games 13 with 12 starts in 2005 ... Finished with 34 tackles including 7 tackles for loss and 3 sacks ... Had sacks in consecutive games against Tennessee, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt ... Played perhaps best game of season against Arkansas with 6 tackles and 1 forced fumble ... Had a total of 8 quarterback hurries and 4 pass breakups ... Registered a safety against Vanderbilt when he tackled Commodore quarterback Jay Cutler in the endzone.
SOPHOMORE SEASON (2004): Had to sit out due to the NCAA transfer rule ... Practiced but could not play.
REDSHIRT FRESHMAN SEASON (2003 AT TEXAS): Played in 10 games for Texas, recording 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks ... Added 4 tackles totaling 20-yards in losses for the Longhorns ... Redshirted as a true freshman for the Longhorns in 2002.
HIGH SCHOOL: A blue-chip defensive lineman and one of the top recruits in the nation as a senior at Evangel ... Earned all-state honors during his junior and senior seasons ... Played defensive end and tight end for Evangel ... Member of 2002 5A state championship team ... Registered 63 tackles, including 14 for losses, and 6 sacks as a senior at Evangel ... Coached by Dennis Dunn.
PERSONAL: Full name is Benjamin Chase Pittman ... Born May 15, 1983, in Minden ... Hobbies include hunting and fishing ... Majoring in general studies.
For Immediate Release
April 29, 2007
BROWNS SELECT WR SYNDRIC STEPTOE IN THE SEVENTH-ROUND
SYNDRIC STEPTOE
Wide Receiver
Arizona
Ht. 5-9
Wt. 170
Byran, Texas
OVERVIEW: One of the Cats’ most explosive all-purpose threats and a key in 2006... Earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors for second consecutive year in 2005... Had 37 catches for 493 yards and 1,271 all-purpose yards in 10 games... Missed the Oregon State game with a minor injury... Took a punt back 63 yards for a score against No. 7 UCLA... Had six receptions in three different games, with a yardage high of 90 in the ’05 opener against NAU... Was No. 24 nationally with an 11.1-yard punt return average, and No. 27 nationally with a kickoff return average of 25.5 yards... Career-best 76-yard KOR at USC, and had five total for 159 yards... Checked in at No. 42 nationally in all-purpose yardage at 127.1 per game... Had eight starts in 2005... Arizona career-record holder with 64 kickoff returns and needs 191 yards to pass Theo Bell’s career mark of 1,538 yards... Started 10 games for UA in 2004 ... Earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention honors ... Ended sophomore season with 30 catches for 446 yards and three touchdowns ... Averaged 14.9 yards-per-catch and 44.6 yards-per-game ... Ranked fourth in the Pac-10 in kick returns, averaging 22.6 yards-per-return with 384 yards on 17 returns for Arizona ... Collected 68 yards in six catches vs. ASU... Caught a 50-yard pass from quarterback Richard Kovalcheck for his career-long reception at Washington ... Also tallied 86 yards in three kickoff returns at Washington ... In the Washington State game, collected a career-best 105 yards on six receptions, including two touchdowns ... Played in all 12 games as a true freshman for the Wildcats during the 2003 season ... Earned the starting nod in the final home game of the season against national champion USC ... Finished with nine receptions for 77 yards ... Returned 15 punts for 69 yards, an average of 4.6 yards per return ... Returned a school-record 28 kickoffs for 480 yards, an average of 17.1 yards per return ... Saw his first full rotation play at receiver against Arizona State in the final game of the season and caught a season-best and career-high seven receptions...Finished the Oregon game with four kickoff returns for a then career-best 99 yards, including a season-best 41-yard return.
High School: Bryan High School, Bryan, Texas, 2003 ... SuperPrep All-America as a wide receiver for coach Marty Criswell ... Dave Campbell’s Texas High School Football second-team Super Team honors ... Rivals.com Athletes 2003 national list at No. 48 ... Dallas Morning News Top 100, along with Houston Chronicle state 100 honors ... ‘Athlete’ pick for 5atexasfootball.com second-team All-Texas ... fab50recruiting.com Top 50 defensive back ... PrepStar All-Midlands as an ‘athlete’ ... Prep Football Report All-Southwest as a receiver ... SuperPrep Southwest No. 30 ... Played mostly quarterback his senior year and earned first-team All-District 13-5A honors as a utility back ... Played wide receiver, slot back, running back and QB in one game against Temple ... Had 32 catches for 607 yards and five scores as a junior receiver ... 5A All-District 13 honors and a Texas Football second-unit Super Team pick junior year ... Had 10 punt returns for 215 yards as a junior ... Attended U.S. Army All-American Camp that summer, and also recorded a 37-inch vertical leap in Texas Nike Camp ... Top five finishes in 2002 District track championships in long jump and 4x100 relay ... Point guard in hoops and a three-year letterman ... Football team captain final two years ... All-district and all-state academic honors as a senior.
Personal: Academic major is family studies and human development... Football representative to Student-Athlete Advisory Board 05-06... Son of James and Annette Steptoe of Bryan, Texas ... Mother is a nurse’s aide ... Brother, James Jr., played football at BHS ... Full name: Syndric Marquis Steptoe ... Date of birth: Dec. 6, 1984.
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